Bob Kellogg One News Now April 24, 2017 Members of a national academic association are suing the organization itself after it chose to adopt a boycott of all Israeli academic institutions. Pro-Palestinian members of the leadership of the American Studies Association abused their positions by forcing adoption of the boycott. So says Kenneth Marcus, president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. Marcus’ group is representing the plaintiffs who argue that violates ASA’s own rules and mission (more details). “The mission of the American Studies Association is to promote the scholarly study of the United States; it is not to promote the study of the Middle East,” he emphasizes. “And it is certainly not to engage in political activism about countries outside of North America.” Marcus points out that two of the four plaintiffs are well-respected ASA award winners and another is one of the organization’s founding members. “They are upset,” he explains, “not just because they view the boycott as anti-Semitic and a violation of academic freedom, but because it undermines the scholarly quality of an organization that they worked so hard to build.” Despite attempts by the defendants to have the lawsuit suppressed, U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras recently ruled the plaintiffs can move forward with most of their claims. The Brandeis Center leader calls the decision an important victory – not just their clients “but for everyone who is concerned about the anti-Semitic BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement and its deleterious impact on academic institutions.” Original Article