[LONDON – 31st August 2007] David Newman, Professor of Political Geography at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, has been appointed as the official academic representative of Israel for all matters relating to a potential academic boycott.
The appointment was made at a meeting of representatives of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Education and the country’s Universities held earlier this month. Professor Newman will work under the aegis of the International Advisory Board (IAB) for Academic Freedom, which works alongside the Israel Academy of Sciences to represent Israeli academic interests abroad.
Professor Newman, originally from the UK and a product of the British university system will develop and strengthen academic and scientific links between Israel and the UK, working parallel to, and in coordination with, the Stop the Boycott campaign whose activities are aimed at overturning votes in the University and College Union’s (UCU) proposed boycott.
In May 2007, he was the only Israeli professor present at the UCU Conference in Bournemouth which raised the issue of an academic boycott where he addressed a meeting on the day of the vote trying to garner opposition to the boycott.
Professor Newman will also undertake a tour of synagogues and community organisations over the coming months to raise awareness of the issues relating to a potential boycott, and in particular the Israeli response to the boycott attempt.
Following a recent meeting in London between Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir, and the Heads of British Universities, Newman said:
“The heads of the British universities, as well as government leaders, have made it clear that they are against any form of academic boycott. They greatly value the cooperation between British and Israeli scientists. We will now take the challenge forward and work towards the creation of even more scientific collaborative projects between the two countries, as a fitting response to those illiberal and intolerant forces who would attempt to silence the voice of academic freedom”.
David Newman is Professor of Political Geography in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. He is currently the chief editor of the international journal, Geopolitics, a quarterly journal published by Taylor Francis (Routledge), a position he has held since 1999. During 2006-2007, Newman is the Leverhulme Professor of Geopolitics at the University of Bristol.
In August 2007, Professor Newman was appointed the formal representative of Israel for all matters relating to a potential academic boycott. He was the only Israeli professor present at the University & Colleges Union (UCU) conference in Bournemouth and addressed a pro-Israel fringe meeting on the day of the vote. His main brief is to develop and strengthen academic and scientific links between Israel and the UK, working parallel to, and in coordination with, the Stop the Boycott campaign whose activities are aimed at overturning the vote in the union.
Newman was born and educated in the UK. His degrees are from the University of London (1978) and Durham (1981). From 1982-1987, he was a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Tel Aviv University, following which he was a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography at Ben Gurion University. In 1998, he founded the Department of Politics and Government, and served as its first chair from 1998-2003. From 1996-19987 he was Director of the Hubert Humphrey Institute for Social Research at Ben Gurion University. In 2003 he facilitated the founding of the Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (CESPS) at the University.
Newman has published widely on territorial dimensions of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In particular his work has focused on issues relating to borders and settlements. Since the late 1980’s, Newman has been involved in peace related activities and in a variety of Track II discussions and negotiations. This includes joint Israeli-Palestinian projects looking at territorial and border issues, funded by the Ford Foundations, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the John & Catherine MacArthur Foundation. He has recently been appointed editor of the new Middle East Peace and Security book series, to be published from 2005 onwards by Routledge, based on papers presented at Track II discussions during the past decade.
Newman is currently directing three research projects directly related to the peace, process, two of which are funded through the EU. As part of the Fifth framework projects, Newman is responsible for the Israeli participation in the EUROborder project, examining the role of the EU in affecting conflict resolution in Europe and neighbouring regions. He has also recently received a Partnership in Peace Project to look at the role of religion in influencing the peace discourse in Israel. Newman is also responsible for a USIP (United States Institute of Peace) project examining potential models of trans-boundary cooperation between Israel and a future Palestinian state.
Synagogues or community organisations interested in hosting Professor Newman as a speaker are asked to contact Aaron Kliner, The PR Office on 0207 383 3623 or by emailing bguf@theproffice.com
SPME Editor’s Note: SPME Chapters interested in having Professor Newman Speak should contact the Ben Gurion Foundation as well at bguf@theproffice.com . SPME is making $5000 available for Professor Newman to speak at SPME Chapters.
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For further information, please contact:
· Aaron Kliner, The PR Office – Ben-Gurion University Foundation: 020 7383 3623 or email akliner@theproffice.com
