NOBEL WINNER CANCELS UK SPEECH TO PROTEST JOURNO BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

Nobel winner cancels UK speech to protest journalist union’s boycott of Israel (HOTAIR)
Not the first time he’s done this sort of thing either. And from the looks of things, it won’t be the last.

[T]oday in a letter to his host at Imperial, Michael Duff, Prof Weinberg said he was withdrawing from the trip.

In the letter, the professor said his decision was triggered by an agreement by the National Union of Journalists at its national conference to boycott Israeli products.

He wrote: “I know that some will say that these boycotts are directed only against Israel, rather than generally against Jews.

“But given the history of the attacks on Israel and the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanation other than anti-semitism.”…

Prof Weinberg said the only other reason he could imagine for the boycott was the NUJ’s “desire to pander to the growing Muslim minority in Britain”.

The motion to boycott was passed last month at the NUJ’s annual meeting along with motions calling for the closing of Gitmo and declaring support for Hugo Chavez. Really? Support for Chavez at a meeting of journalists?

MEANWHILE, BRITISH ACADEMICS ARE MEETING TO CONSIDER ANOTHER BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL.

Israeli, U.K. academics meet to discuss proposed academic boycott (Haaretz)
Two very different groups of academics met at the University of Brighton on Wednesday. On one side of the table were five local representatives of Britain's University and College Union, the sponsors of a resolution proposing an academic boycott of Israel. On the other were four Israeli academics who came to Britain to fight the proposal. They only managed to agree on one issue: Their argument should be conducted politely.

"Israeli universities cooperate with the occupation, and therefore, all coopertion with them should be boycotted," declared Tom Hickey, one of the Britons. "Israel commits terrible, exceptional crimes in the occupied territories."

However, he added that he would be willing to cooperate with any Israeli college that publicly denounced its government's activities.

Dr. Jonathan Rynhold of Bar-Ilan University retorted angrily: "You are imposing standards on Israel, and Israeli academe, that you do not demand of any other country, not even British academe, of which you are a part. And you treat the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as if it were completely one-sided."

"It is one-sided," responded Hickey.

The UCU proposal is part of a growing wave of British initiatives to boycott Israel. These include decisions for an academic boycott approved by the AUT and NATFHE the two lecturers' unions that later merged to form the 120,000-strong UCU in 2005 and 2006, respectively; last month's decision by Britain's National Union of Journalists to boycott Israeli products; the Anglican Church's decision to divest from companies doing business with the Israel Defense Forces; a demand for Israel's expulsion from the World Medical Association by 130 British doctors; and boycott calls by leading British architects.

Though both AUT and NATFHE approved academic boycotts, the decisions became void when the two merged last year. Therefore, Hickey has introduced a new boycott proposal at the UCU's annual conference, which takes place on May 30 and June 1. Among other things, the proposal demands that no more European Union funds reach Israeli universities.

Worried by the growing trend, Israeli academe which largely ignored the early boycott proposals has geared up to fight this one.