The World Jewish Congress and Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations are urging their supporters to petition the Modern Language Association to reject a resolution calling for an academic boycott of their Israelis colleagues. The vote is scheduled to be held at the MLA’s annual convention in Philadelphia on January 7 in Philadelphia.
The MLA Members for Justice in Palestine, a group established in 2014 within the MLA Commons, proposed a resolution titled Endorsing the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions to the Organizing Committee of the Delegate Assembly for consideration at its 2015 gathering. At the time, it was decided that the vote would be postponed until the 2017 MLA Convention to allow for further debate and discussion of the issue.
The 24,000 member organization comprises faculty from the fields of English and other non-classical languages. If passed, the boycott which would extend to the Academy of the Hebrew Language.
To join the campaign against the MLA boycott:
Visit the MLA Facebook page, and ask them directly why they seek to boycott Israel.
Paste this video (http://bit.ly/2hOW9HT) and the following message to their wall:
The only path toward coexistence in this region is through direct cooperation rather than separation; and the academic boycott of Israel will hinder the prospects for peace.
Institutions of higher education serve as one of the few forums in Israel through which Jews and Arabs are able to interact directly, express their views in an uninhibited environment, and think critically together. A boycott of these institutions will not impact Israel’s political leadership, and is simply designed to delegitimize Israel in the general public.
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