The Faculty Action Network is a network of faculty members and graduate students committed both to increasing knowledge about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to resisting efforts to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish state. FAN has a special focus on countering Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement initiatives in academic and professional associations. FAN is committed to a two-state solution that will provide both Israelis and Palestinians with the political structures enabling each people to realize their national aspirations. To that end the group seeks to enhance and inform members about efforts to build bridges between both peoples. FAN is unreservedly opposed to academic boycotts and other assaults on the fundamental principles of academic freedom. FAN seeks to move the conversation about the Middle East from hostile debate to a discussion of practical solutions to the challenges both peoples face.
The Faculty Action Network is a multidisciplinary outgrowth of MLA Members For Scholars’ Rights (MLAMFSR), created as its members increasingly found themselves in dialogue with faculty in other disciplines confronting similar challenges. Its work is facilitated by an Advisory Board drawn from a variety of academic disciplines.
FAN handles requests for assistance and puts its members in touch with experienced faculty who can advise on proactive and responsive strategies for educating professional communities and handling intellectual and political challenges to Israel’s legitimacy. FAN can help arrange guest speakers to empower its members to confront organized challenges to their core values. The group is particularly focused on assisting faculty who seek help in organizing their disciplinary responses to BDS initiatives. It will assist faculty to establish a public presence by advising on placement of appropriate Op Eds and other statements. FAN also maintains a multidisciplinary listserve so people engaged in disciplinary discussions can share experiences and resources, compare strategies, pose questions, and thus learn from and advise one another. FAN also supports other organizing initiatives designed to empower sympathetic faculty, such as the multi-disciplinary anti-BDS Women’s Academic Forum (WAF).
FAN also coordinates with the Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF), the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), and the Academic Council for Israel (ACFI).