Association of University Teachers (UK) Voted to Boycott Two Israeli Universities

Association of University Teachers (UK) Voted to Boycott Two Israeli Universities

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Polly Curtis and Matthew Taylor, and Conal Urquhart

Update on Runar Sogaard SWEDEN: Celebrity Christian preacher Runar Søgaard is under protection by Swedish police after receiving death threats. Sögaard had called Islam's Prophet Mohammed "a confused pedophile" . "Even if I see Runar while he has major police protection I will shoot him to death," a radical Islamist told Swedish newspaper Expressen. Persons connected to the Kurdish group Ansar al-Islam claim to have received a fatwa, a decree from a Muslim religious leader, to kill Søgaard.Muslim organizations have called Søgaard's sermon, which is on sale on CD at the Stockholm Karisma Center's web site, a hateful attack on Islam and fear the type of violent conflict that scarred the Netherlands after filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed by an Islamic extremist for a controversial film.Islam expert Jan Hjärpe at the University of Lund told Expressen that such an assassination is a real risk, and he wondered if conflict was the motive for the sermon."It was a statement from an odd man in an odd sect but the effect is stronger antagonism between different groups. It becomes a pure religious polemic and is extremely unpleasant. It (Sögaard's sermon) has power and influence. It seems to have been Runar's intention to provoke and promote antagonism." Søgaard said he fears for his life and understands that he has angered the wrong people. He received police protection after questioning by Swedish police. Imam Hassan Moussa, head of Sweden's imam council, demanded that Christian communities repudiate Søgaard's remarks, and promised that Sweden would avoid the ugly scenes experienced in Holland.

Read here full article by Polly Curtis and Matthew Taylor, and Conal Urquhart in Guardian UK.

April 23, 2005

Edited article

The Association of University Teachers, which represents 48,000 lecturers, voted yesterday to boycott two Israeli universities.

It accused (the two universities ) of being complicit in the abuse of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

The union voted to sever links with University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University.

The union would consider boycotting a third (Hebrew University) .

In recent weeks, the debate has focused international attention on the Association of University Teachers(AUT).

Sue Blackwell, a lecturer at Birmingham University who co-wrote the motion, said she was overwhelmed by the result at the AUT's annual conference in Eastbourne. She added:

"We now have a boycott against a quarter of the universities in Israel, and we intend to continue the fight.

I am proud today to be a member of a union that is prepared to stand up for human rights around the world."

The AUT claimed University of Haifa had restricted the academic freedom of staff who spoke out against government policies.

Bar-Ilan University was boycotted because of its links to a college in the disputed settlement of Ariel.

Both institutions have contested the allegations.

Many of the 200 representatives at yesterday's conference reported receiving dozens of emails, letters and faxes from around the world.

Delegates voted to reject their union executive's call to postpone the vote on the two universities.

But they did delay a decision on the Hebrew University, which was accused of evicting Palestinian families from their homes to build dormitories.

Sources in the Palestinian Authority welcomed "a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people", and hoped that "more international groups will put pressure on Israel".

Omar Barghouti, a founder of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, said:

"The taboo has been shattered at last.

From now on, it will be acceptable to compare Israel's apartheid system to its South African predecessor."

Jocelyn Prudence, who heads the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, told the Guardian:

"This would appear to run contrary to contractual law, race and religious discrimination law, and academic freedom obligations, which are built into the contracts of staff in pre-1992 universities."

The Board of Deputies of British Jews called the vote "blinkered, irresponsible and dangerous".

Last night the deputy Israeli ambassador in London, Zvi Ravner, told the Guardian that he was amazed and disturbed by the AUT's decision. He asked:

"Are they really intending to boycott the Palestinians and the Israeli Arabs who study and work in these institutions, or are they really calling for a boycott of Jews?

The last time that Jews were boycotted in universities was in 1930s Germany."

The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs said:

"This decision is misguided and unbalanced in the extreme.

The fact that the AUT is dealing with Israel in a critical way when it is the only country in the Middle East where there is genuine academic freedom is indeed perverse."

Danny Stone, of the Union of Jewish Students, urged the government to establish an inquiry into extremism on campuses - among students and staff.

The Guardian understands that Jewish academics had been in contact with the AUT executive, and had received assurances that the Israeli position would be put forward and the executive would push for dialogue rather than a boycott.

However, a full debate was suspended when time ran out, threatening to edge the issue off the agenda for the day.

Yesterday, Sally Hunt, the AUT's general secretary, refused to comment but issued a statement promising members advice on the boycott.

Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, condemned the boycott.

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