Britain’s largest lecturers union NATFHE is scheduled to debate a motion calling for a personal boycott of Israeli academics, at its final Annual Conference in Blackpool prior to its merger with the AUT. TUFI and many other groups are deeply concerned that this motion seeks to set a political test for academic interaction, uniquely applicable to Israeli academics, that would have serious repercussions both for academic freedom and dialogue.
This motion is troubling on a number of different levels. Firstly the motion would require all Israeli academics to publicly denounce Israeli policies as a precondition for UK academic interaction. The motion gives few indications of which ‘apartheid’ policies that a failure to denounce would lead to a personal boycott, with the motion only noting ‘the exclusion wall’ and ‘discriminatory educational practices’. The motion gives no guidance of how to decide whether disassociation ‘from such policies’ had been sufficient to allow academic interaction.
The motion raises fundamental concerns about academic freedom. There is dynamic debate and a great deal of dissent within Israeli academia. However as in Britain, there are many academics who do not take public political stances and many who are critical of the Israeli government in their own way that takes into account Israeli concerns ignored in the motion. Closing down opportunities for academic interaction and dialogue would be highly damaging as ‘preaching to the converted’ is unlikely to change minds.
As leading Palestinian academic and President of Al Quds University in East Jerusalem Sari Nusseibeh says ‘an international academic boycott of Israel, on pro Palestinian grounds, is self- defeating: it would only succeed in weakening that strategically important bridge through which the state of war between Israelis and Palestinians could be ended, and Palestinian rights could there for be restored. Instead of burning that bridge the international academy should do everything within its power to strengthen it.’
There is also the important issue of the motion’s sole focus on Israeli academics. This is not to diminish the important human rights issues facing the Palestinians but the motion not only ignores Israeli concerns but it places Israeli academics above those from all other nations in being required to make a public denouncement of their country’s actions. Discrimination on the grounds of nationality is deeply troubling and from what we have led to believe may well come into conflict of section 2.4 of the NATFHE constitution. Also if were this motion to pass how would NATFHE respond to any calls from other countries to boycott UK academics who did not publicly denounce the actions of the UK government in situations such as Iraq?
TUFI believes that proactive engagement with workers, peace activists and academics in both Israel and Palestine is the most effective method by which British Trade Unionists can support efforts towards a viable two state peace settlement to the conflict and the end to suffering on both sides. As Paul Mackney of NATFHE has publicly stated ‘building contacts and supporting dialogue’ are ‘not soft options’.
TUFI is not arguing that NATFHE should not debate the actions of the Israel government, if it believes it to be appropriate. However we believe that support for Palestinian academics, workers and people should not lead to such furtive discrimination against Israeli academics.
To view motion 198C click here
