Sociologists for Palestine

Dear Professors Washington and Correll, Were you ashamed while you were writing this blatantly misleading and anti-democratic message? The resolution proposed by the membership petition is clearly about a public policy issue, like many issues on which the ASA has previously taken a stand. You may be opposed to it, but that is for the membership, not the two of you to decide. Sincerely, Joel Andreas Professor of Sociology Johns Hopkins University

Joel Andreas wrote, "Were you ashamed while you were writing this blatantly misleading and anti-democratic message? The resolution proposed by the membership petition is clearly about a public policy issue... You may be opposed to it, but that is for the membership, not the two of you to decide."

Hello, Thank you for this update as it solidifies the position of ASA to bury it's head in the sand while using the language of policy and governance. This clarification from the communications team is timely, and I will not waste my money to renew a membership with ASA. Dr. Florence Castillo

Florence Castillo writes "Thank you for this update as it solidifies the position of ASA to bury it's head in the sand while using the language of policy and governance. This clarification from the communications team is timely, and I will not waste my money to renew a membership with ASA."

"Dear Heather, As a signatory to the petition and a member of Sociologists for Palestine, I disagree vigorously with this message. I would ask you a few simple questions. In 1968, do you think you would have opposed the war on Vietnam? If you were a member of the ASA at that time, would you have sided with the bold minority of young sociologists who insisted that their professional organization take a stand on the defining issue of the day? And could you honestly say today that that minority of radicals was not proven correct in the judgment of history? I support the petition because I feel that the question of Israel-Palestine is the Vietnam of our time. It is the issue by which posterity will judge us, the issue about which our children will ask: what did you do, when you had the chance? This is not just because of the moral imperative to stop the ongoing genocide of Palestine. It is a pressing issue of global survival. I feel certain that the catastrophe of the Iran war would never have happened if Israel had not been treated with such impunity for its grave crimes since 2023 (and indeed before). This is not an academic matter for sociologists. A world dominated by militarism, genocide, and economic crisis is not one that will be friendly to any forms of critical thought. There is a profound connection between the question of Israel-Palestine and the assault upon academic freedom which ASA and other learned societies have —to their credit — resisted. At this point I don't know how this can be denied. There is a deep contradiction between defending academic freedom, on the one hand, and clamping down on it within our organization, on the other. Under such conditions, "unity" can only be achieved through open dialogue, debate, and indeed democratic conflict, in every domain of civil society - including our profession. It cannot be achieved through bureaucratic recourse and weak talk of "inclusion." The fact that we have a diverse, inclusive discipline at all is the…

David Purucker writes to ASA leadership that he supports the petition because,

"the question of Israel-Palestine is the Vietnam of our time. It is the issue ... about which our children will ask: what did you do, when you had the chance? This is ... a pressing issue of global survival."

Dear Dr. Washington & Dr. Correll, I am shocked at the disdain that ASA leadership appears to have for the democratic process, casting a free and fair voting process as illegitimate because the outcome was contrary to its preference. ASA's actions in casting that election as illegitimate, in refusing to consider the demands of the new petition within the ASA Council, and last year in censoring an obituary by Ruth Milkman for Michael Burawoy that mentioned his support for Palestinian rights -- these do not suggest political neutrality or respect for diversity of opinion. At best, they indicate a fierce commitment to the status quo. Ironic, considering the 2026 meeting theme is "Disrupting the Status Quo: Putting sociology to work for a more equitable society." Who is supposed to put "sociology to work" if not the country's largest association of sociologists? I'm left struggling to see what the purpose of this organization is, or my place within it. I will not be renewing my membership or attending the conference. Regards,

In another letter to ASA membership, a student writes "I'm left struggling to see what the purpose of this organization is, or my place within it. I will not be renewing my membership or attending the conference."

Dear ASA Council, I write to express my deep disappointment at your decision to discard an important petition that has already garnered significant support among the ASA community. I believe it has a real chance to garner the requisite votes and shape ASA's future policy direction should it be put to vote. Your decision to not put the petition to vote on the grounds that it constitutes an operational/governance matter is far from obvious. Numerous academic associations have undertaken precisely the measures that the current petition is advocating. Clearly, for these associations, the matter isn't one of governance but of taking a political, ethical and moral position on a public policy issue. Undoubtedly, these associations determined that the benefits of adopting an ethical stance outweighed the costs. Given this, we can reasonably hold that your invocation of ASA bylaws is wide open to interpretation. The Israeli government (with the complicity of its U.S. counterpart) has perpetrated what numerous experts and bodies (not least Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch) have unequivocally termed a genocide. Israel, along with the U.S., is now engaged in unprovoked aggression in Iran and Lebanon that has already killed thousands of innocent civilians. As an association based in the U.S. with a stated mission of driving "positive social change", it is imperative that it take a position - if its members agree, of course - on issues that are going to shape not only the U.S. but the world for generations to come. The proposed petition asking for a boycott of Israeli institutions is a very small step in this direction. As scholars, we know that such boycotts were absolutely critical in building transnational solidarity and ending apartheid in South Africa. This morning, I received an email from ASA with the subject line "Your ASA Membership and the Power of Sociology". I am struck by the contradiction: upholding the strength and relevance of sociology while taking aw…

In her letter, Sadia Saeed writes of her "deep disappointment" that our organization refuses to live up to its mission of "positive social change" explaining "The proposed petition asking for a boycott of Israeli institutions is a very small step in this direction."

Sociologists for Palestine have asked members to send us the letters they have written to @asanews.bsky.social.

We are sharing them here as evidence of how unpopular this decision is with the ASA membership.

Please amplify this thread & any letters that resonate with your position.

Sociologists for Palestine is on Bluesky!
You know this means business.

Follow & amplify! Let's go!

In response to the email I recieved as a member of @asanews.bsky.social, we could be unified against genocide and istead ASA leadership is using the ruse of unity to protect the status quo! www.sociologistsforpalestine.org/resolutions

Gratitude for Pushing Back Against the Activist Tide Also yesterday, my friend and coauthor Shelley Correll, the president of the American Sociological Association, made a bold stand (together with the executive director Heather Washington and ASA Council) against a BDS petition that had been circulating among ASA members. Given my despair over the 2024 ceasefire petition and its aftermath, you can imagine my appreciation for Shelley and her colleagues' leadership. More generally, I hope this is a sign that the tide is turning and that ASA will turn the tide against our beloved discipline becoming a left-wing activist organization rather than one that promotes sociology's capacity to identify and verify deep, hard-to-discern truths about the social world, whatever their political implications.

Of course some people love ASA’s decision.

With friends like these … 👀

We are appalled at this undemocratic action. More on collective response coming soon.

In the meantime, follow us for updates. If you sent ASA a response tag us & we'll amplify.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, send it to us on our email (in bio) & we'll share it here.

Together we will win 🇵🇸