The American Association of Geographers is facing a member campaign to boycott Israel, Jewish Insider reported on Tuesday.
A member petition organized by a group called Geographers for Justice in Palestine is urging the organization “to endorse the campaign for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions” and to disclose and divest the nonprofit’s funds from “corporations or state institutions profiting from the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.”
The petition reached the 10% member signature threshold, triggering a special member meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 3, according to JI.
“If adopted, the AAG’s resolution will only intensify a climate of fear and discrimination that already threatens the integrity of higher education,” Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder and director of the AMCHA Initiative, told JNS.
“Academic boycotts of Israel don’t just target Israeli institutions,” she said. “They directly harm American Jewish students and faculty by severing research ties, canceling programs and restricting academic freedom.”
Liora Sahar, an Israeli-American AAG member, told Jewish Insider that she encountered anti-Israel rhetoric at the organization’s annual meeting in Detroit in March.
Geographers for Justice in Palestine organized sessions “centered not on scholarly exploration, but on academic boycott and divestment campaigns,” the geospatial expert said.
“These are political actions, not scientific ones, and they directly undermine the values of academic freedom and open discourse,” she added.
The Anti-Defamation League stated that the resolution violates the AAG’s ethical guidelines and that it is “ready to help AAG understand the potential harm of this resolution before the meeting,” per JI.
