Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Boycotting Israel, and the only acceptable response
Glenn Reynolds links -- with much justified snark -- to news that British professors will boycott Israeli professors who do not declare their opposition to "Israeli policy in the territories." To be clear, the proposed boycott does not extend merely to Israeli professors who advocate for the current policy toward the Palestinian Arabs. Rather, it applies to any Israeli academic, speaking on any subject, who does not pass the proposed political test. An Israeli professor of ecology speaking about bumble bees would have to pass the test in order to survive the boycott. Having "no informed opinion," which might well be the case for a professor of ecology, is insufficient to earn a pass from the British professors.
Moreover, a British, American, French, Russian, Lebanese or Cuban professor need not declare his or her opposition to Israeli policy in the territories. The political test seems only to apply to Israeli professors. It is difficult to see how this is not, on its face, racist.
Don't agree? Then do a simple "thought experiment." Suppose American professors organized a boycott of any professor from any Muslim country who does not sign a statement repudiating the policies of the government of Iran toward the nuclear fuel cycle. No Europeans, East Asians, sub-Saharan Africans from non-Muslim countries, or Latin Americans would be boycotted no matter how fervently they supported Iran and how devoutly Muslim they might be. What are the odds that the entire world wouldn't view that policy as unreconstructed racism of the worst sort? Exactly zero.
There is only one acceptable response to this boycott. The American Association of University Professors, the American counterpart of the British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE), should immediately declare a boycott of any professor, from any country in the world, who declares his support for NATFHE's policy or acts in any way in furtherance of it. People such as the leaders of NATFHE must understand that they have forfeited their credibility as scholars, turned the stomachs of people who might otherwise respect them, and trampled on the principle of academic freedom. This boycott is simply shameful.
3 Comments:
By 
, at
Tue May 09, 08:21:00 PM:
Is the American equivelent of the same leanings as the British group.
By , at
Wed May 10, 04:47:00 PM:
Sometimes academics can be the dumbest people on the entire planet. This is about as stupid as it gets and frightening because these folks are supposed to be enlightened teachers. Neville Chamberlain lives!
The Centrist
By 
pst314, at
Sat May 13, 11:46:00 PM:
Not Neville Chamberlain. Vidkun Quisling.
