Paula wrote:
It would appear that BRICUP is acting in *defence* of academic freedom here. Well, from a Brit point of view anyway!
Please clarify that. How does blacklisting interaction with Bar-Ilan faculty defend academic freedom?
I think everyone understands that there are many Israeli people, including academics, who are working in difficult circumstances to oppose policies which are oppressive to the Palestinian people but this was also true of South Africa under apartheid. In South Africa, white members of the ANC also called for support from us in the form of boycotts. Many Brits understand the UK's part in creating these situations historically and are anxious now to try to do the right thing. Obviously, there are always arguments about boycotting as a strategy, but I think it undoubtedly was a factor in ending the apartheid system in SA and, since we can't rely on our government to act in accordance with the ethical or political views of the majority of the British population, we'll just have to do what we can ourselves through more localised institutions.
A boycott of the two universities is one matter. But the AUT declaration is a blacklist of anyone associated with those universities. Barring inter-faculty communication cannot advance the cause of altering Isreali policy; it may, rather, hinder any such progress. (Defending free inquiry and communication, by the way, advances neither cause.) -eg