"New motions to boycott Israeli academics were passed on Friday at the annual meeting of the Association of University Teachers in the UK. The AUT voted to pass two of three motions directed against individual universities and to boycott Haifa University and Bar Ilan University.
The AUT accused Haifa University of restricting the academic freedom of staff members who are critical of the government, and protest Bar Ilan's campus in the settlement Ariel in the West Bank"
Why Haifa University? - "Why, then, were we singled out by the AUT for an unprecedented boycott? I would argue that we were awarded this crown of thorns precisely because we represent the most positive aspects of Israeli society. Our accomplishments in Jewish-Arab reconciliation and inter-faith dialogue are anathema to a small group of well-organised campaigners who seek to delegitimise the state of Israel through the vilification of its success stories. Such smear campaigns are not new to us, but we were taken by surprise when the AUT council cavalierly passed the boycott motion without requesting our response, and without allowing our position to be presented by members of the AUT who are familiar with the facts. In contradistinction to the British sense of fair play, we were denied due process and assumed guilty until proved otherwise."
"The ultimate casualty of politically motivated attacks on the academic activities of our scholars is academic freedom itself, as well as the universal principle that is the mainstay of all scholarly pursuit: non-discrimination against any person by reason of social origin, gender, race, religion, nationality or political views. The boycott, as part of a larger campaign to ostracise Israel's academia, exemplifies the very faults it purports to condemn."
Scotland AUT condemns British AUT boycott against Israel - "Alistair Hunt, president of Scotland AUT, told The Jerusalem Post that the motion should be seen as an anti-boycott measure, and called into question the manner in which boycotts against the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University were passed."
Palestinian condemns AUT boycott against Israel- "Palestinian professor Sari Nusseibeh, who last week urged an end to an academic boycott of Israeli universities by Britain's Association of University Teachers, is under attack by many Palestinians who are calling for his dismissal from his job as president of Al-Quds University."
Oxford, Cambridge, and Warwick strengthen opposition to AUT boycott against Israel
"At least three British universities will oppose the boycott imposed by the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) on Haifa University and Bar-Ilan University in April, according to sources at the schools."
The Story of Ilan Pappe
This was the AUT's original excuse for starting the boycott
Opposition to AUT boycott increasing-
"Britain's Association of University Teachers (AUT) voted to rescind boycott motions against Haifa and Bar-Ilan Universities on Thursday, in an emergency session called by AUT members opposed to the targeting of Israeli institutions for sanctions.
AUT members leaving the conference expressed their pleasure with the outcome, and said that the decision to overturn the boycotts represented the will of the majority of union members."
Israeli boycotts revoked-
"After a lengthy debate involving deeply held views on both sides of the argument, AUT’s special council has today voted to revoke all existing boycotts of Israeli institutions"
British Academics try another boycott
Presbyterian Divestment From Israel
Norweigen County Boycotts Israel
Time to Boycott to Boycotters
More Articles on Anti-Israel Activity
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