08-08-2007 / United States
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USA – Countering British academics boycott by CUS University Presidents
College and university presidents across the United States are signing on to a statement by Columbia University President Lee Bollinger denouncing the decision by the union representing British academics to promote a boycott of Israeli educational institutions.
The full list of presidents to date was published Wednesday by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in a full-page advertisement in the New York Times.
"Boycott Israeli Universities? Boycott Ours, Too!" is the call of the nearly 300 college and university presidents who have endorsed Bollinger’s statement, released shortly after the UK’s University and College Union (UCU) passed a boycott resolution at its conference in May.
In his statement, Bollinger said he was “profoundly disturbed” by the UCU’s vote to advance a boycott against Israeli academic institutions. “As a university professor and president, I find this idea utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment.”
“In seeking to quarantine Israeli universities and scholars this vote threatens every university committed to fostering scholarly and cultural exchanges that lead to enlightenment, empathy, and a much-needed international marketplace of ideas.”
“If the British UCU is intent on pursuing its deeply misguided policy, then it should add Columbia to its boycott list, for we do not intend to draw distinctions between our mission and that of the universities you are seeking to punish.”
Source:
www.ejpress.org
Date: Aug 8, 2007
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