When various organizations began calling for a boycott of Israeli universities and academics nearly a decade ago, I sought and received academic affiliation with two different Israeli universities. My email signature reads, in part,
Economics and old age have much in common: Both dwell on foregone opportunities... Member, Int'l Advisory Board for Academic Freedom, Bar-Ilan Univ
Affiliated Professor, University of Haifa
I am delighted to see that most of the major US universities have rejected the ASA call for a boycott and in some cases have cut ties with the American Studies Association. [ht Rebekah]:
Harvard and Yale, along with a host of other universities, public officials, and journalistic outlets, has condemned and rejected the American Studies Association’s academic boycott of Israel. “Academic boycotts subvert the academic freedoms and values necessary to the free flow of ideas, which is the lifeblood of the worldwide community of scholars,” Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said in a statement. “The recent resolution of the ASA proposing to boycott Israeli universities represents a direct threat to these ideals, ideals which universities and scholarly associations should be dedicated to defend.” Yale President Peter Salovey echoed these sentiments: “Any attempt to close off discussion or dialogue among scholars is antithetical to the fundamental values of scholarship and academic freedom. I stand with the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities in my strong opposition to a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.”
Joining Harvard and Yale in condemning the boycott is a growing chorus of universities, including Princeton, Brown, Cornell, University of Chicago, Northwestern University and New York University. In total, 32 schools have thus far rejected the ASA boycott in the days following its passage. Additionally, four universities–Brandeis, Penn State Harrisburg, Kenyon College, and Indiana University–have cancelled their institutional membership in the organization, while others–Northwestern, Brown, Tufts, University of Alabama, Temple, Willamette and Hamilton–say they are not members, despite being listed as such by the ASA. Combined, these withdrawals reduce the ASA’s institutional membership from 83 universities to 72. (Several college presidents, while condemning the boycott, have emphasized that the decision to withdraw from the ASA is the prerogative of their American Studies department.)
[addendum] There's more here via the Daily Alert:
Dozens of U.S. Universities Reject Academic Boycott of Israel - Valerie Strauss
Dozens of American universities are rejecting an academic boycott of Israeli universities recently approved by the American Studies Association, and a few schools said they are withdrawing from the organization. Schools including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Princeton and Boston universities and the Universities of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Texas at Austin and others have slammed the boycott, issuing statements similar to one by Harvard President Drew Faust that said that academic boycotts "subvert the academic freedoms and values necessary to the free flow of ideas, which is the lifeblood of the worldwide community of ! scholars." (Washington Post)