The University and College Union (UCU) annual conference this month will debate a motion which falls short of a full-blown boycott but asks members to “consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions” in the light of the “humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gaza by Israel”.

Anti-boycott groups claimed it was an attempt to revive the issue after legal advice issued last year suggested a boycott would be discriminatory and illegal.

The issue has dominated the union’s annual conferences since 2002 but its leadership had hoped that the legal advice had laid the issue to rest.

Previous attempts at a boycott have caused international outcries, especially in Israel and the US.

When the union backed a boycott in February 2005, the story hit the front pages in Europe, North America and Asia. The debate raged for several weeks when a delegation of Israeli academics put pressure on the union by touring UK campuses.

The boycott motion in 2005 was subsequently overturned at an emergency conference.

The new move, if backed by the union annual conference, also calls on academics “to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned, including Israeli colleagues with whom they are collaborating”.

The union insists the motion is not a boycott and is in line with its legal advice, which suggests a boycott would be illegal, and that it is simply encouraging free academic debate about the issues.

An amendment being put forward also opposes the boycott, saying: “A boycott of Israeli academic institutions at this time is unlikely to maximise and unify international solidarity.”

A spokesman for Stop the Boycott said it was seeking legal advice about the new motion.