Pete suggests

Email registration

Free weekly email update

Great products and special offers for Spectator readers

Click here for great value events

Click here for exclusive articles, offers, tasting notes and discussion

Boycotts

Friday, 1st June 2007

Once you start down the boycott route, all sorts of unforeseen consequences emerge:

An American research foundation announced on Thursday that following the decision of the British University and College Union (UCU) to consider launching an academic boycott of Israel it has cancelled its plans to open a grant application process for UK researchers.
The $150 million Goldhirsh foundation supports scientists around the world in the quest for a cure for brain cancer funds research.
In a letter to British academic institutions, foundation leader Elizabeth Goldhirsh writes: " As a director of a $150 million foundation that supports scientists around the world in the quest for a cure for brain cancer, I am profoundly disappointed in your union's decision to boycott Israel today. This action represents a severe setback for academic freedom and open discourse. Moreover, the decision to single out and demonize Israel above and beyond all other countries - remaining silent over Russia's brutal occupation in Chechnya, for example, or China's ongoing oppression of Tibet - is, at best, troubling. At worst, it points to a far more sinister and tragic motivation. Equally disturbing is to do so at a time when Israel's civilians are facing near-daily missile attacks from Gaza and her partner for negotiations is an organization that dispatches suicide bombers and refuses to recognize the Jewish State's right to exist. Given this decision, I am deeply saddened to say that while my foundation had been considering opening up our scientific grant process to British researchers we will no longer be able to do so. I urge you to work against this boycott and restore learning's highest ideal of fairness free of prejudice to British academia."

Meanwhile, the response from our higher education minister, Bill Rammell, has been, well...pathetic:

I profoundly believe this does nothing to promote the Middle East peace process.

It maybe that I am doing him a disservice and he has come out with a stronger statement against the boycott. But I can't find one anywhere. In which case, his response is simply shameful. Is the most powerful thing he can think of to say against the vote that it won't promote peace? How about calling the vote what it is: a despicable act of racism and a repudiation of all that the word 'university' should mean.

One Middle Eastern academic understands this. Here's Dr Sari Nusseibeh, President of al- Quds University:

The free flow of science and information, far more than traditional military methods to preempt conflicts, constitutes in my view a powerful force against war. It is also, far more than the free flow of trade between nations, a powerful tool for equal- opportunity human- development.
...[A]n international academic boycott of Israel, on pro Palestinian grounds, is self- defeating: it would only succeed in weakening that strategically important bridge through which the state of war between Israelis and Palestinians could be ended, and Palestinian rights could therefore be restored. Instead of burning that bridge the international academy should do everything within its power to strengthen it, including, foremost, through its own collaborative intervention.

Previous Back to Stephen Pollard Next

Blogs: Clive Davis | Melanie Phillips | Americano | Coffee House | Trading Floor

Actions: Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (3)

Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Anne K

June 1st, 2007 10:22am

There is a saying in Hebrew "hasina mekalkelet et hashura" which means roughly "hatred makes things crooked"; in ohter words, hatred blinds. This is the only explanation for the boycott and the endless other boycott calls from assorted British institutions. It is also a peculiarly British affliction. I haven't noticed (unless I missed something) other countries' institutions instituting boycotts of Israel.

Jeremy Jacobs

June 1st, 2007 10:41am

Stephen, I think we all know why this is happening right now. The "Alan Johnston" episode will further cloud next weeks 40th anniversary celebrations of the re-unification of Jerusalem. Anne, loved your point about other countries.

Tony Sharp

June 1st, 2007 5:43pm

The UCU is getting quite belligerent of late. There is this irritatingly regular swipe at Israel while completely ignoring genuine abuses in places such as China, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. But the UCU has shown double standards (or should that be hypocrisy?) over who should be allowed a platform to talk on campus.