The UK branch of SPME has been invited to join the Executive Board of the Fair Play Campaign Group (FPCG). This is a major step forward for SPME-UK, which was formed earlier this year. The FPCG was established by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council in December 2006, and works to coordinate activity against boycotts of Israel, and other anti-Zionist campaigns. The Executive Board consists of representatives of groups such as the British Friends of the Hebrew University (BFHU), the Union of Jewish Students, Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (BICOM), and Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI). As examples of its activities, the FPCG recently has been concerned with the Edinburgh Film Festival’s decision to return a grant from the Israeli Embassy, trades unions motions calling for boycotts of Israel, the potential boycott of settlement goods, etc., and has sought where possible to influence these events.

On 29 June, the coordinators of SPME-UK, Professor Ashley Grossman, Professor of

Neuroendocrinology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts and the School of Medicine, London), a.b.grossman@qmul.ac.uk and Dr Howard Kahn, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour in the Department of Management at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, spmeuk@yahoo.com, attended a meeting of the Executive Board of FPCG as observers and at the next meeting SPME hope to be full members of the FPCG Executive Board.

The fact that SPME-UK will now be working closely with FPCG will mean that we will be able to react quickly to any expressions of anti-Israeli, antisemitic and anti-Zionist behaviour. We will also be able to operate against calls for boycotts, including academic boycotts. SPME will be able to use its resources in the UK and internationally to help the activities of FPCG, while FPCG will be able to assist SPME in many of its endeavours. But we need YOU to provide SPME-UK with as much involvement and support as possible if we are to meet the aims we have set ourselves – to inform, motivate, and encourage academics to use their skills and disciplines on campus, in classrooms and lecture theatres, and in academic publications, to develop effective responses to ideological distortions, including antisemitic, anti-Zionist, and anti-Muslim slanders, that poison debate and work against peace. We need YOU to respond to anti-Israel and antisemitic articles in newspapers, the media, journals, etc., whether in print or on-line. If you encounter any behaviour which you regard as anti-Israeli, etc., then please inform us about it. If you are unable to correct it, then SPME and FPCG will do their best to make a balanced response. We need YOU to keep your eyes and ears open, and to let us know if you come across anything which you believe SPME-UK or the SPME world academic community can deal with. There are at least six major tasks for SPME-UK members: 1) monitor British academic literature for anti-Israelism and antisemitism and publish responses, 2) serve as resources to the community and mentors to students on issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict, 3) monitor British institutions for evidence of anti-Israelism and antisemitism and respond to these, 4) work within existing academic structures to foster more tolerance towards Israel, with programmes as a proactive model, 5) work with international faculty to address issues, and 6) respond to whatever local issues may arise.

We are delighted that SPME-UK is now in solid coalition with anti-boycott allies through the FPCG.