British lecturers vote to boycott Israel
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3406726,00.htmlUK academics' union decides to boycott Israeli academic institutions; Israel's ambassador to London says unbalanced decision reflects ignorance, tinged with anti-Semitism
Hagit Kleiman Published: 05.30.07, 20:09 / Israel News
LONDON - British academics voted in favor of an academic boycott of Israel on Wednesday to protest what they termed Israeli academics' cooperation with Israeli government's policies that harm PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis.
Anti-Semitism
Delegates at the University and College Union conference in Bournemouth voted 158 in favor of the boycott, with 99 opposing and eight abstentions.
Zvi Hefetz, Israel's ambassador to London, slammed the decision, but noted that it did not reflect British government policy. "This decision harms British Jewry, who lobbied hard against the boycott call. A stench of ignorance arises from the one-sided formula and unbalanced language of the decision," the ambassador said.
Hefetz also pointed out the fact that during the discussion, a proposal was made, and rejected, that the resolution also condemn anti-Semitism. The ambassador said this fact strengthened his feeling that the ignorance shown by those proposing the boycott was also tinged with anti-Semitism.
Education Minister Yutli Tamir said that the decision was outrageous, adding Israel would work to defuse it through cooperation with England's prominent universities, 'which have never approved of academic boycotts.'
'Israeli academia's neutrality unacceptable'
The motion to boycott Israeli academic institutions "notes that Israel's 40-year occupation has seriously damaged the fabric of PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi society through annexation, illegal settlement, collective punishment and restriction of movement.. deplores the denial of educational rights for PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis by invasions, closures, checkpoints, curfews, and shootings and arrests of teachers, lecturers and students."
It condemned "the complicity of Israeli academia in the occupation, which has provoked a call from PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi trade unions for a comprehensive and consistent international boycott of all Israeli academic institutions," adding that "in these circumstances passivity or neutrality is unacceptable and criticism of Israel cannot be construed as anti-Semitic."
The resolution instructs British academics to "circulate the full text of the PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi boycott call to all branches," and to "encourage members to consider the moral implications of existing and proposed links with Israeli academic institutions." It also called on its members to "organize a UK-wide campus tour for PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi academic/educational trade unionists."