AMERICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION VOTES TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL

        Washington, 14 Shafar 1435/17 December 2013 (MINA) – A growing campaign among US academics to isolate Israel reaches a milestone as members of the American Studies Association have voted to endorse a resolution backing the academic boycott of the Zionist regime.

       Two thirds of the 1,252 members who voted to boycott Israel for its treatment of Palestinians approved the measure, according to the ASA announcement Monday, a day after the deadline for voting.

        The ASA’s national council voted unanimously on Dec. 4 in favor of a boycott resolution, and put the matter to a vote of its full members. A third of all 3,853 eligible voters participated in the vote. Press tv reported as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

        The unprecedented vote came as opponents of the boycott said at an ASA annual conference in Washington last month that the matter was too sensitive to be decided by the 20-member national council.

        “During the open discussion at the recent convention, members asked us to draft a resolution that was relevant to the ASA in particular and so the Council’s final resolution acknowledged that the US plays a significant role in enabling the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” said an ASA statement.

         The campaign to cut off ties with Israeli academic institutions dates back a decade, but it was not until April that an American academic group of any size endorsed a boycott, organizers said.

         The boycott calls on American schools and academic groups to ban collaboration with Israeli institutions, but individual Israeli scholars who do not represent Tel Aviv would still be able to attend academic events in the United States.

         It was the first time the American Studies Association has voted for an academic boycott of a country.

AIPAC

         Israel–United States relations are an important factor in the United States government’s overall policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship.

        The main expression of Congressional support for Israel has been foreign aid. Since 1985, it has provided nearly $3 billion in grants annually to Israel, with Israel being the largest annual recipient of American aid from 1976 to 2004 and the largest cumulative recipient of aid since World War II.

         Seventy-four percent of these funds must be spent purchasing US goods and services.[3]Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administrations’ policies.

        Almost all U.S. aid to Israel is now in the form of military assistance, while in the past it also received significant economic assistance. Strong congressional support for Israel has resulted in Israel receiving benefits not available to other countries.

        The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States. The current President of AIPAC is Michael Kassen from Westport, Connecticut.

         Describing itself as “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby”,AIPAC is a mass-membership, American organization whose members include Democrats, Republicans, and independents. The New York Times has called it “the most important organization affecting America’s relationship with Israel.

        It has been described as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, DC. Its critics have stated it acts as an agent of the Israeli government with a “stranglehold” on the United States Congress with its power and influence.[citation needed] There is some disagreement as to where AIPAC’s agenda lies ideologically.

        Some critics on the political left allege that AIPAC holds views that are politically conservative in their nature,[citation needed] while AIPAC’s membership has also been described as “overwhelmingly Democratic” by conservatives. AIPAC describes itself as a bipartisan organization, and bills it lobbies for in Congress are always jointly sponsored by both a Democrat and Republican.(T/P04/E1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)