For years now the debate whether the actions or words of people speaking out about Israel's policies towards Palestinians are anti-semitic or anti-Israel have raged around the world. Academics, in particulars, have sought to impose sanctions in various ways against Israeli colleagues.
The NY Times reports today:
"Two days before British academics were to vote on a possible boycott of their Israeli colleagues, the lines sharpened on Saturday as 600 university teachers from Britain, Canada, the United States and Israel came out in opposition to the move while Palestinian and other academics supported it.
The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, Britain's biggest union of college teachers, is to vote Monday on a resolution enjoining its 67,000 members to boycott Israeli colleagues who do not distance themselves from what it calls Israel's "apartheid policies."
There is nothing wrong with academics - or indeed anyone else for that matter - taking a principled stand on a particular issue. But the academics, here, are dead-wrong, hypocritical and engaged in double standards. What about all the other issues which should also ignite indignation and a boycott? Arabs who support suicide-bombers? - just for starters. But even that aside what are individual Israeli's supposed to do? Should American academics be boycotted, in say the UK, because America spear-headed the Iraq War? And what could those academics have done to stop the War in the first place let alone bring it to an end?
This does all rather smack of anti-semitism, however it is dressed up, and not becoming truly engaged in seeking to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.
Read the NYT Times article here.
The NY Times reports today:
"Two days before British academics were to vote on a possible boycott of their Israeli colleagues, the lines sharpened on Saturday as 600 university teachers from Britain, Canada, the United States and Israel came out in opposition to the move while Palestinian and other academics supported it.
The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, Britain's biggest union of college teachers, is to vote Monday on a resolution enjoining its 67,000 members to boycott Israeli colleagues who do not distance themselves from what it calls Israel's "apartheid policies."
There is nothing wrong with academics - or indeed anyone else for that matter - taking a principled stand on a particular issue. But the academics, here, are dead-wrong, hypocritical and engaged in double standards. What about all the other issues which should also ignite indignation and a boycott? Arabs who support suicide-bombers? - just for starters. But even that aside what are individual Israeli's supposed to do? Should American academics be boycotted, in say the UK, because America spear-headed the Iraq War? And what could those academics have done to stop the War in the first place let alone bring it to an end?
This does all rather smack of anti-semitism, however it is dressed up, and not becoming truly engaged in seeking to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.
Read the NYT Times article here.
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