Israel Matzav

Nobel laureates speak out against BDS

38 Nobel laureates have signed onto a statement drafted by Scholars for Middle East Peace against academic boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS) actions against Israeli academics, Israeli academic institutions and academic centers and institutes of research and training with affiliations in Israel.

Of special concern are the continued threat of a boycott by the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, of Ben Gurion University in Israel, student government divestment efforts in the University of California system, an attempt to get signatures for the California Initiative to divest pension funds from companies doing business with Israel or Israeli companies, as well as the initiative to shut down the Georgia Law Enforcement and Education Center at Georgia State University which has training and research connections with similar institutions in Israel.

A central theme of the Nobel Laureates’ statement is:

“Academic and cultural boycotts, divestments and sanctions in the academy are:

* antithetical to principles of academic and scientific freedom,
* antithetical to principles of freedom of expression and inquiry, and
* may well constitute discrimination by virtue of national origin.”

Instead of fostering peace, these boycott and divestment efforts are likely to be counterproductive to the dynamics of reconciliation that lead to peace.

Two of the signatories are from the Technion and one of the others is Elie Wiesel. One of them was a college professor of mine.

Unfortunately, I'll be surprised if it helps.

Labels: BDS, boycott Israel, Nobel laureates, Scholars for Middle East Peace

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:48 PM