Sociological Association Calls for Immediate, Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza

The American Sociological Association (ASA) is calling for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza” through the organization’s recently adopted resolution on the issue.

Roi Livne"ASA members have taken a clear position against Israel's murderous military campaign in Gaza and violent police crackdowns in universities across the U.S.,” said Israeli sociologist Dr. Roi Livne. “Along with other academic associations, we have clarified that Israel should be held accountable for its crimes, not more and not less than any other country in the world."

Nearly 59% of ASA members who voted approved the Resolution for Justice in Palestine and commitment to academic freedom “including but not limited to defending scholars’ right to speak out against Zionist occupation” — responding to increased resistance that included police force against anti-war demonstrations on college campuses this spring.

The resolution notes the association’s past efforts during apartheid, demanding divestment from South African companies that led to divestments of the 1990s.

ASA joins other academic associations — including the American Association of University Professors, American Studies Association, National Women’s Studies Association, and Middle East Studies Association — in calling for an end to the violence in Gaza and the displacement of Palestinians.

“We can no longer, if we could ever, retreat to a dispassionate objectivity within the walls of academia,” said former ASA President Dr. Michael Burawoy in a teach-in supporting the member resolution. “Now is the time to also stand up for the moral principles that brought so many of us to sociology.”