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Boycott of Universities Repealed
By Gwendolyn Bradley
The Association in May welcomed the decision by the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) to repeal resolutions calling for the boycott of two Israeli universities. Delegates to an April meeting of the AUT had approved the resolutions calling on all members to "refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration, or joint projects" with two universities in Israel, Haifa University and Bar Ilan University. The resolutions were controversial both inside and outside of the AUT, and their repeal followed "lengthy debate involving deeply held views on both sides of the argument," the group said, adding that British higher education has a long and proud tradition of defending academic freedom and that "the struggle to maintain academic freedom whenever it is under threat is one that AUT will always support."
Affirming the paramount importance of the freest possible international movement of scholars and ideas, the AAUP had urged the AUT to repeal the resolutions. (See page 55 for the Association's statement on academic boycotts.) In a statement issued after the appeal, the AAUP said, "Educational organizations committed to academic freedom must resist demands from those who would curtail the free exchange of scholars and ideas in order to advance their own political or ideological agendas. What is needed, even when passions are intense, is more academic freedom, not less."
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