Report to the Executive Board
Dear AAA Colleagues,
We are pleased to present to you the report of the AAA Task Force on Engagement with Israel / Palestine. We are deeply indebted to the Task Force for the enormous amount of careful thought and effort that they have poured into this report over the past year for the benefit of the Association, its members and the anthropological field in general.
The Task Force was charged with helping the Executive Board consider the nature and extent to which AAA might contribute – as an Association – to addressing the issues that the Israel/Palestine political situation raises for us as anthropologists, as an Association, and as an association of anthropologists. The Executive Board specifically asked the Task Force to: (1) enumerate the issues embedded in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that directly concern the Association; (2) develop principles to be used to assess whether the AAA has an interest in taking a stand on these issues; (3) provide such an assessment; and (4) on the basis of that assessment, make recommendations to the Executive Board about actions the AAA could undertake.
We hope that in the weeks and months ahead, you will make the time to review this report, and to provide informed feedback that will help the Executive Board make some important decisions on the Association’s behalf about appropriate courses of action for AAA. Again, please join us in thanking the Task Force for its excellent work, and for providing us with the basis to continue the conversation in a thoughtful and respectful manner.
Monica Heller, President
Ed Liebow, Executive Director