Latest news with #IsraeliSociologicalSociety
Ya Biladi
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Moroccan campaign urges ISA to rethink Israeli presence at sociology forum
The freezing of the Israeli Sociological Society's (ISS) membership within the International Sociological Association (ISA) has not prevented Israeli researchers from participating in the 5th ISA Forum of Sociology. The event, scheduled to take place from July 6 to 11, 2025, at Mohammed V University in Rabat, still includes contributions from Israeli institutions, one of which explicitly refers to Hamas as a «terrorist» organization, even as the event unfolds amid more than 600 days of war in Gaza. On Wednesday, July 2, the Moroccan Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (MACBI) renewed its call for mobilization, urging the organizers to reconsider their stance. In a written statement received by Yabiladi, the organization—part of the BDS Morocco coalition—affirmed that «the participation of Israeli researchers is indeed maintained at the 5th ISA Forum of Sociology», calling it «an unacceptable form of normalization». It added, «The ISA's suspension of the Israeli Sociological Society does not mean that representatives of universities complicit in genocide will not attend». According to MACBI, the event's program still includes 17 presentations by researchers affiliated with Israeli institutions. «Maintaining their participation, without issuing a statement to cancel it, amounts to a clear act of normalization», the group stated. It also criticized ISA for not addressing key demands raised in the June 24 declaration by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which was endorsed by Arab and international scholars, as well as the Palestinian Sociological And Anthropological Association. MACBI called on ISA to engage with PACBI's demands, which include ensuring that Israeli participants support Palestinian rights in line with international law, and verifying that they are not implicated in violations such as war crimes or crimes against humanity. The demands also call for ISA to adopt a consistent «land recognition» policy for universities in settler colonial contexts, including Palestine, and to acknowledge the complicity of Israeli universities in their state's actions against Palestinians. The statement follows a similar call by the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon. In light of ISA's unchanged position, MACBI renewed its call to boycott the forum «unless the association meets ethical standards that ensure it does not harm the Palestinian cause, and instead contributes to ending the genocide and dismantling the Israeli apartheid regime». The ISA, for its part, has invoked «academic freedom» to justify the inclusion of Israeli researchers. This renewed call comes just days after the ISA officially froze ISS membership on June 29. In an earlier statement to Yabiladi, MACBI coordinators stressed that Israeli institutional affiliation was not a disqualifying criterion in the selection of speakers, hence the ongoing mobilization. So far, 232 researchers have declared their boycott of the forum until the ISA reconsiders its position.
Morocco World
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
International Sociological Association Suspends Israeli Membership Due to Moroccan Pressure
Marrakech – The International Sociological Association (ISA) has suspended the collective membership of the Israeli Sociological Society, pointing to its failure to condemn the 'genocide of Palestinians' in Gaza. The move follows intense pressure from Moroccan academics and global organizations opposing Israeli participation in the upcoming ISA Forum set for next month in Rabat. In a statement, the ISA declared: 'We regret that the Israeli Sociological Society has not taken a clear position condemning the dramatic situation in Gaza.' The association stated that 'in a decision that reflects the extraordinary gravity of the current situation, the Executive Committee has decided to suspend the collective membership of the Israeli Sociological Society.' The ISA affirmed that as part of its public stance against 'the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,' it maintains 'no institutional relationships with Israeli public institutions.' The suspension comes after forceful protests from Moroccan academics who objected to Israeli participation in the Fifth World Forum of Sociology, scheduled at Mohammed V University in Rabat from July 6-11. The executive committee acted in response to demands from numerous national and international bodies, and after many academics announced they would boycott the world forum. The Moroccan Sociological Association had previously voiced its rejection of Israeli participation and any narrative undermining Palestinian rights. The association stated it does not welcome anyone affiliated with the 'Zionist entity,' and that hosting the World Forum requires everyone to respect Moroccan values and positions. The Moroccan Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (MACBI), operating within the BDS Morocco movement, called on the ISA 'to cancel the participation of academics who represent Israeli institutions involved in the settler-colonial system and Israeli apartheid.' The campaign stressed that 'the demand to cancel certain participations that appear from their summaries to promote a narrative justifying the killing and ongoing genocide for more than 600 days does not infringe on the fundamental principles of sociology, including the critical exchange of viewpoints, but rather avoids normalizing the legitimization of the ongoing crime of genocide that violates international law.' MACBI further argued that 'mentioning the Zionist genocide universities to which these participants belong is a clear act of normalization according to boycott standards.' They questioned whether the ISA could 'guarantee that Israeli participants are not directly or indirectly involved—including through incitement or inhumane justification—in Israel's serious violations of Palestinian rights, especially war crimes, crimes against humanity, including apartheid and genocide.' 'Israel should be isolated and expelled from all international fora' Moroccan academics contended that the ISA had displayed double standards by quickly suspending Russian sociologists during the Ukraine conflict while initially failing to take similar action against Israeli counterparts despite their connections to military and intelligence circles. They further argued that claims of scientific neutrality are fundamentally flawed, particularly in social sciences, and questioned how academic impartiality could be invoked to justify including representatives from a state actively engaged in genocidal actions. The Moroccan Sociological Association had previously asserted in a release that 'the barbaric practices committed against Palestinian civilians, which Israeli authorities intend as material and moral extermination of the Palestinian existence, push us to not welcome any affiliate of this usurping entity, even within scientific and academic activities.' The Progressive Current of Professors and Researchers within the National Union of Higher Education (SNE-Sup) also expressed 'deep concern' about the participation of 'academics representing institutions from the Zionist entity involved in the settler-colonial system and Zionist apartheid,' rejecting attempts to label the Moroccan university as 'complicit with war criminals.' Before the ISA's decision, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) had urged academics standing in solidarity with Palestinians to pressure the ISA to cancel the participation of Israeli academics. PACBI warned that failure to do so should result in a complete boycott of the forum. In its statement last week, PACBI argued that 'at a time when Israel, supported by the colonial West, is perpetrating the world's first livestreamed genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip, and in line with international law, Israel should be isolated and expelled from all international fora.' The campaign also referenced the International Court of Justice's July 2024 determination that 'Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is entirely illegal and that it is violating the prohibition against apartheid.' The ISA's Fifth Forum of Sociology will proceed in Rabat next week, now without Israeli institutional representation.
