Israel Studies conference demands Ariel University academics drop institutional affiliation

Two Israeli academics based at Ariel University, located in an illegal West Bank settlement, withdrew from a major London conference after being told to drop their institutional affiliation.

According to a report in the Times Higher Education, the scholars proposed papers for the annual conference of the European Association of Israel Studies (EAIS), which took place earlier this month at Soas, University of London.

Organisers then informed the pair that they would not be able to mention their affiliation with Ariel. EAIS chair Clive Jones explained that the organisation had decided not to recognise Ariel as a university “until the status of the Occupied Territories has been decided between the two parties”.

When we had proposals submitted by people working at Ariel, we decided that they were welcome to come and present their papers but would have to give them as individual scholars rather than as academics representing Ariel University.

Ariel, located on a notorious colony located deep in the Occupied West Bank, was granted full university status by the Israeli government in 2012. As part of a broader, Palestinian-led Boycott Divestment Sanctions campaign, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) advocates for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions.