An overview
The leading organization for the academic boycott of Israel is the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a collective of Palestinian academics, artists, and cultural workers. PACBI is a founding member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads the BDS movement and operates the website BDSmovement.net. PACBI has established detailed guidelines describing the principles of the academic boycott and its implementation. The following explanation is a summary of these detailed guidelines. It is intended to provide a general overview of how the academic boycott works. If you want to determine whether an institution, project, or event can be boycotted, you should definitely consult the complete guidelines and/or contact PACBI.
Guidelines for the academic boycott - a summary
Israeli academic institutions are an integral part of Israel's occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid regime. PACBI calls for a boycott and advocates for the end of all forms of cooperation with Israeli academic institutions, including events, activities, agreements, or projects with them. PACBI also calls for a boycott of propaganda initiatives that promote Israel or whitewash its violations of international law. The academic boycott is a boycott of complicit Israeli academic institutions, not individuals. This boycott should continue until Israeli academic institutions recognize the rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in the constitution.
Academic projects or activities organized or sponsored by Israel, complicit Israeli institutions, or Israel lobby groups.
This includes convening meetings of international committees and associations in Israel, as well as academic activities or fact-finding missions funded by Israel, its complicit institutions, or its international lobby groups.
Research and development projects with complicit Israeli academic institutions, the Israeli government, or complicit companies
This includes collaborations and joint research agreements/projects between: a) international universities and complicit Israeli academic institutions or companies, especially military companies. b) international governments (or a group of governments, such as the EU) and the Israeli government. c) international companies and Israeli academic institutions.
International academic activities funded by Israel, its lobby groups, or universities
International academic activities funded by Israel, its lobby groups, or universities are boycottable.
Speeches at international venues
Speeches (including debates) by Israeli government officials or representatives of complicit academic institutions at international venues are boycottable.
Programs involving international students or academics who enroll at complicit Israeli institutions
This includes exchange programs and “study abroad” programs at Israeli universities that aim to give international students a “positive experience” of Israel by whitewashing the occupation and the denial of Palestinian rights. This also includes international students who enroll in an Israeli university or international lecturers who teach or conduct research at an Israeli university, whether as part of a degree program or not.
Awards for Israeli government officials or complicit Israeli institutions or their representatives
Awards for Israeli government officials or complicit Israeli institutions or their representatives are boycottable.
Normalization projects
In the Palestinian context, the term normalization refers to all activities that give the impression that Israel is a state like any other and that the Palestinians, the oppressed, and Israel, the oppressor, are equally responsible for “the conflict.” Such projects are far from challenging the unjust status quo; rather, they contribute to its perpetuation, are intellectually dishonest, and should be boycotted. However, a joint Palestinian-Arab-Israeli project is not boycottable if: (a) the Israeli party in the project recognizes the comprehensive Palestinian rights under international law (which correspond to the three rights in the BDS call); and (b) the project/activity is “co-resistance” rather than coexistence.
Membership of Israeli associations in international bodies
Just as South Africa's membership in international academic bodies, among others, was suspended during apartheid, the same must apply to Israel.
Publication or review of articles for journals affiliated with Israeli universities
The publication or review of articles for journals affiliated with Israeli universities is boycottable.
Consulting, assessment, or expert witness work for Israeli universities
International academics who choose to assess the academic work of lecturers or students at Israeli universities on a personal basis are not in violation of the boycott guidelines, as long as their names are not used in any way by these universities. However, membership in an examination board, for example, would violate the boycott.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
PACBI embraces the internationally recognized definition of academic freedom as adopted by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UNESCR). The BDS movement opposes all forms of racism, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and discrimination on any of the grounds prohibited by the UN. The institutional boycott called for by the Palestinians rejects the boycott of individuals on the basis of their identity and does not call for the boycott of individual Israeli academics solely on the basis of their affiliation with a complicit university. However, this does not exclude representatives of a complicit Israeli institution (such as a university president or spokesperson).
Definition Definition of academic freedom as adopted by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNESCR)
Content from bdsmovement. More information at:
https://www.bdsmovement.net/academic-boycott#4