Israeli Sociological Society Suspended by International Body

The International Sociological Association (ISA), founded under the auspices of the United Nations, suspends Israeli counterpart. ISA had previously faced scrutiny for excusing Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack

The International Sociological Association (ISA) has suspended its relationship with the Israeli Sociological Society (ISS), citing its failure to “take a clear position condemning the dramatic situation in Gaza” and, more pointedly, for not explicitly denouncing what the ISA and allied organizations describe as “genocide.”

The decision, made by the ISA Executive Committee, appears to sidestep both the ISS’s independent status as a nongovernmental nonprofit organization and its long record of outspoken criticism of Israeli government policy, raising questions about the motivations and consistency behind the ISA’s actions. The move comes as the ISA faces backlash for issuing statements in support of the Iranian government and its proxies.

The ISA’s Decision and Its Rationale

On June 29, 2025, the ISA Executive Committee announced it would suspend the ISS’s collective membership, stating, “as part of its public stance against the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, it has no institutional relationships with Israeli public institutions.” The ISA justified the suspension by expressing regret that the ISS “has not taken a clear position condemning the dramatic situation in Gaza.”

However, the ISS is not an Israeli public institution. It is a nonprofit professional association, independent of the Israeli government, and has long been critical of Israeli state policies.

The ISA’s decision, according to critics, reflects a broader trend in international academia, where demands for unequivocal uniformity of thought have escalated since the outbreak of the Gaza war, even amongst entities that are already critical of the Israeli government.

ISA: From UNESCO Roots to Anti-Israel Bias

Founded in 1949 under the auspices of UNESCO, the ISA was established to advance sociological knowledge, promote democracy, and foster international dialogue among sociologists. However, recent ISA statements have reflected a pattern of strong criticism directed at Israel and its allies. In June 2025, The ISA released a statement which condemned U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran’s nuclear facilities and ballistic missile arsenal:

“The ISA expresses its deep concern over the escalating military aggression carried out by the governments of Israel and the United States against Iran, which has affected the lives of ordinary citizens of Iran. These actions represent a violation of international law.”

Credit: ISA

Additionally, a statement ISA released in May 2025 criticized Israel’s military actions in Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, without addressing that Israel’s actions were in response to attacks from Iran-backed terror groups, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis.

In July 2024, they released a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire, without mentioning or calling for the release of the hostages.

On October 19th, 2023, just 12 days after the October 7th Hamas-led massacre in Israel, the ISA released a statement in which they appeared to justify the assault, calling for “Well-informed and nuanced debate and a historicized and sociological understanding of the events that have led to the October 2023 atrocities,” and writing that “it is essential for scholars to situate the current war in its broad historical contexts, including those of settler colonialism.” The statement did not directly name Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the other terrorist groups who took part in the October 7th attack.

According to its website, ISA is associated as an NGO with the United Nations (UN) Department of Global Communications and has NGO consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).