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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%"><span> </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Dear Colleagues and
Friends,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><br><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I'm writing to invite you to sign an online petition now circulating
among AAA members.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The petition is to allow all AAA members to vote on a change to the AAA
bylaws to prevent any systematic boycotts of any nation's academic institutions
due to their nationality</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">. As you have probably guessed, those who drafted
the petition were prompted to do so </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">by
last spring's vote by 26% of AAA members to boycott Israeli academic
institutions—a vote that produced an AAA-wide policy now in place for the
organization, despite only a quarter of the membership having voted in favor of
it. However, the current petition</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> does not mention Israel nor any other
nation, but rather is meant as a broader policy. No matter your thoughts about
the current crisis in the Mid-East, this by-law is based on the general
principle that it’s counterproductive and wrong to punish fellow academics for
what their government is doing.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For this new resolution to be put to a vote by the full AAA membership, 250
current AAA members are needed to sign. (Around 200 have already done so.) If
the logic of the proposed new by-law makes sense to you as a general guiding
principle for the AAA—or if you believe that all members should have the chance
to indicate whether or not they believe it makes sense--please consider signing
the petition online. If you sign it <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPALxzTPs_5EQRH8-sBUDvokMn2PGBtNsTe3AW97dmygcW4Q/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">here</span></a>, your name will be
publicly visible to any who sign the petition (you can also see the signatories
after you sign); if you sign it <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSehrThck9qSkB-qKhWglu74gbGmZEmXAuxTmxHzijpFc8hpsA/viewform?usp=sf_link" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">here</span></a>, your name will not be
visible publicly, only recorded as Anonymous (the AAA Executive Board would see
your name, in order to verify your AAA membership status). Clicking either
link will give you access to a fuller discussion of the thinking behind the
proposed by-law change, whether or not you decide to sign.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Please note, again, that the proposed new by-law makes no mention of any
specific country, and also that the current petition is not to make the by-law change
now but rather to give the full AAA membership the opportunity to vote on whether
or not to support such a change. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">All best,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Deborah<span></span></span></p>
<div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font color="#222222" face="times new roman, serif">_____________</font></div><div><font face="times new roman, serif">Deborah Tannen</font></div><div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div><font face="times new roman, serif">Georgetown University</font></div><div><font face="times new roman, serif">202.687.5910</font></div><div><font face="times new roman, serif" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"><a href="http://www.deborahtannen.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.deborahtannen.com</a></font></div></div></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:"times new roman",serif">(<i>she/hers</i>)</span><i><br></i></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>