NEW YORK - The World Jewish Congress welcomed the decision of the Modern Language Association on Saturday to reject a boycott of Israel, a resolution submitted by the MLA’s Members for Justice in Palestine. The WJC had actively campaigned against the resolution in recent weeks with a social media and online call to action supported by large numbers of followers urging the faculty to vote against the motion.
“The World Jewish Congress wholeheartedly welcomes the MLA’s rejection of a resolution to boycott Israel. The anti-Israel organizations on campuses are encouraging young people –the future leaders of tomorrow - to blindly support boycotts, without considering the repercussions this could have on future discoveries, ideas, and solutions," WJC CEO Robert Singer said.
"Boycotts inherently disregard the critical nature of open thought and discussion. The essence of academia is the common pursuance of ideas, shared dialogue and cooperation. The boycott movement silences these voices, and prevents the fruits of these efforts from emerging. We hope other academic organizations will embrace the path taken by the MLA today," Singer added.
The MLA vote was rejected by 113 members of the delegate assembly, while 79 voted in favor.
A decision in favor might have dealt a significant blow to Israeli academics and students working in departments of language, literature and related fields across the U.S., as well as to collaborations and research involving Israeli academic institutions.
