|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-carmi1-2009sep01,0,1196867.story
Boycott Israel? A Response
[Los Angeles Times] Rivka Carmi - As president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, I strongly believe a call for a worldwide boycott of Israel written by a Ben-Gurion University faculty member, Neve Gordon, that appeared in The Times oversteps the boundaries of academic freedom. The primary effect of Gordon's Israel-bashing will be to detract from the work of his university. I am a doctor; my professional career has focused on preventing hereditary genetic diseases in the Bedouin Arab community. Today, the laboratory that I founded at Ben-Gurion University is working with Bedouin, Palestinian and Jordanian doctors and researchers to improve the health of Arab children across the region. This is but one of the many Israeli-Arab collaborations that will be compromised if "collective punishment" is imposed on Ben-Gurion University.