Reporting on the letter, the Jewish Chronicle said that the signatories
come from 72 institutions, including the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge
universities.
“As scholars associated with British universities, we are deeply
disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable
human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian
people and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement,”
the academics write in the letter.
The signatories of the letter undertake to reject invitations to visit
Israeli academic institutions, to refuse to act as academic referees and to
stay away from all conferences “funded, organized or sponsored” by
Israeli institutions.
However, they say that they will continue to work with their Israeli
colleagues “in their individual capacities.”
The letter follows the launch last week of a pro-Israel initiative
backed by 150 writers, artists and musicians, including Harry Potter author JK
Rowling. That initiative opposes boycotts of Israel.
The Jewish Chronicle quoted Professor Jane Hardy of the University of
Hertfordshire as saying: “This is an opportunity for academics to add their
voices to the growing international movement to hold Israel accountable for its
human rights abuses and specifically the deprivation of opportunity for our
Palestinian colleagues to participate in the global academic community.
“The commitment does not call for the termination of links with
individual colleagues nor the end of dialogue, rather it is a boycott of
institutions directly or indirectly complicit in the systematic and illegal
occupation of Palestine.”
Dr Rachel Cohen of London’s City University is quoted as saying that
“it is the responsibility of those of us who have the freedom to act to
exercise that freedom in support of our colleagues in Palestinian universities
who do not have such freedom.”
While Israel presents itself as an enlightened funder of academic
pursuits, Cohen said, it ” systematically denies Palestinian academics and
students their basic freedoms, such as the freedom of movement necessary to attend
international academic conferences, or simply to get to lectures on time.”
