A U.C. Berkeley student senate committee has tabled a vote to condemn academic boycotts of Israel and single out two Cal teachers for their boycott efforts.
The external affairs committee’s decision to table the resolution indefinitely came on Sept. 15 following several hours of debate and public comment. Sponsors of the resolution were trying to get it on the agenda for a full senate vote on Sept. 17, but now its future is uncertain.
Titled “A Bill in Support of the Free Flow of Ideas and International Academic Action,” the resolution is co-sponsored by two members of Cal’s student senate, the Associated Students of the University of California; the president of the campus’ Jewish Student Union; and the president of Tikvah, a pro-Israel campus group.
Calling for a rejection of boycotts of Israeli academic institutions, the measure calls out U.C. Berkeley lecturer Hatem Bazian and professor Ramón Grosfoguel for their sponsorship of the upcoming “International Day of Action on College Campuses for Palestine,” which is set to take place on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
The measure also condemns academic boycotts of Israel as “a form of discrimination based on nationality,” while urging the free academic exchange “between U.C. Berkeley, Israeli institutions and similar institutions of higher learning around the world.”
Finally, the measure asks the ASUC academic affairs vice president to write a letter to U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, asking him to take a public stand against the “Day of Action” and reiterate his support for academic freedom.
The U.C. Berkeley chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine issued a press release opposing the measure, labeling it an “anti-BDS bill suppressing pro-Palestine speech at U.C. Berkeley.” — dan pine