On Monday, 232 researchers from Morocco and abroad launched a petition urging the International Sociological Association (ISA) to reconsider the program for its fifth World Forum, scheduled to take place in Rabat from July 6 to 11, 2025. Although the ISA has suspended the membership of the Israeli sociological body, three Israeli researchers remain listed as participants. In response, sociologists have stepped up their mobilization efforts and announced a boycott. A group of 232 researchers from Morocco and other countries have launched a petition urging the International Sociological Association (ISA) to reconsider the participation of Israeli speakers at the fifth World Forum, scheduled for July 6–11, at Mohammed V University in Rabat. Released on Monday, the petition threatens a boycott if the planned Israeli presentations proceed. This initiative follows the ISA's decision to suspend the membership of the Israeli Sociological Society (ISS). Speaking to Yabiladi, a coordinator of the campaign in Morocco explained that «the suspension does not automatically cancel the interventions, especially since not all participants are ISS members, and membership is not the main criterion for selecting Forum presentations». In their appeal, the 232 signatories highlight a «deep contradiction in this forum, which adopts 'Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene Era' as its main theme while hosting presentations that appear to whitewash ongoing crimes of extermination [in Palestine, ed.] by promoting narratives at odds with facts, international reports, and rulings concerning the crimes of the Zionist entity». Furthermore, the researchers declare their boycott «due to the participation of Zionist institutions involved, directly or indirectly, in the ongoing war of extermination against Gaza, and the programming of presentations whose summaries seem to promote colonial narratives». The petition echoes recent calls by the Palestinian (PACBI) and Moroccan (MACBI) campaigns for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The signatories accuse the ISA of violating «ethical and scientific standards by putting 'the oppressor and the oppressed' on the same platform». «We call on academic institutions, especially faculty and students, to remain vigilant and condemn any normalization efforts that may infiltrate Moroccan university lecture halls, which have historically denounced and resisted the Zionist entity's historical crimes», they added. A Divided Stance Within the ISA Also interviewed by Yabiladi, the ISA clarified its June 29, 2025 decision stating that, «in its public stance against the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the Association maintains no institutional ties with Israeli public institutions». It added, «We regret that the Israeli Sociological Society has not taken a clear stand condemning the dire situation in Gaza. Reflecting the extreme seriousness of the current crisis, the Executive Committee decided to suspend ISS's collective membership». However, the ISA justifies Israeli researchers' participation in the forum on the basis of «academic freedom». In a statement released on June 26, the association affirmed respect for «civil society's right to express dissent and call for boycotts». «Nonetheless, the ISA remains committed to its core mission: to provide a platform where sociologists—regardless of nationality, institutional affiliation, or political views—can engage in open, critical dialogue». Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Strip has been the scene of what many call genocide. At the upcoming forum, one presentation involves three researchers affiliated with Israeli universities, one of whom labels Hamas a «terrorist organization» and references the «displacement» of Israelis following Hezbollah attacks. In response, the BDS Morocco movement, through MACBI, reminded that «in 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is illegal and constitutes apartheid». MACBI further emphasizes that «UN human rights experts have called for ending academic ties that support the illegal Israeli occupation and apartheid regime in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem». Last week, the secretariat of the progressive wing of professors and researchers within the National Higher Education Union (SNE-Sup) also expressed «deep concern about the implications» of ISA's announcement to allow Israeli researchers to participate.
