“Your submission was not considered solely on the basis of your current work at and affiliation with Israeli academic institutions… we noticed that you listed Tel Aviv University and Belazel Academy of Arts and Design on your Academia.edu page.”

This is an excerpt from a May 26, 2024, email that an Israeli scholar received from assistant editors of the academic journal Cultural Critique, Alya Ansari and Devon Moore, rejecting a manuscript that he submitted for consideration for publication in the journal. The University of Minnesota Press publishes the journal, and Ansari and Moore list 235 Nicholson Hall and 612-626-8940 as the contact information for the journal.

Ansari and Moore’s email to the Israeli scholar also noted, “We also found records of your teaching fellowships listed independently by both Tel Aviv University and Belazel Academy of Arts and Design.”

What is the basis of the University of Minnesota Press publication’s bias against these academic institutions?

An earlier, terse response to the Israeli scholar’s manuscript submission, signed by a more complete editorial team on May 24, answers the question:

We regret to inform you that we cannot consider your submission for publication due to the journal’s commitment to BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), a Palestinian-led movement] guidelines, which include “withdrawing support from Israel’s… cultural and academic institutions.” (See https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds). We thank you for submitting your work to Cultural Critique, and we hope for better times.

Sincerely,

Cesare Casarino [University of Minnesota Department of Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, [email protected]]

Frieda Ekotto

Maggie Hennefeld [U of M Department of Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, [email protected]]

John Mowitt [U of M faculty emeritus]

Simona Sawhney

Editors

Alya Ansari [U of M Department of Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, [email protected]]

Devon Moore [U of M graduate student in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society, [email protected]]

Assistant Editors

Here is the Israeli scholar’s full response (May 24) to the manuscript rejection:

I am shocked and disappointed by your decision to reject my proposed article manuscript based on “the journal’s commitment to BDS guidelines”. This decision crosses a dangerous line, particularly because, as my bio paragraph made clear, I am not affiliated at the moment with any Israeli institution (if we follow the BDS guidelines). This means that I am being discriminated against for being of Israeli nationality—for being born in Israel and completing my PhD at an Israeli institution. Under the recent cultural atmosphere, I fear that even the BDS principles were dangerously breached by your action.

As scholars, we are acutely aware of the complex relationships we have with our countries and their histories, a sentiment that applies equally to those from the United States, Europe, and beyond. By rejecting my manuscript solely on the basis of my Israeli origin, you are effectively associating me with the actions of my government, a stance that clearly violates the very BDS guidelines you claim to uphold. Censoring Israeli academics does not serve to discourage the Israeli government; on the contrary, it stifles the voices of those who criticize it. While I am ambivalent towards any immediate attempt to conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism, the decision to discriminate against individuals, beyond being simply illegal, is a troubling step in that direction.

Finally, I ask you to take a moment to consider the ramifications of this decision on a collegial and personal level. Consider what it means for a scholar, who struggles under the impossible Israeli reality, resisting the government and fighting to bring it down, to receive such a rejection from their colleagues who share similar values.

The Israeli scholar also wrote a follow-up note on Facebook on May 26:

While I prefer being recognized for my professional work, I am following up on this issue a little longer after receiving Cultural Critique’s unapologetic response. According to them, the paper was rejected not because of my Israeli nationality, but because they could not verify the non-Israeli affiliation mentioned in the bio I sent them. Apparently, Cultural Critique received my bio information, doubted it, and relied on some outdated affiliations found online to reject my submission based on BDS guidelines. They are now suggesting they would reconsider the paper if I provide proof of my non-Israeli affiliation (no thanks). The desire to indulge in the zeitgeist was strong enough that they did not think to ask me for that clarification before.

“This is an egregious abuse of position by the editors of Cultural Critique and the faculty of the Cultural Studies department which hosts the journal,” said Richard Painter, professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota. “The state legislature has by statute banned any entity contracting with the State from participating in a boycott of Israel. The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts has stood by and done nothing while CLA departments violate state and federal law. The United States Department of Education Civil Rights Division is currently investigating this as well as pro-Hamas faculty statements placed on official university websites by three CLA departments. The state legislature should condition further funding of the University on a leadership change in CLA.”

“The reaction of this University of Minnesota publication is absolutely offensive,” said University of Minnesota alumnus Kent Kaiser, Ph.D. “BDS principles run counter to the U of M’s slogan, ‘Driven to Discover,’ and, indeed, undermine the principles and ecosystems required to foster discovery.”

“The Cultural Critique editorial team’s basis for rejecting the manuscript is anti-intellectual, at best, and feels singularly antisemitic,” said Kaiser. “In either case, it’s not a good look for the University of Minnesota, especially with all the antisemitism we have seen on campus over the past several years and especially the past several months.”