Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brina Zagorc

@brinazagorc.bsky.social

Bioarchaeologist and Research Associate at Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU)
aDNA, osteology, stable isotopes, funerary archaeology 👍😍

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Brina Zagorc

Dr Alex Fitzpatrick

@animalarchaeology.com

🏺 Call to action from Archaeologists Against Apartheid for all those concerned about what has happened at #EAA2025 (with alt-text). Please see the post below for the link to the letter which includes other links to resources for action.

Part 1 of an open letter from Archaeologists Against Apartheid:
“September 3rd 2025

Dear colleagues,
As many of you may be aware, the EAA recently decided to cease institutional ties with Israel, with the most direct impact being that attendants of the current EAA Belgrade congress were refused participation under affiliation with an Israeli institution, be it government body or university. This was a measure in line with EAA policy (see their same stance on Russia, announced in 2022), and a moderate action in response to Israel's ongoing genocide. A more appropriate response would have included removal of scholars from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an institute partially built on land illegally expropriated from Palestinians in East Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law and in breach of the legal requirements of the ICJ ruling on the illegality of Israel's military occupation. Scholars at the HUJ are knowingly participating in a war crime and therefore, to avoid complicity, cannot be welcomed at international congresses, in the same way scholars from Ariel University have been excluded.

Despite not fully meeting AAA's demands, we welcomed the EAA Executive Board's first steps in taking appropriate measures to avoid institutional complicity in Israel's war crimes, and thank those members of the board who voted in favour of the measure.

Unfortunately, following the announcement and implementation of the resolution, an orchestrated campaign was launched with the express aim of slandering, bullying and intimidating the Executive Board into reversing this democratic and ethical decision.

The EAA president, in her complicity, allowed a revote in order to reverse the motion.

We condemn this move, and her actions. Her role in the undoing of the Executive Board's democratic decision—as well as the undoing of EAA's credibility within the archaeological discipline—will not be forgotten.”

Part 2 of an open letter from Archaeologists Against Apartheid:

“The balance now lies in how we as a community respond to this insult to our intelligence, attack on our characters and principles, and undermining of our
democratic institutions. Archaeologists Against Apartheid, including members of both the EAA and the global archaeological community, as a collective of archaeologists of conscience responding to an ongoing genocide, we are more committed than ever to holding our representative organisations to account, to organising and educating ourselves as an archaeological community, and to fighting anti-democratic influences on our discipline.

In order to do the same, we are calling on you all to take the following steps…”

Part 3 of an open letter from Archaeologists Against Apartheid:

“1. Use your voice!

Email the EAA executive board members, challenging the reversal of a perfectly democratic and legal decision to remove Israeli affiliations from the program and presentations, and expressing solidarity with those board members who have suffered personal attacks and intimidation for their principled stance on firstly, showing solidarity with Palestinians, and secondly, refusing to legitimise Israel's ongoing war crimes.

Email addresses can be found here, please keep your correspondence civil and non-aggressive. When you are on the right side of history, you do not need to use intimidation
and aggression.

2. Call for resignations; there is no place for antidemocratic bullying in a representative professional organisation!
Attend the EAA business meeting this Friday, September 5th (18:30-20:00 CET), express your support for the original non-collaboration motion, solidarity with those colleagues who have been attacked for their principled stance, and no-confidence in the president and any board members who forced a revote on the resolution.

3. Peacefully disrupt and denounce the EAA congress!

Attend the congress and use any means necessary to peacefully protest this decision and the inclusion of Israeli institutional affiliations in the schedule and platforming of scholars knowingly participating in a war crime. Use the hashtag #eaa2025 to let everyone know about the EAA's complicity. Comment on the social media posts they continue to post, projecting normality in the face of this scandalous irregularity in democratic procedures.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any concerns. And continue signing the open letter to the EAA, this also adds you to our mailing list, keeping you up-to-date with future developments and actions.

In solidarity and with conviction,
AAA”

September 3, 2025 at 6:19 PM

Reposted by Brina Zagorc

The Black Trowel Collective

@blacktrowel.bsky.social

📢 CALL TO ACTION | EAA Leadership Overturns Democratic Vote Following Threats

Intimidation tactics forced the EAA to abandon solidarity with Gaza.

Archaeologists:
Cancel membership | Speak up | Share

Full statement: blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com/2025/09/02/b...

#EAA2025 #Archaeology #Gaza