(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “This congressman appears to be one more member of the House who has never read the Constitution or doesn’t understand the first amendment,” James Henry Fetzer, editor of Veterans Today, said in a phone interview with `on Wednesday.
The boycott of Israeli academic institutions by the American Studies Association (ASA) last week has angered Rep. Eliot Engel who sent a letter to the association’s leaders urging them to end the boycott.
“I applaud the action by the academic group. It’s completely well-founded, completely just, very appropriate,” said Fetzer, who is also the founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth.
The American Studies Association said its boycott was in protest against Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinians and the involvement of Israeli universities in supporting such policies.
“The ASA condemns the United States' significant role in aiding and abetting Israel's violations of human rights against Palestinians and its occupation of Palestinian lands through its use of the veto in the UN Security Council," the group said in a statement.
Two thirds of the 1,252 members of the organization who participated in the vote approved the measure.
“Members of the United States Congress should understand the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” said Fetzer.
“It’s appalling that there should be any member of Congress who has expressed any degree of disapproval. This is an expression of freedom of speech,” he added.
The move is part of a larger international effort to win boycotts of Israeli institutions over its policies toward Palestinians.
The American Studies Association is a professional group of about 4,000 scholars who study US history and culture.
The group has been debating a boycott since 2006 and put the matter to a vote after its leadership endorsed the idea in early December.
/106
