Policies

In addition to the by-laws of the NSMES, the Board from time to time determines policies that cover lesser matters not covered by the by-laws. The current policies are:

1. Reimbursement of Board expenses

When possible board meetings should be held in conjunction with other arrangements already payed for; if possible the host institution should pay. Those who cannot find funding for travel and accommodation will be reimbursed. This is a temporary policy that we will revisit later. Board dinners should be payed for by NSMES (Copenhagen, 2018).

2. Adoption of BDS

At its general assembly on 27 September 2025, the members of NSMES voted in favour of a motion to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israeli institutions, following the PACBI guidelines. The full text of the motion reads:

Motion for the Nordic Society for Middle Eastern Studies (NSMES) to Endorse a Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions

Considering the Israeli State’s systematic annexation and colonization of Palestinian lands, violations of Palestinians’ human rights, blockade of the Gaza Strip apartheid policies, as well as likely genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza, according to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court;

Considering Israeli universities’ active contribution to military occupation, apartheid policies, surveillance, and settler expansion by providing direct assistance to the Israeli military, intelligence establishment and arms industries, including through the undue use of anthropological frameworks and methods;

Considering Israel’s systematic suppression of Palestinian academic freedom through movement restrictions, censorship, as well as the obliteration of students, staff and educational infrastructure in Gaza, characterized as ‘scholasticide’ by international law experts;

Considering that, in April 2004, 175 Palestinian civil society organizations called for an academic boycott of Israel as part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which builds non-violent pressure on Israel to comply with international law and respect Palestinian rights;

Considering that this academic boycott involves ending all formal collaborations with institutions complicit in Israeli apartheid, genocide, and the oppression of Palestinians, while pledging to avoid forming new such ties, and that it targets Israeli academic institutions, not individual scholars, in accordance with PACBI guidelines;

Considering that the academic boycott of Israel was endorsed by the by British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRIMES) June 2019, by Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) March 2022, American Anthropological Association (AAA) in March 2023 and the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) in November 2024; Swedish Association of Social Anthropologists in April 2025.

Considering our professional knowledge of the Middle East and our ethical commitments to “do no harm”, take a stand on behalf of individuals and groups who are subject to Human Rights violations, and contribute to redressing histories of colonization, oppression, and exploitation;

Considering that adopting the motion supports scholars and students in Israel and Palestine whose academic freedom is obstructed by the Israeli State, as well as the many scholars worldwide who face professional risks for advocating Palestinian rights;

Be it resolved, that NSMES:

1. endorses the call to boycott Israeli academic institutions until these institutions end their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law, urging its members to advocate for this measure at their home departments and universities.

2. encourages its members to build ties with Palestinian universities and colleagues to promote the development of Middle Eastern Studies as an independent and free discipline.