I want to join my colleagues around the world in urging our colleagues in Britain’s University and College Union (UCU) to reject, swiftly and decisively, the proposed boycott against Israeli scholars and academic institutions.

The UCU members who put forward this reprehensible proposal are seeking to isolate and disenfranchise the entire college and university community in Israel because they disagree with Israeli government policy. This runs counter to everything the international university community holds amongst its highest values, including freedom of expression, respect for divergent views, and academic integrity. I concur with Haifa University President Aaron Ben-Zeev that education is the best way to promote Jewish-Arab coexistence, and this should be the goal of everyone who pursues enlightenment.

The University of California is a strong proponent of collaboration with Israeli universities. We will continue to cooperate with them in an active manner, and we will fight any efforts to disenfranchise Israeli colleagues. The sooner the UCU defeats this incendiary proposal, the sooner we can all turn our focus back to where it belongs on educating our students and generating new knowledge and a new generation to benefit all the citizens of this global community.

Robert Dynes is the President of the Board of Regents for all of the University of California campuses