University among first to oppose ASA boycott

President Ronald J. Daniels and Provost Robert Lieberman were among the first of more than 200 American university and college leaders to denounce the American Studies Association’s (ASA) boycott of Israeli academic institutions late last year.

Although Hopkins is not an institutional member of the ASA, Daniels and Lieberman firmly condemned the boycott, stating that it goes against the principles of the University and of academia in general.

“To curtail the freedom of institutions to participate in the exchange of ideas because of the policies of the government of the country where they reside is to strike at the very mission of our university,” the statement said.

Despite the release of that statement, the Johns Hopkins University Press still publishes the ASA’s academic journal, American Quarterly. Lieberman said that the administration is not directly involved with the journal’s publication and fielded concerns from Jewish student groups and university affiliates about the ongoing relationship with the ASA during a conference call in January.

William Breichner, the journal’s publisher for the Press, said that Daniels and Lieberman’s statement does not conflict with the publication of American Quarterly.

“Our relationship with each of [our clients] is strictly a business relationship,” Breichner said in an email to The News-Letter. “In none of those cases does the Press have any influence over positions the association may take on public issues, nor does the Press take any position on those issues itself or attempt to speak for the larger University community. The JHU Press is committed to publishing peer-reviewed research of the highest quality and contributing to intellectual debate without regard to the author’s or research sponsor’s national origin or background.”

Jewish student group leaders such as Michael Weiss, co-president of the Hopkins American Partnership for Israel (HAPI), expressed uneasiness about the continuing relationship between the the Press and the ASA.

“I don’t think that any of the material being published is anti-Israel, but if an academic affiliated with an Israeli institution sought publication and would not be considered for publication, then there’s an issue,” Weiss said. “I don’t support a boycott for a boycott, but I think this needs to be addressed [with the ASA] right away.”

Rabbi Debbie Pine, the executive director of Hopkins Hillel, also said she was uncomfortable about the Press’ relationship with the ASA; however, she believes Daniels and Lieberman have ensured that the University will continue to support and encourage contributions by Israeli scholars in academia.

“I have deep trust in President Daniels and Provost Lieberman to make sure that no Israeli scholar or any other scholar is discriminated against on the basis of their country of origin,” Pine said.

Jennifer Ferentz, president of Hopkins J Street U, which advocates for U.S leadership to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that she didn’t think the Press’ publication of American Quarterly was harmful.

“I support [the] decision to not sever ties to the ASA’s journal, as this would cause further division,” Ferentz said in an email to The News-Letter. “[It’s important to] bring the two sides of this conflict closer together, rather than pushing them apart.”

The University itself is not a member of the ASA, although Lieberman stated that many of the ASA’s members are affiliated as individuals; thus, some Hopkins faculty members may still be personally affiliated with the ASA.

Daniels and Lieberman’s statement was an expression of their own opinions and not an official statement from the University itself. However, Lieberman said he believes that the statement reflects the feelings of many University leaders.

“[Daniels and I] worked closely with a team of people in the administration and consulted pretty widely around the University — with deans, with members of the board of trustees and some other people in the community,” Lieberman said.

Hopkins Students for Justice in Palestine (HSJP) published a response to Daniels and Lieberman on their website Wednesday in which they expressed their support for the ASA’s boycott. The response states that Israeli academic institutions have stifled the academic freedom of Palestinian scholars.

“Israeli educational institutions are not innocent of their government’s policies, but instead have long been implicated in the occupation,” the statement reads. “We agree. . .[that] it is important for us to support, through words and actions, the freedom of our peers and colleagues abroad to engage in scholarly activities and collaboration. It is precisely this commitment which motivates the ASA resolution.”

Both Pine and Lieberman agreed that denouncing the ASA’s boycott does not equal a clear statement of support for the Israeli government or its policies.

“Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian issue or any set of political issues are entirely legitimate things for people to argue about [within academia],” Lieberman said. “From the point of view of a university, this attempt to restrict academic interchange and scholarly pursuits is just a bad idea.”

Pine agreed that boycotting Israeli academia is tangential to negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

“Boycotting Israeli scholars has very little to do with the conflict,” Pine said. “How would we feel if an academic institution said we’re not going to publish anything that a Chinese person wrote or that an African-American person wrote? To me, I see [the boycott] in that same way.”

Pine asserted that American Jews and supporters of Israel are not bound to agree with all of the Israeli government’s decisions and policies but that these debates should not impact Israeli scholarly pursuits.

“We all have to realize that Israel is complex, and that the challenges that Israel faces as a nation — existentially, religiously, democratically — [don’t have] easy answers,” Pine said. “[Israel’s supporters] have to be open to looking broadly at those issues and continue to support Israel deeply [while] also looking at Israel honestly and carefully.”

The ASA’s resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions was endorsed by 66.05 percent of 1252 voting ASA members; 30.5 percent of the participating members voted against it while 3.43 percent abstained.

In addition to the university leaders from around the country who denounced the boycott, at least six institutional members of the ASA have relinquished their memberships.