STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL - Association for Humanist Sociology

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

The membership of the Association for Humanist Sociology, an organization dedicated to scholarship and action in the service of justice and peace, has voted to support the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. The call to boycott came out of Palestinian civil society and we are answering the call. This is part of a global and broadly-supported Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement aimed at ending the gross violation of Palestinian rights in Palestine/Israel.

Israel has continued and, in fact, intensified its colonization of Palestinian land in violation of international law. The human suffering in the Occupied Territories is great and getting more severe in many ways. All efforts to get Israel to reverse course have failed. BDS initiatives, including the Academic and Cultural Boycott, are what the international human rights community has left to dissuade Israel from this tragic course of action it has chosen.

It is our most sincere hope that the State of Israel listens to these cries for justice, which have emanated from around the world, including inside Israel itself. It must halt its repression and enter into negotiations as an equal partner with representatives of the Palestinian people that will lead to a mutually agreed upon peaceful settlement respecting the human rights and national aspirations of both peoples.

The membership of the Association for Humanist Sociology urges the U.S. government, which has continued to provide military and economic support to Israel, to discontinue such support immediately and to support instead:

(1) the right of return for Palestinian refugees;
(2) full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and
(3) the end of occupation and colonial rule.