More than 300 scholars affiliated with British academic institutions signed a letter pledging not to cooperate with Israeli academic institutions.
The letter, which was signed by 343 scholars, appeared Oct. 27 in a full-page ad in the Guardian.
“As scholars associated with British universities, we are deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people, and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement,” the ad reads.
The signers declared that they would not “accept invitations to visit Israeli academic institutions; act as referees in any of their processes; participate in conferences funded, organized or sponsored by them, or otherwise cooperate with them.”
But academics wrote that they would, “however, continue to work with our Israeli colleagues in their individual capacities.”
Ronnie Fraser, director of the Academic Friends of Israel organization, said in a statement that the number of signers represents less than a quarter of 1 percent of the 194,245 academics working in the United Kingdom. — jta