My new column for The Hill explains why the CUNY Law School faculty’s academic boycott of Israel may jeopardize its accreditation. Here is the gist:
On May 13, a CUNY Law graduation speaker – a Palestinian-American activist elected by her classmates – announced that the law faculty “just officially endorsed” the students’ [Israel boycott] resolution. That attracted media attention, and for good reason. Students’ demands are mostly ineffectual, but the faculty is in a position to implement its resolutions.
The faculty accepted “the Palestinian-led call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.” The scope of that commitment is only revealed by a link in a footnote, which leads to an extensive BDS website. A few clicks will then take readers to the “Guidelines for the International Academic Boycott of Israel,” which include “the cancellation or annulment of events, activities, agreements, or projects involving Israeli academic institutions or that otherwise promote the normalization of Israel in the global academy [including] conferences, symposia, workshops, book and museum exhibits.”
If honored by any law school, these limitations would constitute a blatant violation of academic freedom for future teachers, scholars or students interested in understanding Israel – beyond its purported crimes – in their research or education. At a public law school, such sweeping viewpoint restrictions on conferences, symposia and book exhibits – prohibiting anything that “normalizes” Israel – also violate the First Amendment.
Whether it was deliberate or careless, CUNY Law’s boycott commitment may have severe consequences. A law school must be accredited by the American Bar Association for its graduates to take the New York bar, and one of the ABA’s requirements is respect for academic freedom. Likewise, the prestigious Association of American Law Schools requires its members, including CUNY Law, to promote “the core values of . . . academic freedom, and diversity, including diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints.”
No other law school has enacted its own foreign policy, so it remains to be seen whether promotion of an academic boycott will affect accreditation.
You can read the entire piece here.
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