Protests planned in Rabat over Israeli speakers at 5th ISA Forum of Sociology
In its call to mobilize, the group (part of the BDS Morocco movement) invites «all students, researchers, academics, and free citizens» to join the gathering and express their «firm rejection of academic normalization and any form of normalization» with Israel.
Four days ahead of the forum's opening, the first time it is being held in Africa, MACBI renewed its call for the International Sociological Association (ISA) to reconsider the inclusion of participants directly or indirectly affiliated with Israeli academic institutions.
In a statement, the organization noted that the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society's (ISS) ISA membership on June 29 did not prevent some of its members or associated researchers from taking part in the forum. Their names remain on the program, with at least one presentation explicitly referring to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, as a «terrorist» organization.
This 5th ISA Forum of Sociology comes amid more than 600 days of ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Against this backdrop, 232 Moroccan and international researchers have launched a petition announcing their boycott of the event, urging the ISA to revise its program.
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Protests planned in Rabat over Israeli speakers at 5th ISA Forum of Sociology
As the 5th ISA Forum of Sociology opens from July 6 to 11, 2025, at Mohammed V University in Rabat, a protest has been announced against the participation of speakers affiliated with Israeli universities. The sit-in, called by the Moroccan Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (MACBI), is scheduled for this Sunday at 5 PM in front of the Mohammed V National Theater. In its call to mobilize, the group (part of the BDS Morocco movement) invites «all students, researchers, academics, and free citizens» to join the gathering and express their «firm rejection of academic normalization and any form of normalization» with Israel. Four days ahead of the forum's opening, the first time it is being held in Africa, MACBI renewed its call for the International Sociological Association (ISA) to reconsider the inclusion of participants directly or indirectly affiliated with Israeli academic institutions. In a statement, the organization noted that the suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society's (ISS) ISA membership on June 29 did not prevent some of its members or associated researchers from taking part in the forum. Their names remain on the program, with at least one presentation explicitly referring to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, as a «terrorist» organization. This 5th ISA Forum of Sociology comes amid more than 600 days of ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Against this backdrop, 232 Moroccan and international researchers have launched a petition announcing their boycott of the event, urging the ISA to revise its program.
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