AJCongress Supports AAUP Statement
Opposing Academic Boycotts

June 8, 2007 - The American Jewish Congress today announced its support for the statement by the American Association of University Professors opposing academic boycotts. Issued in response to the recent vote by the British University and College Union to consider imposing a boycott on Israeli academics, the AAUP stated that the decision “to the extent that it is meant to encourage an academic boycott, is contrary to the Association’s position condemning such boycotts.”

In a letter to AAUP executive director Ernst Benjamin, AJCongress President Richard S. Gordon said the Jewish rights group was “particularly pleased to see AAUP stand up for its traditional commitment ‘to preserving and advancing the free exchange of ideas among academics irrespective of governmental policies and however unpalatable those policies may be viewed.’”

Gordon said that the AAUP statement “will make an important contribution to the struggle for academic freedom and underscores one of the important aspects of the struggle against boycotts of Israel.”

“We will continue to fight every time Israel gets singled out as a pariah,” Gordon said.

The American Jewish Congress is a membership association of Jewish Americans, organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad, through public policy advocacy, in the courts, Congress, the executive branch and state and local governments. It also works overseas with others who are similarly engaged.