At least 55 American universities and colleges have rejected the American Studies Association membership vote in favor of an academic boycott of Israel.
The number was tracked by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which wrote to each of the institutional members of the ASA outlining why the boycott call is an unjustifiable and blatantly discriminatory act.
“The response is very encouraging and we are grateful that so many took the time during a holiday week to respond,” the group’s leaders said. “We continue to urge the rest of the members to speak out against the action and to disassociate from supporting the ASA.”
Two-thirds of the 1,252 ASA members who voted approved the boycott, according to an ASA announcement on Dec. 16, a day after the deadline for online voting. At the time of the vote, there were 3,853 eligible voters, meaning one-third of the ASA membership participated.
Four universities withdrew their membership in the wake of the vote: Brandeis University, Indiana University, Kenyon College and Penn State Harrisburg. — jta