Resolution 140029

..Title Condemning the American Studies Association's academic boycott against Israeli academic institutions and urging the Department of Education, the State System of Higher Education and all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania to reject the academic boycott. ..Body WHEREAS, The American Studies Association is an association chartered in 1951 and dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history which has nearly 5,000 members; and WHEREAS, In December 2013, the American Studies Association passed a resolution calling for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions; and WHEREAS, The academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions, including colleges and universities, serves to restrict academic freedom and hinders the collaboration and free flow of information between academics all over the world; and WHEREAS, Academic freedom, the free flow of information and ideas and international academic collaboration are crucial factors in promoting progress in all areas of study from the hard sciences and technology to the humanities; and WHEREAS, The American Studies Association's call for a boycott has drawn criticism from prominent academics, universities and education associations including the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Haverford College, Princeton University, Lehigh University, Temple University, Boston University, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, New York University, and Middlebury College; and WHEREAS, The boycott has also drawn criticism from the American Council on Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Association of American Professors; and WHEREAS, Academic freedom is an indispensable component of a free and democratic society and should be guarded vigilantly; and WHEREAS, The American Studies Association's call for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions threatens academic freedom and should therefore be rejected; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the City Council condemns the American Studies Association's academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions and urges the Department of Education, the State System of Higher Education and all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania to reject the academic boycott. ..End