WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the largest union of college and university faculty and staff in the United States, has called on its higher education brothers and sisters across Great Britain to consider the moral and practical implications of supporting a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

“Boycotting universities and their faculty restricts the flow of ideas and it is anathema to academic freedom,” said AFT President Edward J. McElroy.

The AFT’s action preceded yesterday’s vote by delegates to Britain’s University and College Union (UCU) congress to circulate a resolution among its 120,000 members to consider an academic boycott of Israel. As it has in previous years, the broader membership could reject such a boycott.

In advance of yesterday’s vote by the UCU’s delegates, McElroy sent a letter to Sally Hunt, the British faculty union’s general secretary. In his letter, the AFT president pointed to his union’s 2005 resolution condemning proposed academic boycotts of Haifa University and Bar-Ilan University. He also noted that “the one-sided nature of the proposed resolution demonstrates that its motivation is to express support for a political position rather than advance the principles of free and open scholarship.”  

The American Federation of Teachers is an unwavering supporter of democratic ideals and academic freedom, and is a leader in the protection of faculty rights. The AFT represents more than 160,000 college and university faculty and staff across the United States. The union is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

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