No to BDS at the MLA

In June of 2019, Louisiana became one of 38 states that have laws against the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) Movement, which targets Israel in language that clearly harkens back to antisemitic tropes. Those who support BDS claim that boycotting Israel is an act of free speech, and that if a company, or an academic organization, declares that Israelis are a uniquely horrible people, they can say this and face no consequences. Louisiana and 37 other states, which include Texas but also New York and California, see things differently. In standing up against the BDS Movement, Louisiana counters that even free speech has some consequences when it crosses over into discrimination, and while a company or an academic organization may have the right to hate Jews as its policy or brand identity, the states also have a right to refuse to contract with them.

The MLA (Modern Language Association) is the largest professional society that represents scholars in the fields of languages and literatures. This January it is holding its annual convention in New Orleans (January 9-12). A handful of members, including especially Judith Butler, a former president of the MLA who declared that “Hamas should be viewed as a progressive organization,” are pressing the entire organization to make statements in vitriolic opposition to the State of Israel and to the MLA’s own Israeli members, thus discriminating against them on the basis of national identity. They have tried this before – indeed it is a case of repeated harassment and bullying – and they lost anti-Israel efforts several times (in 2014, 2017 and 2024). Still, they are determined to keep trying. Why? Because the MLA is a very big and important academic organization. If they win their BDS bid, they can then hold it up as an encouraging example to other BDSers. They use every gain to push harder to exclude Israeli scholars, students and universities from American academic life.

Part of the reason that the MLA is so big is that it derives a large amount of its revenues from subscription services paid for by public universities such as the UL Lafayette and Louisiana State University, who receive much of their budget from the people of Louisiana. If the MLA pursues nefarious goals counterproductive to its mission and mandate, perhaps this public funding that currently goes to the MLA might be better spent to support Louisiana’s higher education in more productive and benign ways. We have all witnessed how antisemitism has unfortunately flourished within several institutions and organizations of higher learning over the past years. For a vocal minority of their members, the demonization of Jews and the Jewish state has once again become a badge of (dis)honor.

Those who plan to advocate for BDS in New Orleans this January 9-12 do not believe that the State of Louisiana will follow through on its own law. They think that the state is not paying attention to what goes on at an academic conference.

Up to this point, the Executive Council of the MLA has resisted the pressure to take the organization in an antisemitic direction. We strongly support the Executive Council in this effort, and we thank the state of Louisiana for taking a stand against BDS. The bullying and discrimination that has pervaded this and other organizations is immoral and counterproductive. No one should allow the MLA to become an organization that advances a hatred of Jews.

Michael Saenger, Professor of English, Southwestern University
Yael Halevi-Wise, Associate Professor, McGill University
Peter C. Herman, Professor of English, San Diego State University
Cary Nelson, Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Russell A Berman, Professor of German, Stanford University, Former President of the MLA
Sara R. Horowitz, Professor of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, York University, Canada
Monique Rodrigues Balbuena, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Comparative Literature, University of Oregon