ISRAELI ACADEMICS FACE U.K. BOYCOTT
Israeli academics may face UK boycott.
Israeli academics who refuse to condemn the government’s actions in Palestinian territories risk a boycott by the UK’s leading lecturers’ union, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, The Association of University Teachers’ annual council scheduled to meet April 20th, will, among other things, debate a proposal to boycott the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in addition to the Tel Aviv University and Haifa University, which, according to a claim, do not condemn Israel’s policies in the territories. The proposal states that the boycott excludes “conscientious Israeli academics and intellectuals opposed to their state’s colonial and racist policies”.
Sue Blackwell, a lecturer at Birmingham University and one of the authors of the motion, said: “We are now better organised. One of the reasons we didn’t win last time was that there was no clear public call from Palestinians for the boycott. Now we have that, in writing.”
Gargi Bhattacharyya, executive member and president-elect of the AUT, said: “I will be supporting the call for the boycott. Things aren’t getting better there for our [Palestinian] academic colleagues, they are saying the internationally emotional pressure is an important and a peaceful way for us to support them.
”I think within the sector there is a lot of concern about what’s happening in Palestine and a huge concern that the Palestinian education structure has been destroyed. Potentially there’s a lot of support," he said.
The Guardian also reveals new evidence that British academics are turning down offers to work with big research organizations in Israel, citing their objection to the government’s policies.
2 comments:
Maybe in lieu of exchanging with and accessing ideas and research of Jewish academics, these giant British intellectuals should look to all of the great academics of the Arab institutions of higher learning. Indeed, given the plethora of Palestinian Nobel prize winners in science,literature, etc, these British Jew-haters certainly won't have to spend a lot of time determining whom they should invite to their universities.
Maybe in lieu of exchanging with and accessing ideas and research of Jewish academics, these giant British intellectuals should look to all of the great academics of the Arab institutions of higher learning. Indeed, given the plethora of Palestinian Nobel prize winners in science,literature, etc, these British Jew-haters certainly won't have to spend a lot of time determining whom they should invite to their universities.
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