The British Society of Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) has passed a motion at its Annual General Meeting committing itself to debating boycotts of Israel.
The resolution, adopted with no objections on June 24, affirms the right of members to discuss the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign “in an atmosphere free from intimidation and censorship.” BRISMES is also now committed to providing “appropriate fora” for “debating BDS.”
BRISMES, established in 1973 to encourage and promote the study of the Middle East in the United Kingdom, has several hundred members.
According to BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine), the motion was a compromise between an original motion proposed by Dr. John Chalcraft and an alternative motion proposed by BRISMES Council.
Chalcraft, a member of BRICP, commented: “UK scholars are coming to see it as basic to their purposes as educators to consider the debate around BDS in view of the ever more violent oppression of the Palestinians in Israeli-controlled territories, and the associated restrictions on Palestinian education and research.”
BRICUP described the decision as “the first resolution of its kind by an academic association outside the USA”, citing previous resolutions passed by the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), the American Studies Association, the African Literature Association (ALA), the Critical Ethnic Studies Association, theNative American and Indigenous Studies Association, the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), and the Middle East Studies Association of America.
The BRISMES resolution does not endorse an academic or any other form of boycott of Israel, but means the organisation will host a series of debates on the issue.