[haw-info] Resolutions to the AHA on Academic Freedom in Israel-Palestine
Dear HAW members,
The Steering Committee has voted to submit the following two resolutions to the Business Meeting at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, January 2-5, 2015. Time is very short, and we urgently need fifty signatures from current members of the AHA, to make this possible. If you are willing to become an official signer of either or both of these resolutions, please write me and Jeri Fogel by Noon on next Saturday, December 20. We have no assurance that the AHA leadership will place this on the agenda, since we are past the December 1 deadline, but we will make a strong push, with your support.
Thank you,
Van Gosse, van.gosse@fandm.edu
Jeri Fogel, fogelj@mail.montclair.edu
posted by Marc at 1:15 PM
1 Comments:
RESOLUTION on PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION in PALESTINE-ISRAEL
WHEREAS members of the historical profession support the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including universal access to higher education; and
WHEREAS Israel violates its obligation to these principles by refusing to allow students from Gaza to travel in order to pursue higher education abroad, and even at West Bank universities; and
WHEREAS members of the historical profession believe that the free exchange of ideas is facilitated by teaching, delivering lectures and participating in conferences; and
WHEREAS Israel arbitrarily denies entry to foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, who seek to lecture, teach and attend conferences at Palestinian universities, denying both faculty and students the rich experience enjoyed by their peers at other universities worldwide; and
WHEREAS, members of the historical profession are dedicated to the documentation of human experience through the collection and preservation of historical information; and
WHEREAS, the Israeli Defense Forces bombed the Islamic University in Gaza which houses the Oral History Center on August 2, 2014;
THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED that the AHA condemns the acts of violence and intimidation by the State of Israel against Palestinian researchers and their archival collections, acts which can destroy Palestinians’ sense of historical identity as well as the historical record itself; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AHA calls for an immediate halt to Israel’s policy of denying entry to foreign nationals seeking to promote educational development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AHA calls on Israel to provide free access for Palestinian faculty and students alike to pursue their education wherever they choose.
RESOLUTION on ACADEMIC FREEDOM of U.S. CITIZENS VISITING ISRAEL and PALESTINE
WHEREAS members of the historical profession are committed to the principles of academic freedom, whose curtailment severely compromises education; and
WHEREAS members of the historical profession believe that the free exchange of ideas is facilitated by teaching, delivering lectures and participating in conferences; and
WHEREAS Israel arbitrarily limits the entry of foreign nationals who seek to lecture, teach and attend conferences at Palestinian universities, denying both faculty and students the rich experience enjoyed by their peers at Israeli universities and other universities around the world;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the AHA calls for an immediate halt to Israel’s policy of denying entry to foreign nationals seeking to promote educational development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AHA demands that the U.S. Department of State honor the academic freedom of U.S. citizens by contesting Israel’s denials of entry of U.S. academics who have been invited to teach, confer, or do research at Palestinian universities.
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