343 UK Scholars Pledge Boycott of Israeli Universities
More than 300 scholars affiliated with British academic institutions signed a letter pledging not to cooperate with Israeli academic institutions.
The letter, which was signed by 343 scholars, was set to appear on Tuesday in a full-page ad in The Guardian, according to organizers of the letter of commitment.
“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 ad reads.
The signers declared that they would not “accept invitations to visit Israeli academic institutions; act as referees in any of their processes; participate in conferences funded, organized or sponsored by them, or otherwise cooperate with them.”
But academics wrote that they would, “however, continue to work with our Israeli colleagues in their individual capacities.”
Among the signers are Tom Kibble, a prominent British theoretical physicist at Imperial College London; Timothy Shallice, a past director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, and Iain Borden, former head of the Bartlett School of Architecture.
Ronnie Fraser, director of the Academic Friends of Israel organization, said in a statement that the number of signers represents less than a quarter of 1 percent of the 194,245 academics working in the United Kingdom, which he said constituted a “statistically insignificant minority.”
Simon Johnson, chief executive of Britain’s Jewish Leadership Council, accused the signers of employing double standards.
“These academics should realize that boycotts are divisive and discriminatory and do nothing to advance peace or improve the lives of Palestinians,” he wrote in a statement Monday.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
