Anthropology Group Narrowly Rejects Resolution on Israel Boycott

Members of the American Anthropological Association have narrowly voted to reject a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, Inside Higher Ed has reported.

Fifty-one perfect of the association’s members voted on the resolution, with 2,423 members opposing it and 2,384 supporting it. Last fall a much smaller group of members voted at the association’s annual meeting to support the resolution.

The association said in a news release that its board had approved a series of actions that are in line with the group’s “core values and mission as a professional society,” such as issuing a statement of censure to the Israeli government over the government’s treatment of Palestinian academics.

The membership’s vote stands in contrast to actions by other scholarly groups, including the Association for Asian American Studies and the American Studies Association, that have approved similar boycott measures.