seems like this sort of boycott diverts attention from more pressing 
issues, to me. one more pressing issue is about effective freedom of 
movement and speech for Palestinians generally and Palestinian academics 
in particular within Israel, in the occupied lands, and in the US, as 
well as the end of closures and financial boycotts and throttling by the 
Israeli state of Palestinian education institutions. how does such 
discussion of a possible boycott on Israeli academic institutions make 
any headway toward those issues? is there no movement on the part of UK 
universities to pressure the UK government into boycotting companies 
that aid and abet the military operations of the Israeli government 
against Palestinians?

in the US, i have participated in trying to get universities to boycott 
companies that furnish weapons and equipment (which is also used to 
demolish Palestinian homes) to the Israeli government. this is a more 
worthwhile boycott strategy to me. but not much has been accomplished so 
far. the boycott struggle, as usual, has been conveniently attacked as 
antisemitic by the sort of wankers Nicholls describes, who will use the 
anti-zionism = antisemitism line as much as they can to evade any 
discussion or debate, or, in other words, to stifle any political 
alternatives to the status quo. is something similar happening in the 
UK? it is a pity otherwise to see efforts in the UK foundering in terms 
of strategy, boycotting the ideological messengers instead of those with 
real powers to cease and desist seems odd to me. This is especially the 
case because there are not a few Israeli academics and public 
intellectuals that have been much more critical of the Israeli state 
than most academics in the US or UK. perhaps a better strategy would be 
to invite, give prestigious awards, otherwise reward those Palestinian 
and Israeli academics that are struggling for an end to Israeli 
oppression and colonialism, equal rights for all in a truly democratic 
single state, the right of return for Palestinians, etc. a more 
proactive engagement, i think, would be more worthwhile and effective 
than a boycott (which is hard to imagine in actual application, given 
how well networked military R&D in Israel is with US and UK, including 
universities).

cheers,

saed

Walter Nicholls wrote:
>
> Thanks for this article Nick. The article focuses on the hypocrisy of 
> university presidents concerning the boycott. While the hypocrisy is 
> certainly there, we have to separate that out from the question of 
> whether academic boycott’s are strategic techniques for addressing the 
> injustices in the occupied territories. The article makes clear that 
> it is not a strategic technique. Rather than motivating Israeli 
> universities and academics to put pressure on the state to change its 
> policies (which is the intended goal of a boycott), the mere mention 
> of the boycott has provided reactionaries like Alan Dershowitz an 
> opportunity to organize a pro-Israeli block among American and Israeli 
> academics. This ‘debate’ has seemed to benefit the forces of reaction 
> much more than those seeking to end the Israeli occupation of 
> Palestine. So, while I certainly sympathize with the goals of those 
> pushing this debate, an academic boycott is not a strategic means for 
> achieving those goals. It seems more counterproductive than anything 
> else.
>
> walter
>
> *From:* Nick Blomley [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:43 AM
> *To:* Walter Nicholls
> *Cc:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: UCU motion to discuss Israel academic boycott
>
> As I understand it, the motion does not call for a boycott. Rather it 
> calls on local branches to *discuss* the issue.
>
> There's an interesting article on this from a North American 
> perspective at http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article7124.shtml
>
> I don't think I favour a boycott. However, cutting off a debate (as 
> many university presidents have essentially said, in response to the 
> motion, or a misreading thereof) seems to compromise some important 
> academic freedoms.
>
> Nick
>
> On 26-Sep-07, at 8:07 AM, Walter Nicholls wrote:
>
>
>
> Pardon me for my political ignorance, but I don’t get the motive 
> behind a boycott of Israeli academics. Cutting people off from active 
> intellectual exchanges would seem politically counterproductive (by 
> reinforcing a sense of ‘us’ versus the ‘rest’ sentiment) and against 
> the academic tradition of free speech. Also, it punishes a particular 
> segment of the population that really has little power to change state 
> policy while alienating natural allies in that country. If we boycott 
> Israeli academics for the bad polices of their state, in all fairness 
> we should also boycott American academics whose government has created 
> a fair degree of mayhem and injustice in the world. Iraq is just the 
> most recent example of how US foreign policy has devastating effects 
> on whole regions. Oh yeah, we can’t boycott American academics because 
> many of us are employed by American universities and/or depend on 
> journals and events that operate out of this country.
>
> Walter
>
> *From:* A forum for critical and radical geographers 
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *D F J Wood
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 26, 2007 7:36 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask] 
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> *Subject:* Re: UCU motion to discuss Israel academic boycott
>
> There seems to have been nothing here (at Newcastle or indeed in 
> North-east UK universities more broadly). Why, I am not sure - I sense 
> a distinct apathy and ennui rather than anything particularly 
> motivated in either direction!
>
> David.
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     *From:* A forum for critical and radical geographers
>     [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Nick Blomley
>     *Sent:* 26 September 2007 15:29
>     *To:* [log in to unmask]
>     <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>     *Subject:* UCU motion to discuss Israel academic boycott
>
>     Has there been any discussion within UK universities concerning
>     the pros and cons of a boycott, as suggested by the UCU motion?
>
>     Nick
>
>     *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
>
>     Nicholas Blomley,
>
>     Professor,
>
>     Department of Geography,
>
>     Simon Fraser University,
>
>     Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, CANADA
>
>     778-782-3713
>
>     [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>     http://www.sfu.ca/geography/people/faculty/Faculty_sites/NickBlomley/index.htm
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
>
> Nicholas Blomley,
>
> Professor,
>
> Department of Geography,
>
> Simon Fraser University,
>
> Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, CANADA
>
> 778-782-3713
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> http://www.sfu.ca/geography/people/faculty/Faculty_sites/NickBlomley/index.htm
>
>
>

-- 
Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Department of Geography, SUNY New Paltz
1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, NY 12561
tel: 1/845/2572991, fax: 1/845/2572992
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

Senior Editor
Capitalism Nature Socialism: A Journal of Ecosocialism

Editor
ACME: An international e-journal for critical geographies
http://www.acme-journal.org/