HAW at the AHA 
Atlanta, January 7-10, 2016 

Resolution to be considered to the 2016 Business Meeting of the American Historical Association

PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

WHEREAS, members of the historical profession support the Right to Education, including the universal access to higher education enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
WHEREAS, the Right to Education can be exercised only when students and faculty have the freedom of movement to teach and study at institutions of their choice; and
WHEREAS, Israel’s restrictions on the movement of faculty, staff and visitors in the West Bank impede instruction at Palestinian institutions of higher learning; and
WHEREAS, Israel routinely refuses to allow students from Gaza to travel in order to pursue higher education abroad or at West Bank universities; and
WHEREAS, the Right to Education is undermined when state authorities raid or close campuses; and
WHEREAS, in summer 2014, Israel bombarded fourteen institutions of higher learning in Gaza, partially or completely destroying nine, and its military routinely invades campuses in Jerusalem and the West Bank and frequently impedes entry;
WHEREAS, the Right to Education can be exercised only with access to a broad range of ideas and a diverse faculty; and
WHEREAS, Israel restricts the right to lecture or teach at Palestinian universities by denying entry to select foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the AHA upholds the rights of Palestinian faculty and students to pursue their education and research freely; and therefore,
BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the AHA calls for the reversal of Israeli policies that restrict the freedom of movement, including denial of entry to foreign nationals; and
BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the AHA calls for the cessation of physical attacks on Palestinian educational institutions;
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the AHA commits itself to monitoring Israeli actions restricting the right to education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Documentation

Impediments To Education In The Occupied Palestinian Territories, edited by Sherna Berger Gluck, Emerita faculty, California State University, Long Beach. Introduction by Sa'ed Atshan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Swarthmore College. A publication of the Palestine-Israel Working Group of Historians Against the War (September 2015).

International Human Rights Law: Violations by Israel and the Problem of Enforcement, by Alice Lynd with the assistance of Staughton Lynd. A publication of the Palestine-Israel Working Group of Historians Against the War (August 2014).

Separating Land, Separating People: Legal Analysis of Access Restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank (June 2015)

Academia Undermined: Israeli Restrictions on Foreign National Academics in Palestinian Higher Education Institutions,” Report of the Campaign for the Right to Enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 2013.

Original resolution with documentation | Signers of resolution

Ad in AHA Perspectives (September 2015)

Historians against the War (HAW) Respond to the Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF) (January 2016)

Articles

AHA defeats HAW resolution on right to education (HAW report)

Historians Reject Resolution Condemning Israel's Treatment of Palestinians (History News Network, January 9, 2016)

Historian Group Rejects a Resolution Condemning Israel (New York Times, January 9, 2016)

Proposed Resolution on Palestinian Academic Freedom Defeated at AHA Annual Meeting (AHA, January 10, 2016; also published in February 2016 issue of Perspectives on History)

Historians Reject Measure Criticizing Israel (Inside Higher Ed, January 11, 2016)

Deja Vu: Historians will once again be debating a resolution about Israel at the annual AHA convention (History News Network, September 7, 2015)