‘Domino Effect’: Latin American Academics Accuse Israel of Racism, Apartheid

An association of anthropologists in Latin America has passed a resolution accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing and apartheid while voicing support for the so-called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to isolate the Jewish state from the international community as a step toward the country’s eventual elimination.

The measure was passed in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month, with 70 percent of participants voting in its favor during the 2023 XIV Mercosur Anthropology Conference, an annual gathering of scholars from across Latin America held in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Anthropology.

“Aware of the crimes against the indigenous population of Palestine during the Nakba, we affirm our commitment to remembering the damage caused by militaristic practices of ethnic cleansing in the 20th century, and declare our solidarity with the Palestinian people,” says a copy of the resolution obtained by The Algemeiner. “This is a public and academic commitment to the anti-racist struggle.”

Many Palestinians and anti-Israel activists refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948 as the Nakba, an Arabic term meaning “catastrophe.”

The resolution additionally charges that Israeli policy toward the Palestinians “is a perverse update of the heinous practices of apartheid in the 21st century.”

The group’s actions represent a “domino effect” of academic support for the BDS and broader anti-Israel movement, according to Asaf Romirowsky, executive director of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.

“Once MESA [the Middle East Studies Association] voted, all its tentacles followed suit, emboldening the narrative that BDS is the way to go,” Romirowsky told The Algemeiner. “Additionally, Latin America in general has, in particular areas such as Chile, seen steady growth of pro-Palestinian support. We’re also seeing significant growth in Venezuela, for example, in economic ties to Hezbollah, Iran, and other terrorist organizations. Pro-Palestinian elements too have been very successful in utilizing areas of soft power, predominantly the academy.”

MESA and the American Anthropological Association, two high-profile academic associations in North America, previously endorsed the BDS movement.

Romirowsky explained that indigenous peoples and anti-colonialism are frequent subjects of research and conversation in South American academia that foster an anti-Zionist bias.

“Similar to what you see in the States, narratives of colonialism, apartheid, and victim versus victimizer, in which the Palestinians are the victims, set the parameters of how many think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he continued. “So, in those circles, questioning or doubting whether Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel is common.”

An overwhelming majority of Middle East scholars in the US favor boycotting Israel, according to a survey published in Nov. 2022 showing that only nine percent of 500 responding experts from MESA and the American Political Science Association would “oppose all boycotts of Israel.” Meanwhile, 91 percent “support at least some boycotts,” and 36 percent also favor “some boycotts” but not against Israeli universities.

Official guidelines issued for the BDS campaign’s academic boycott state that “projects with all Israeli academic institutions should come to an end.” They also delineate specific restrictions that adherents should abide by — for example, denying letters of recommendation to students who seek to study in Israel.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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