The College Fix

Group’s leadership now accused of ‘pandering to the political class’

The American Historical Association’s executive council has vetoed a resolution condemning the destruction of educational institutions in Gaza in an 11-4 vote, as it “lies outside the scope of the association’s mission and purpose.”

The resolution had criticized the U.S. government for funding Israel, stating it “has supplied Israel with the weapons being used to commit this scholasticide” and Israel “has effectively obliterated Gaza’s education system,” Inside Higher Ed reported.

The recent decision comes after the measure was previously approved at the group’s annual convention earlier this month with a decisive 428-to-88 vote, The College Fix previously reported.

The association’s 16-member executive council had the option to either approve the resolution or hold a vote with its 10,450 members.

In a statement, the AHA explained it rejected the resolution because it violated the organization’s constitution and bylaws. According to the organization’s constitution, the group is dedicated to activities that directly support and correlate to history, such as encouraging research, teaching, and publication, preserving historical records, sharing historical knowledge with the public, and engaging in activities that benefit historical studies.

By this reasoning, the AHA council deemed the resolution, which involves condemning U.S. funding to Israel and advocating for rebuilding Gaza’s educational system, as outside the scope of its mission.

Historians for Palestine condemned the decision, accusing AHA of “pandering to the political class.”

“The AHA is our organization. We urge historians to recognize this anti-democratic silencing as complicity in scholasticide,” the group said, according to Democracy Now.

Founder of Historians for Peace and Democracy Van Gosse, the author of the rejected resolution, said “we are extremely shocked by this decision, and disappointed.”

“It overturns the democratic decision at that huge [conference] business meeting and the landslide vote,” he said.

However, Anne Hyde (pictured), “a council member and a University of Oklahoma history professor, said she voted to veto ‘to protect the AHA’s reputation as an unbiased historical actor,’” Inside Higher Ed reported.

The war in Gaza “is not settled history, so we’re not clear what happened or who to blame or when it began even, so it isn’t something that a professional organization should be commenting on yet,” she said.

MORE: Erasing history: American leaders, artifacts removed from campuses in 2024

IMAGE: Nicholas D. Chabraja Center for Historical Studies/Youtube

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