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Historians’ Group Votes to Condemn ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza
After contentious debate, members of the American Historical Association voted to condemn what a resolution described as Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s educational system.
Members of the American Historical Association, the country’s largest group of professional historians, approved a resolution on Sunday evening condemning Israel’s military action in Gaza. It argued that the destruction of most of the enclave’s education infrastructure, along with many archives and libraries, amounted to “scholasticide.”
The vote came during the group’s annual meeting, which drew nearly 4,000 of its more than 10,000 members to Manhattan for four days of scholarly panels and discussions. Several members described raucous debate over the measure, which was approved by a vote of 428 to 88, despite signals that it was opposed by some of the group’s senior leadership.
On Monday, the measure moved to the group’s elected council, which under its bylaws can endorse the measure, veto it or decline to concur, which would send it within 90 days to the entire membership for ratification. Later that afternoon, the group’s executive director, James Grossman, said that the group “had a vigorous decision of the resolution, and has postponed a decision on how to act until its next meeting, which will be within a few weeks.”
The resolution’s passage suggested a new phase in the cultural battles over the Israel-Hamas war, which began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the intense Israeli military response that has left much of the enclave in ruins. Fallout has rocked campuses and cultural organizations across the United States, and contributed to the resignations of a number of university presidents.
At the historical association meeting, the vote followed months of organizing by supporters of the resolution, some of whom had been involved in previous failed efforts over the past decade to pass measures critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
The measure, which was introduced by the group Historians for Peace and Democracy, does not demand a boycott of Israeli institutions or scholars. Instead, it calls for a permanent cease-fire, and for the historical association to form a committee “to assist in rebuilding Gaza’s educational infrastructure.”
