Five Days to the Penn BDS Conference

Now that the Penn BDS conference is officially less than one week away, it’s time to take stock of how ADL has advocated on this issue. Since learning about the conference about six weeks ago we have:

·       Worked with several Jewish community organizations to issue a “Statement of Solidarity” condemning the goals of the conference.

·       Briefed members of the Jewish community and Hillel in Philadelphia about the conference’s invited speakers and posted background materials about the conference on our Web site.

·       Issued a statement expressing our concern with the conference.

And now, five days before the event in question, we’d like to draw your attention to some of the more virulent anti-Israel speakers who plan to attend this weekend’s conference. For the next five days, we will spotlight 5 of the most anti-Israel speakers on the conference agenda.

#5 J Kehaulani Kauanui

Professor Kauanui is an Associate Professor of American Studies and Anthropology at Wesleyan University and an advisor to the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. Kauanui is scheduled to participate in a breakout session called “The Academic Boycott” during the conference. Academic boycotts, for those who aren’t familiar, focus on boycotting Israeli academic institutions and universities as part of a larger effort to paint every aspect of Israel life as complicit in the Israeli government’s policies.

Kauanui, in a February 2009 article, stated that Palestinians “have the right to engage in armed resistance” against Israel because of the occupation. Stay tuned for #4 tomorrow.