(Ha'aretz)- Sharon Sadeh French politicians, media, and academics have joined forces to denounce an attempted academic boycott of Israel, in response to a petition by the faculty of Paris 6 University demanding that the EU bar the country from research programs. Le Monde, Le Figaro, and La Liberation all published editorials on the importance of maintaining ties with Israel's academic institutions. French Education Minister Luc Ferry said the petition was "out of place," as the "universal dimensions" of higher education and scientific research require that these fields be kept out of politics. A letter signed by dozens of Nobel Prize winners protesting the university's decision is expected to be published in Le Monde and an Internet petition against the decision has so far collected 25,000 signatures, 6,000 of them from academics.
2003-01-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive