Israeli universities boycotted by American scholars

Israeli academia, often seen by the right as a bastion for left-wing, dovish sentiment, has been stung by a vote to boycott higher education in the country by an American academic association in protest against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, writes Ben Lynfield for The Independent.

“This boycott is saying ipso facto if you are an Israeli academic or ipso facto at an Israeli institution you are ipso facto immoral,” said Galia Golan, a political scientist at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv and a founder of the Peace Now movement, after the American Studies Association made its decision. “This is lumping into one big group all academic endeavours in Israel to say it’s politically tainted,” she said.

Although the association is a small body, the vote was seen by Palestinian academics as a major gain for the international movement known as BDS – Boycott Divestment and Sanctions – because it emanates from the US, an area where the campaign has previously had little influence.
Full report on The Independent site