The American Studies Association (ASA), numbering about 5,000 academics, decided Dec. 15 by a majority vote to participate in the academic boycott on Israel, joining academic bodies in Europe — particularly in England — that have refrained from cooperative academic ventures with Israel for years. It seems that the prevailing Israeli argument that Europe is more inclined to come under the influence of Palestinian propaganda is no longer relevant. 

Professor Rivka Carmi, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said in an interview with Al-Monitor that the Modern Language Association is expected to discuss academic boycotts of Israel in January in Chicago. The association numbers 30,000 members. 

“The snowball effect has begun,” she said. “True, when it began in Europe, we had excuses and reasons to explain why and what was going on in Europe. We said it was small, esoteric, and then along came the ASA and proved that we are being swept away. In my opinion, it will only escalate.” According to Carmi, “Israel must do something, even though quite a few people say that this boycott has no real effect on the practical level because the Israeli researcher has no problem finding other researchers who will cooperate with him.”

Professor Hagit Messer-Yaron, former president of the Open University and now deputy chair of the Council for Higher Education, agrees that on the individual level, Israeli researchers will not be harmed. She said, “I personally receive frequent emails from colleagues in Iran with technical scientific questions, etc. No one even looks at where the mail comes from.”