In addition to a collection of rich individual interviews and special segments, Status also publishes panels and lectures with every issue of the audio journal. For Issue 2.1, we highlight the debate on academic freedom at the December 2014 meeting of the American Anthropological Association, and provide an exclusive audio recording of the panel.
Leading up to the 2014 American Anthropological Association Meeting, over 1,000 anthropologists signed a boycott pledge to protest Israel’s systematic and widespread violations of Palestinian academic freedom and human rights. Many spoke and wrote publicly about why they now feel boycott is the best way to address the injustices that have become so systemically entrenched.
Anthropologists campaigning for the boycott elected not to pursue a resolution at the December 2014 American Anthropological Association (AAA) meeting in favor of building the broadest possible support among members over the coming months.
Despite this, opponents of the boycott sought to short-circuit the debate by forcing the AAA to take an anti-boycott position now. On the agenda of the business meeting was a proposed resolution against boycotting Israeli academic institutions. This effort to shut down the boycott discussion backfired spectacularly. Some 700 people gathered at the annual business meeting of the Association, an event that often attracts fewer than a handful. The atmosphere in the room was electric, as anthropologists from across the profession discussed the boycott and the ongoing violations of Palestinian academic freedom and human rights. Members present overwhelmingly voted down the anti-boycott measure, which mustered a mere 52 supporters.
A series of panels were held at the conference to raise awareness about the boycott and about human rights violations in Palestine. These panels, some of which attracted audiences of 200-250 people, promoted conversation about the possibility of the AAA passing a resolution to boycott Israeli institutions complicit with the occupation. One of the panels, a Public Policy Forum entitled “What is the Role of Academia in Political Change? The Case of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and Israeli Violations Of International Law,” featured a conversation among legal scholars, anthropologists, and social justice activists, who discussed BDS as a significant policy issue of our time.
The goal of the forum was three-fold: first, it was designed to educate the public about BDS, its goals and methods; second, it sought to raise awareness of the legal framework of the conflict; and third, it helped to open debate about the influence anthropology and an academic association such as the AAA can and should have in pressing for academic freedom and human rights for Palestinians, both those living as second-class citizens in Israel and those living under Israeli military occupation.
The panel was moderated by Lori Allen, and included Omar Barghouti, Richard Falk, Noura Erakat, Rebecca Vilkomerson, Saba Mahmoud, and Dan Segel as speakers.
The panel below includes five parts that you can click on separately. (Mahmood and Segel's portions will be shared at a later date.) Please find the transcript of the interview below the player.