There are many professors and scholars of Italian origin among the anthropologists who promote the boycott of the State of Israel: Silvia Posocco and Thomas Sbriccoli (London University), Mara Benadusi (University of Catania), Alessia Prioletta (University of Pisa), Riccardo Putti (University of 
13 pro-boycott signatures come from Columbia University, 9 from Harvard and 8 from Yale.
Siena), Simona Taliani and Alejandra Carreño (University of Turin), Angela Zito (New York University).
13 pro-boycott signatures come from Columbia University, 9 from Harvard and 8 from Yale. There are Jean and John Comaroff of Harvard, the famous scholars of post-colonial Africa, and Michael Taussig from Columbia.
In January, the American Studies Association officially began boycotting Israel, then hundreds of librarians from Western universities joined the BDS movement, and finally the Royal Institute of British Architects invited the International Union of Architects to suspend its cooperation with Israel.
The goal of the academic boycott is to isolate and destroy Israeli culture, like the British magazine “The Translator” did, under the direction of Mona Baker, editor of the Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. She decided to boycott Israeli academic institutions and “asked” two Israeli scholars, Gideon Toury and Miriam Schlesinger, who were part of the editorial committee of the magazine, to resign.
I stand ashamed that there are so many Italians whose names appear on this black list of hatred. But I am not totally surprised about it. Italian intellectuals have always been ready and willing to denounce the Jews.
Rome, 19 August 1938: Then Minister of Education Giuseppe Bottai sent the presidents of the universities, institutes and cultural associations in Italy a questionnaire whose goal was to take a census of the Jewish identity of academics. The professors and the intellectuals had to declare their own religious affiliation. The survey, sponsored by Bottai, had two purposes. First, to allow the immediate persecution of the Jews. Second, to understand the attitude of the intellectual élite of the country vis a vis the anti-Semitic policy decided on by Mussolini.
Luigi Einaudi, then senator and university professor, but more important, future president of the Italian Republic (1948-1955), filled out the despicable questionnaire and, in the margin, stated: “My membership in the Catholic religion: ab aeterno". From immemorial time.
Norberto Bobbio, maître-à-penser of liberal socialism and anti-fascist guru, filled out the questionnaire on race, writing: “Aryan”.
Concetto Marchesi, a scholar at the University of Padova and leader of the Communist Resistance, penned a short answer: “No Jews in my family”.
Amintore Fanfani, then professor at the Academy of Arezzo and future Prime Minister, filled out: “Always Catholic”.
Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi, scholar at the Georgofili Academy of Florence, went beyond the adherence to Catholicism and wrote: “Descending from Pope Gregory XIII”.
Benedetto Croce, then a leading philosopher, was the only one who refused to fill in the questionnaire. An act of courage. Also because at the end of the census, Jewish professors and intellectuals were exiled or persecuted by the Fascists.
That cowardice and hypocrisy can be seen again today in the boycott of the State of Israel.
I stand ashamed of my Italian fellows. They are a disgrace to my country.
