London – A week after representatives from the British arts world signed a letter that condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, more than 300 scholars affiliated with British academic institutions signed a letter pledging not to cooperate with Israeli academic institutions.
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The letter, which was signed by 343 scholars, was set to appear on Tuesday in a full-page ad in The Guardian, according to organizers of the letter of commitment.
“As scholars associated with British universities, we are deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people, and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement,” the ad reads.
The signers declared that they would not “accept invitations to visit Israeli academic institutions; act as referees in any of their processes; participate in conferences funded, organized or sponsored by them, or otherwise cooperate with them.”
But academics wrote that they would, “however, continue to work with our Israeli colleagues in their individual capacities.”
The ad concluded with a call to all academics to join the boycott. “We urge our academic colleagues throughout the UK to join us in putting their names to this personal Commitment,” it read.
Among the signers are Tom Kibble, a prominent British theoretical physicist at Imperial College London; Timothy Shallice, a past director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, and Iain Borden, former head of the Bartlett School of Architecture.
Ronnie Fraser, director of the Academic Friends of Israel organization, said in a statement that the number of signers represents less than a quarter of 1 percent of the 194,245 academics working in the United Kingdom, which he said constituted a “statistically insignificant minority.”
Simon Johnson, chief executive of Britain’s Jewish Leadership Council, accused the signers of employing double standards.
“These academics should realize that boycotts are divisive and discriminatory and do nothing to advance peace or improve the lives of Palestinians,” he wrote in a statement Monday.
British Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey reiterated the importance of the significant and fruitful relationship shared by Israel and the United Kingdom.
“The British Government firmly opposes calls to boycott Israel. We are deeply committed to promoting the UK’s academic and scientific ties with Israel, as part the flourishing partnership between the two countries,” he said in a statement.
“The reality is one of rapidly strengthening trade and tech links between Britain and Israel. As David Cameron has said, the UK Government will never allow those who want to boycott Israel to shut down 60 years worth of vibrant exchange and partnership that does so much to make both our countries stronger,” he added.
Last week, some 150 people from the British arts world signed a letter, also published inThe Guardian, that came out against the BDS movement against Israel.
Star author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, was among the signatories.
“We will be seeking to inform and encourage dialogue about Israel and the Palestinians in the wider cultural and creative community. While we may not all share the same views on the policies of the Israeli government, we all share a desire for peaceful coexistence,” the letter read.
The group stated its support for a two-state solution with “the state of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security.”
Scholars? Anti Semites, and obviously not at all bothered by th Pali savages’ murders of Jews, “Jewish lives matter.”
The English didn’t even vote for the original partition plan in of 1947. The English turned around ships loaded with holocaust survivers. The English came to the rescue of the Arabs during the 1948 independence war, then were caught with their pants down after the Israelis shot the Royal air force out of the sky.
The childish make-believe Anarchy, also known as the royal family, refuses to make an official visit to Israel. The British were never a friend of the Jews they were always anti-semites, may they get more and more flooded by the Muslims till they take over their country.
I only hope that the Jews of Europe in 2015 will not make the same mistake as the Jews of 1940. They should take advantage of the difference in time and immigrated to Israel as soon as possible.
pathetic
Same old anti semitism in a new package. Why do they single out the jewish state when the whole arab world has collapsed.
25 percent of camps in the holocaust were run by people With PHD’S. They were scholars too. to these scholars go to what you wish on every JEW ALL YEMACH SHEMAM
Obviously not very intelligent “scholars” at that, because if they were, they’d realize that their boycotts are all based on inaccurate “facts”.
pure jew hatred. simple as that.