American Historical Association
One of the 2016 resolutions that were brought forward to the full AHA membership. It condemned Israel exclusively for Palestinian access to education in both the West Bank and Gaza, and had several issues with how it presented the facts of the conflict.
Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF) Responses to AHA
AAF released a longer and shorter rebuttal to in response to the anti-Israel resolution, critiquing its one-sided view, presenting nuance in terms of the conflict, and overall attempting to focus the debate on cooperation and fairness over divisive policies. The documents produced by AAF are as follows:
A Flawed Resolution: Errors, Misrepresentations, and Omission — An in-depth countering of the AHA’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which highlights eight issues within the resolution. These includes its misrepresentation of travel in Gaza, the fact it disregards the very real security threats Israel faces, and more.
Academic Freedom Worldwide and the Resolution Before the AHA: A White Paper from the Alliance for Academic Freedom — An in-depth rebuttal of the resolution, which in particular highlights the issue of singling a single country out for censure when there are so many other examples of violations of academic freedom around the world. It also explains the nuance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the Palestinian Authority’s complicity in denying the access of education to their own people.
Arguments against the proposed Israel-related resolutions at the January 2015 AHA business meeting. — A step-by-step refutation of the anti-Israel resolution, which explains clearly and concisely why adopting the resolution would be problematic for the AHA.
Oppose Resolution on Academic Freedom of US Citizens Visiting Israel & Palestine and Resolution on Protecting the Right to Education in Palestine-Israel — A three-page resource that builds on the one-pager cited above. It focuses on five main points: first, that the proposed resolutions mischaracterize the freedom of movement for academics in the Palestinian territories; second, that they overlook facts and context; third, their very nature is biased and discriminatory; and four, that they are needlessly divisive.
Other Press
Jeffrey Herf, “Yet Again: The American Historical Association Rejects a Resolution Denouncing Israel.” The Times of Israel. | View |
Jennifer Schuessler, “Historian Group Rejects a Resolution Condemning Israel.” The New York Times. | View |
Rick Shenkman, “The AHA Will Be Taking Up 2 Resolutions Critical of Israel.” History News Network. | View |
Rick Shenkman, “Historians Decide NOT to Debate Resolutions Critical of Israel.” History News Network. | View |