The American Studies Association (ASA) made headlines last year for endorsing a boycott of Israel and then retreating from its position. It recently elected a BDS supporter as its president, and three additional supporters as members of its four-person governing council. They include Steven Salaita, whose blatantly anti-Israel pronouncements cost him a job at the University of Illinois. David Bernstein comments:
It would hardly be surprising for the ASA to stand up for Salaita on academic freedom or free-speech grounds (even though Salaita himself is an opponent of academic freedom when it comes to supporting Israel); but electing him to a leadership position signifies a tacit endorsement of his incendiary rhetoric in general and his Judeophobic sentiments in particular, which puts the ASA out beyond the ordinary lunatic fringe and into the racist lunatic fringe.
Read more on Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/03/16/the-american-studies-association-doubles-down-on-anti-israel-lunacy/