Worrisome News

[eumelia]

This I find worrisome.
My appreciation of things British is lessening as the days go by, because friends, a boycott of this nature does nothing but create worse conditions in Israel for people wanting higher education.

What good, really? What good would a sweeping boycott of Israeli scholars do to help with the conflict?
What would boycotting apolitical educational institutions accomplish? Other than lower the academic standards of Universities which are slipping anyway?

Dear British Academia,

If you want to help with Israeli-Palestinian conflict, come here, seriously, come here and teach and research and bring revenue into Israeli AND Palestinians Universities.
If you feel so strongly that Israel is to blame in everything wrong in Palestine (which it isn't if you bothered to read or watch the news beyond the Guardian), please, go into Gaza and the West Bank and help raise the standard of living and of education.
How about petitioning your government to boycott Arms dealing with Israel, oh but no, that's a little over your head isn't it, it isn't "micro" enough.

Seriously.

Now, I'm not one to cut myself or Israel any slack when it comes to responsibility in the Occupied Territories, but please this is just ridiculous and spiteful and ultimately it can only do harm to everyone involved.
And if you're going to boycott, how about boycotting against things that are actually hurtful to Palestinians, like goods made in Jewish Settelemnts beyind the green line.
Boycotting academics does nothing but hurt academics and nothing to help those who the Israeli Government and Army are hurting.

Israeli professors visit U.K. to discuss academic boycott by Assaf Uni
BRIGHTON, England - 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 cooperation with them should be boycotted," declared Tom Hickey, one of the Britons. "Israel commits terrible, exceptional crimes in the occupied territories."
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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.

See interview in Anglo File section

"In practice, our work has just begun," said Ofir Frankel, who coordinates the activities of Bar-Ilan's International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom. "If we manage to thwart the proposed boycott at the conference at the end of the month, that would be wonderful, but our goals are designed for the longer-term. We want to influence public opinion among British academics and provide them with a true picture of Israeli academe."

"Over the last year, you can sense that Israeli academe has united behind our goal," she continued, adding that she plans to attend the conference with a group of Palestinian students who study at Israeli universities, and they will present their work at the same booth.

At the Brighton meeting, Professor Zvi Hacohen of Ben-Gurion University, a senior official in Israel's lecturers' union, presented two arguments against the boycott: "First, there is widespread cooperation between our universities and Palestinian and Jordanian universities; the proposed boycott will damage this cooperation. Additionally, you must understand that Israeli institutions and universities are not political organizations, and they have no influence over the policies of the government or the parties."

But the British academics were not impressed. "My belief that we need to work for a boycott was only strengthened," said one, Bob Brecher. "The very fact that this delegation came here shows that the academic establishment in Israel is central and influential."

From Brighton, the Israelis proceeded to Birmingham and Manchester to meet undecided voters; they also met with British parliamentarians.

And just as a footnote: Lest we forget that the Palestinians hurt and kill each other (Fatah and Hamas) just fine and that they (the Hamas Al-Quasam unit) provoke Israel so that the world can ignore that oh so little fact.

Open your eyes. A conflict can never be one sided, if it was it would be an assault. There is a weaker side and stronger side, but ultimately there are two sides and both must held accountable.

In addition, the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.

וכמו כן, צריך לעצור את רצח העם בדרפור.

Comments

[mizzpyx.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. The boycott.

That's a big deal over here- I've had lots of people try and convince me to boycott Israeli goods and support the boycott of Israeli universities/etc.

Personally, I think it's pointless. And it gets at the wrong people. While I think that some things which the Israeli government and army are doing are inexcusable, I fail to see the connection between protesting that- loudly and vocally- and boycotting completely random Israeli goods. I can't see what the average Israeli farmer, or academic, is doing to harm anyone, simply by being Israeli. I feel that, the same way that I am largely powerless to prevent my government, for example, refueling American airplanes on their way to Guantanamo and should not be held responsible simply because of my nationality, the same standards should be upheld for people of other countries.
I think that boycotts like this hurt the wrong people.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Boycotting goods made beyond the green lines by the settlers using Palestinian land is one thing.
To sweepingly destroy my possible academic future (because I'd like to study and work in the UK at some point) simply because my nationality is an issue.
It's really sickening, because I don't see people boycotting China (where the majority of ANYTHING is produced) and their human rights record ain't that much better than Israel's.

I hate this double standard.