As we previously reported, MESA passed a pro-BDS resolution at its December 2, 2021, business meeting.
On January 20, MESA notified its membership about the vote and informed them the ratification vote would open January 31 and close March 22.
In both the January 20 and January 31 emails, MESA listed the BDS vote at the bottom, in smallish print. Having changed its bylaws to allow the association to adopt political advocacy, MESA doesn’t seem eager to publicize its pro-BDS stance. At least, not until after the vote is finished.
The resolution makes unsupported claims that Israel has systematically violated Palestinians’ human rights, attacked Palestinian educational institutions, harassed Palestinian professors, teachers, and students, and harassed Israeli professors and students criticizing Israeli policies. Despite its left-handed acknowledgement that Israeli faculty and students are not in lockstep with governmental policies, the resolution also charges (again, without specifics) that “Israeli universities are imbricated in these systematic violations through their provision of direct assistance to the Israeli military and intelligence establishments...”
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