Released on the evening of January 28, 2009 as a reaction to events in the University of California system, University of Toronto, McGill University and with the withdrawal of study in Israel programs at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers and Duke, the SPME Statement on Discrimination Against Israeli Academics and Institutions has drawn well over 1600 signatures from academics well within 12 hours of its release and many comments of praise. The statement, drafted by the SPME Board of Directors, which reads and can be signed by clicking here, reads
We the undersigned members of the academic community, are no longer able to tolerate the lies being told by various academic groups to justify their proposals to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions and to divest from Israel and/or companies doing business in Israel.
Israel has been falsely accused of deliberately targeting civilians, schools, hospitals, and administrative buildings. The reality is that Israel has always made heroic efforts to avoid harming civilians. In the recent Cast Lead campaign, Israel did target the Islamic University, which Fatah and the New York Times had previously identified as a Hamas bomb factory. However, Israel avoided targeting other schools and universities, even when Hamas fighters used them as hideouts and launching pads. Hamas fighters have repeatedly targeted Israeli civilians, schools, and children, and in the past 8 years have murdered more than 1000. In the past few years, Hamas had targeted Sapir College in Sderot and Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, and had deliberately timed Qassam and Katyusha rocket attacks to occur at times of day when Israeli children would be on their way to and from school. Despite the use of the Islamic University for both rocket and mortar attacks as well as for the manufacture of weapons, we are not calling for a boycott of Palestinian academics.
Israel has no interest in undermining education or health care in Gaza. On the contrary, a healthy and well educated population in a prospering Palestinian state is Israel’s best hope for peace in the years to come. The people of Gaza know perfectly well that Israel is not trying to massacre them. Whenever possible, they come to Israel for health care and education because they have confidence in Israeli facilities and in the people who work there. And Israeli institutions serve them both out of simple humanity and in order to build bridges to peace.
Most important, singling out Israeli academics and institutions for boycott is discriminatory. No other nation’s academics or institutions are being subjected to such action, whether or not their governments are in a state of war. Excusing Israeli academics from the boycott only if they denounce the policies of their government does not mitigate the offense but combines it with an assault on freedom of speech. We urge rejection of all such discriminatory and oppressive initiatives.
Adopted by the SPME Board of Directors, January 28, 2009
For Further information contact:
Peter Haas, SPME VP for External Relations at peter.haas@case.edu or
Judith Jacobson, SPME VP for Internal Relations at jsj4@columbia.edu or
Edward S. Beck, SPME President Emeritus at ( phone: 717.576.5038)
Among the comments on the petition are from:
Asher Matathias at St. John’s University, ” I welcome and applaud this initiative.”
Andres Gutierrez Vida, a student at Buenos Aires University said, ” NO to discrimination and YES to peace.”
Julia Ross, a student at Simmons College thanks SPME for “writing and disseminating this petiton. The work of SPME is so important and reinstates my faith in academics.”
James Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University declares, ” I wish henceforth to be identified as an Israeli academic. Furthermore, I shall cease any association, personal or professional, with any institution or individual that boycotts Israel in any fashion.”
Carol Sokolov, an Assistant Dean of Graduate Affairs at UC Irvine, opines, ” It seems we have two different codes operating here. Verbal attacks on Israel and Israelis are permitted, even celebrated, while those trying to destroy Israel- and making hateful statements about Jews in general are seen as the good guys”
Ilan Samson, a Visiting Scholar at University of California at San Diego comments, “Indulgence in anti-Israeli bias is as intellectually dishonest as selectively quoting only supporting references. Neither should be tolerated at any university.
Ashley Bush, a Professor at both Harvard Medical School and University of Melbourne, Australia observes, “” There is no other country singled out like Israel for such biased treatment. A boycott is completely unwarrented. Academics shoud support voices in the world. The academics of Israel need SUPPORT, not banishment. Why punish the elements in Israel who are most likely to be supportive of a two-state solution and of reaching out to the Palestinians? Why punish the ones most likely to champion peace making. The proposed boycott is blind, biased, bigoted idiocy.”
Eric Zarahn, a Research Scientist at Columbia University suggests, ” The only difference between the university and the jungle or the street is pretense. I can see this clearly now.”
Ilya Sverdlov, Ph.D., an independent scholar in Moscow commends her colleagues with, ” Good, finally the decent people in academic community decided to voice their opinion and to combat the lies. “
Earl Tilford, Professor of History at Grove City College, writes, “The slanderous accusations slung at Israel by many academics…reflect a new low in scholarship and academic integrity.”
Evgeny Aizenberg at Ryerson University exclaims, ” I am proud to see academics taking a unified stance against the hate and rising antisemitism throughout the world. “
Dr. David Lubarsky, Professor and Department Chair at the University of Miami states, ” As usual, the distorted vitriol of terrorist supporters drowns out reason. Where is the condemnation of Hamas and its purposeful exposure of its civilians to harm after provocation? Why is there such an absence of insight from our academic brethren…”
Elaine Goldstein at Algonquin College writes, “It is a disgrace to the profession that ugly distorted viewpoints of a few mininformed individuals have intruded and prevented honest discussion of any topic, never mind that of events in the Middle East.”
Prf. Boris Kozolchyk at the University of Arizona remarks, “the hypocricy of these academics is aastounding. None of them would last 1 minute under a Hamas regime whihc is becoming more Taliban like by the minute. Have those academics heard about the recent legislation which includes, among other things, crucifixion as punishment? “
Mark Schankerman, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, ” strongly supports this initiative. The repeated use of the calumny (inspired by Goebbels) is insidious, anti-semitic and, depressing, increasingly successful. We must combat it.”
Robert Costrell at the University of Arkansas recommends, “those who support an academic boycott effectively support Hamas. They should be required to read the Hamas charter to understand the evil they support.”
Avi Bass, Editor of the venerable JFR Jewish Faculty Roundtable , has alerted SPME that he endorses the statement and has circulated it to his readership.
Robert Mednick, Senior Vice Chairman of the Board of Roosevelt University reminds us, “Academics’ roles are to search for truth, not to distort or suppress it.”
University of Toronto Student, Jeffrey Clayman, sadly observes, “The need for this petition is most disappointing.”
And Abe Aamidor of Indiana University Press asks, ” Just what conflict resolution model is the boycott supporting?
And David Nussbaum at the University of Toronto wonders, “imagine the outrage if we required all professors from Muslim countries to sign a statement condemning terrorism by Al Queda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood and Fatah before allowing them to maintain their academic positions. “
