AL QUDS-Thousands of academics who are members of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) voted to support the boycott of the Zionist regime.
Infopal reports. The resolution “endorses the Palestinian call for solidarity in the form of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).”
MESA is said to have more than 2,800 members worldwide, including 33 in the Occupied Territories. The highest concentration is in the United States. It also has a long list of institutional members, including departments at renowned universities, such as Brandeis and Columbia.
The resolution calls for the extension of the academic boycott to institutions of the Zionist regime. “These institutions are complicit in Israeli violations of human rights and international law through the provision of direct assistance to Israeli military and intelligence institutions,” the resolution states.
It goes on to emphasize that the boycott will not target individual students or scholars, and reiterates the right of individual MESA members to choose whether or not they wish to participate in an academic boycott.
“Since Palestinian civil society first called on the international community to engage in boycotts, divestment and sanctions in order to pressure the Zionist regime to end its military occupation and other rights violations, our members have been engaged in discussions about what it means to participate in academic boycott activities and other ways to show solidarity with colleagues whose lives and livelihoods are under attack,” said MESA President Dina Rizk Khoury.
“Today’s vote paves the way for our members […] to collectively determine how we can do our part to support the academic freedom and educational rights of Palestinian scholars and students, not to mention Israeli scholars who face attacks from their own government for criticizing its policies,” Khoury said.
