(Times-UK) Alexandra Blair - Britain's lecturers' union voted Friday by 96 votes to 92 to boycott two Israeli universities in protest over their alleged support for the Sharon government's policies. A narrow majority of the 190 delegates at the Association of University Teachers (AUT) conference voted to cut all links with Haifa and Bar-Ilan universities. Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors and principals, condemned the move as "inimical to academic freedom." The Israeli Embassy said: "Israeli universities are beacons of academic freedom where Jews and Arabs alike study together....In particular, Haifa University has a substantial Arab faculty and student body." Dr. Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, said: "Academic life is about building bridges of dialogue, not destroying them; opening minds, not closing them; hearing both sides of an argument, not one alone."
2005-04-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive