SPME Monitoring Reports on Developing British UCU Boycott Proposals of Israel Scholars: Four Reports from UCU, ENGAGE, IAB and AFI

Groups Amassing Data and Developing Strategies for Anticipated Boycott Effort
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SPME is in regular contact and working with over 240 Faculty members in the United Kingdom as well on the ground faculty groups in Israel and the UK working against proposed boycotts by the UCU of Israeli scholars, whether they be silent or public. Here are four preliminary reports on boycott activity from members of the UCU, ENGAGE, IAB and AFI…If you have news about boycott efforts and successful counterboycott efforts, please share them with us at . Thank you.

1) Palestine: Support for British Academic Boycott of Israel Gains: Socialist Review, 9.06 by Phil Marfleet

Phil Marfleet is the branch secretary of UCU at the University of East London. For more information visit www.pacbi.org and www.bricup.org.uk . [SPME Editor’s Note- This information is presented for our readership’s education and information and does not necessarily represent the views of SPME, its members or Board.]

An international campaign for Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel is growing rapidly.

Outrage at Israel’s assault on Lebanon is certain to increase the pace of activity. In Britain university lecturers are spearheading the campaign. In June the national conference of the Natfhe lecturers’ union agreed to encourage all members to consider their relations with Israeli universities. There was overwhelming support for a resolution which called for lecturers to break links with universities known to be involved.

This policy is now up for discussion in the newly formed University and College Union (UCU) and will be the subject of fierce debate on scores of campuses. This provides an opportunity for discussion of issues that many partisans of Israel wish to avoid – the continuing seizure of Palestinian land, the extension of the apartheid wall, and the complicity of a host of Israeli universities.

Opponents of the boycott argue that it is based on Israeli “exceptionalism”, that Israel alone is being targeted, and that this indicates an anti-Semitic motive among BDS activists. In fact, the call for BDS comes from Palestinians organised through the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). Launched in April 2004, PACBI is supported by some 60 Palestinian trade unions, NGOs, and political and religious organisations. It argues that many Israeli universities have contributed directly to occupation and colonisation, and asks academics to boycott these institutions as one means “to end Israel’s occupation, colonisation and system of apartheid”.

Despite frantic efforts by Israel’s supporters, the boycott movement is drawing wide support. French universities have appealed to the European Union not to maintain its “association agreement” with Israel, while student and staff groups at US universities have launched campaigns for divestment, and religious institutions in Sweden, South Africa, the US and Britain have begun disinvestment action. In May the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) launched a major BDS initiative that has been supported by Cosatu, South Africa’s main trade union federation.

Cosatu president Willie Madisha has called for a general boycott of Israel, and asked supermarket workers to refuse to handle Israeli goods. Madisha urged the South African government to emulate President Chavez of Venezuela, who has withdrawn his country’s ambassador to Israel as a mark of indignation over the assault on Lebanon.

Withdrawn

BDS is taking new forms. In August the Edinburgh Festival cancelled sponsorship from the Israeli embassy in London. At the request of Palestinian filmmakers, a number of internationally acclaimed directors, including Ken Loach, have refused to participate in the forthcoming Haifa film festival, and the governing body of the Greek film industry has withdrawn all Greek films from the event. In Ireland trade unionists recently forced transport company Connex to abandon plans to train Israeli tram drivers in Dublin. Connex had just won a contract to operate a light rail system between illegal Israeli settlements near Jerusalem.

In Britain the main battleground will be on the campuses. Experience so far shows that it is essential to debate fully all the issues associated with the boycott before moving to a vote in UCU branches. Opponents of the boycott often argue that BDS violates principles of academic freedom. The claim is hypocritical and based on the premise that only Israeli academic freedom counts. It ignores the fact that Israeli academic institutions themselves collude in their government’s grave violations of Palestinian human and political rights – including the right to education.

Open debate also provides an opportunity to counter allegations of anti-Semitism made against BDS campaigners. This charge, observes PACBI, is “mendaciously being used merely to stifle opposition to Israel’s illegal occupation. The call for a boycott is categorically not directed against Jews, or even Israelis as Jews – rather, it targets Israel’s oppression and racism with no consideration to ethnicity or religion.”

Jewish academics such as Steven Rose, Jonathan Rosenhead and Haim Bresheeth are prominent in the British Committee for Universities of Palestine, which is leading the boycott campaign. Jewish speakers have played a key role in debates with the main anti-boycott group, Engage.

