Native American Association Joins Academic Boycott of Israel

By JTA December 18, 2013

A Native American studies association is the third U.S. academic body this year to recommend its members boycott Israeli universities.

The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association in a Dec. 15 announcement said it “encourages NAISA members to boycott Israeli academic institutions because they are imbricated with the Israeli state and we wish to place pressure on that state to change its policies.”

The statement encouraged “generous dialogue” on the issue and said the boycott was open to discussion at the group’s national conference in May in Austin, Texas.

Like the American Studies Association, which announced its own boycott this week, the NAISA boycott does not target individuals and is not binding on members.

The Asian American Studies Association approved a similar boycott in April.

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