Just a word of thanks to Legal Insurrection readers.
The pushback against the anti-Israel academic boycott is gaining momentum. An increasing number of universities and University Presidents are stating their positions against the boycott. Not a single university or major academic group has come out for the boycott.
While this pushback would have happened over time, you helped speed it up significantly.
Your emails, many of which you have shared with me, pushed institutions to come out quickly, before they all left for Christmas and New Year’s vacations. The responses you received demonstrated that they heard you.
Many, if not most, of my “scoops” were a result of information resulting from your interactions with university officials.
I’m proud that the emails you forwarded to me were respectful yet firmly principled. We need to keep it that way.
Where is this going?
I still expect to be able to file my challenge to the 501(c)(3) status of ASA based on its coercive boycott and other actions by the end of the year, although this week did sap a lot of my time.
Major organizations are following our lead and organizing — but they did not move as swiftly as you did. I expect a period of quiet (but not for us) due to the holidays before there are major initiatives after the first of the year.
It will be a long struggle to contain a movement which has been planning their assault on Israel and academic freedom for several years.
Those who say we should just ignore it, that it’s just a bunch of kooky professors, have it wrong. They are very organized, well-funded, and part of a global movement to delegitimize Israel. There are other organizations which are subject to their machinations about which you will be hearing soon.
That’s why it’s not just about ASA or the two other smaller groups that joined the academic boycott.
It’s time for our civil society to be heard that we will not tolerate the academic boycott of Israel.
It stops here.
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