On Oct. 1, a letter written by anthropologists calling for the boycott of Israel and its academic institutions was released on jadaliyya.com. When first posted, the letter had been signed by 231 anthropologists. As of Wednesday night, a week later, over 470 additional anthropologists signed on to the letter, two of whom are employees of Washington University. Bret Gustafson, an associate professor of sociocultural anthropology, and Maryam Kashani, a postdoctoral research associate at the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics endorsed the letter that can be found at anthroboycott.wordpress.com.

Last December, after the American Studies Association passed a resolution for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, Chancellor Mark Wrighton rejected the boycott, writing, “Washington University is deeply troubled and dismayed that the American Studies Association, among others, has engaged in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. We believe strongly that a boycott of academic institutions directly violates academic freedom, which is not only one of our university’s fundamental principles but one of American higher education in general. This boycott clearly violates the academic freedom not only of Israeli scholars but also of American scholars who might be pressured to comply with it.”

Chancellor Wrighton also endorsed the Association of American Universities’ statement rejecting the American Studies Association’s boycott.

Legitimate criticism of any country, including Israel and the United States, is justified. The vibrant democracy that Americans and Israelis share is what binds us closely together. Every nation has policies that should be challenged, but holding one country to a higher standard is not legitimate criticism. A call for an academic boycott of Israel, the only free democracy in the Middle East, perpetuates an anti-Semitic double standard.

Gustafson and Kashani’s letter specifically condemns only one country in the world—the Jewish state. The signatories say they are “committed to the promotion and protection of the right of people and peoples everywhere to the full realization of their humanity.” Ironically, their endorsement works to do the opposite by preventing academic freedom, denying study abroad opportunities and cutting research partnerships between American and Israeli universities.

The PET scan, critical to the diagnosis of cancer, was almost abandoned due to the scarcity of short-lived radioactive isotopes, which are required for PET imaging. Professor Michael Welch of Washington University and Professor Shlomo Rozen of Tel Aviv University worked together to synthesize acetyl hypofluorite, which made PET scanning possible.

Their isotope was used for 15 years before another safe and effective isotope could be synthesized. More recently, Wash. U. and a number of Israeli universities have collaborated to progress green energy, develop techniques used to identify breast cancer and manage the population of endangered species.

Wash. U. promotes diversity and inclusivity for all races, religions, genders and sexual orientations. These boycotters have abused their credibility as educators at our University to promote a biased and anti-Semitic agenda. I recommend that the Wash. U. community denounce the statements made by Gustafson and Kashani and continue to stand with those who uphold academic freedom and oppose discrimination.