Actions in support of BDS are best taken together with the establishment of direct links with Palestinian institutions, including twinning of schools, colleges and universities. Israel wishes to isolate the Palestinians. We must aim to integrate them into a wider network of solidarity.

Phil Marfleet is the branch secretary of UCU at the University of East London. For more information visit www.pacbi.org and www.bricup.org.uk.

2) Developments as Reported by ENGAGE:

Israel Universities Are Not Apartheid Universities: http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=671

Goldsmiths UCU Boycott Debate: A Report by Josh Cohen http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=673

The Vote on Goldsmiths’ UCU Boycott Motion- Joshua Cohen http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=682

Response to an Email Sent Around Goldsmith’s College: David Hirsh and Josh Cohen
http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=699

3) From The International Advisory Board on Academic Freedom at Bar-Ilan University

The International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom (IAB) – Bar-Ilan university, is engaged in activities in preparation for the upcoming UCU conference.

These activities include: collecting relevant data from Israeli universities, unifying Israeli academia under a single coordinating body, gathering anti boycott statements from over 100 UK universities, monitoring silent and non-silent boycotts, meeting with relevant foreign press figures, and conducting relevant research.

The IAB’s ongoing activities include tracking academic freedom violations and sending out alerts and press statements accordingly. The IAB’s latest press release (13/10/06) called on the Israeli government to restore individual reviews of the requests of Palestinian students to study in Israeli universities.

Please continue notifying the IAB regarding silent/non-silent boycotts by sending an email to fofir@netvision.net.il or academic.freedom@mail.biu.ac.il

You may read more about the IAB at: http://www.biu.ac.il/academic_freedom/

The IAB also attached these articles in addition to the Marfleet article above.

British Parliament reports sharp rise in anti-Semitism
By JONNY PAUL LONDON Nov. 2, 2006
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378307471&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

More British Academic Boycotts
http://econoclectic.powerblogs.com/posts/1162236279.shtml

4) From Ronnie Fraser of Academic Friends of Israel

The UCU and an Academic Boycott of Israel

It is generally accepted that there will be another boycott attempt at the first UCU conference next May. As a result the Academic Friends of Israel and Engage are busy planning how to deal with the threat.

However before the conference there is the matter of election of a new General Secretary for the UCU, which is crucial as to whether the Union in future will support or oppose a boycott. One thing is sure that who ever wins, the UCU will continue to be critical of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. The two main candidates are; Sally Hunt the former General Secretary of the AUT and Roger Kline who is Head of the Equality department of the UCU and comes from a NATFHE background. Neither candidate has yet made any statement as to whether they support or oppose an academic boycott of Israel. The AFI has written to both candidates asking for an interview so that we discuss the concerns of AFI members in order that we can advise our members who to vote for. Roger Kline has the backing of the Left and has just given an interview to the Socialist Worker, who are backing him in his bid. Sally Hunt is probably the more moderate of the candidates and comes from the AUT, which since it voted to overturn the 2005 motion passed guidelines for future boycotts at its last conference earlier this year. These guidelines have since been adopted by the UCU.

The attitude of the UCU to an academic boycott of Israel is crucial and a vote to support such a move could split the union. The British Parliamentary inquiry into antisemitsm recommended that pro-democracy lecturers in the UCU be given every support to combat such selective boycotts that are anti-Jewish in practice. They also urged the new union’s executive and leadership to oppose the boycott. So far no decision has been made by the union and it is hoped that the UCU executive will adopt this recommendation of this influential committee, which would make it more difficult for a boycott motion to be adopted at conference.

I am sure of one thing, if I get to the conference as a delegate and it is by no means certain, that I will be there, I will not be on my own this time as I was at previous NATFHE conferences. The AUT influence of moderation should bring more opposition to an academic boycott. I urge all of you especially if you are a member of the UCU to attend to pro-boycott meetings or events at your College or University and let us know the outcome.

Ronnie Fraser
Director
mail@academics-for-israel.org

SPME Monitoring Reports on Developing British UCU Boycott Proposals of Israel Scholars: Four Reports from UCU, ENGAGE, IAB and AFI

Groups Amassing Data and Developing Strategies for Anticipated Boycott Effort
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