Sir, I am sure the honourable Nobel prize protester and his collegues mentioned in your leading article (Mar 4 ) will be horrified to read that their computers and mobile phones were probably developed and/or manufactured in Israel. So is all the water distribution system for Manchester, or drip irrigation (used by the Palestinians) and innovations in agriculture, medicine, information technology and alternative sources of power to count but a few.

You could also have mentioned the academic and practical programmes in desert research, water conservation and solar energy joined between Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority; programmes that will have to stop if a boycott of Israeli academic institutions is implemented.

Nitza Sarner

London NW8

Sir, The noblest way of boycotting Israeli scientific research would be to reject their considerable medical advances. It would take some research to sort out, though. So perhaps the simplest thing would be to light bonfires of Israeli academic books and papers so that nobody could benefit.

Professor Joan Freeman

London W1