Buck Burris, Peoria, IL: " DURING THE PAST HALF CENTURY AND LONGER, NO PEOPLE HAS BEEN MORE OPPRESSED THAN THE VICTIMS OF ISRAEL'S INHUMANITY: THE PALESTINIANS. "

What absolute drivel. How about several million Vietnamese civilians for a start Buck? In Iraq thanks to operation big-profit how many civilians there have died? Several hundred thousand and counting. Additionally, writing in capital letters does not make your message more important, just horribly pompous.

Dan, Hampton, UK

BRAVO!
During ISRAEL's illegal and immoral occupation, the most dangerous thing anyone could be is a young Palestinian with outstanding intelligence and leadership qualities. Such a person was a good target for arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment. And if he even spoke agaqinst Israel's illegal actions, he was, as an 'obvious terrorist' a good target for assassination. And please note that the daily killings of Palestinians by Israel are no longer even newsworthy.
In consideration of that, it is time for the civilized world to speak out.
Jews constantly cry about how they haver been oppressed in the past. BUT that does not give them the right to oppress others now.
AND, DURING THE PAST HALF CENTURY AND LONGER, NO PEOPLE HAS BEEN MORE OPPRESSED THAN THE VICTIMS OF ISRAEL'S INHUMANITY: THE PALESTINIANS.
Any action to bring that to people's attention is welcome.

Buck Burris, Peoria, IL

Out of interest. Of the 160 of so Union activists that voted for the boycott. How many are tenured professors or have nobel prizes? How many have a phd from a university that hasnt converted from a vocational bus-stop (polytechnic).

Zened, London, Scotland

Sir,
NO to racism, whether it be anti-Semitism or otherwise!
Palestinian Arabic is a semitic language as is Hebrew. There appears to be a huge proxy war in the regard to the Israel-Palestine issue. If the FO is pro-Arab, then what are the Americans, neutral?
I hope that the UN is strengthened, instead of being systematically undermined by the myopic votaries of a short-termist colonialism. The increasingly globalised world cannot afford to adopt the mentality of mutually warring paranoid arm ghetto states.

SC, London, United Kingdom

Most people forget that before israel occupied the 'palestinian territories', the palestinians in Gaza weren't allowed to study at university because a) They weren't allowed into Egypt to study and b) the egyptians wouldn't let them build universities in Gaza. This all changed with Israel. Academic freedom is much greater today than it was pre-1967.

Even if what israel is doing is wrong, how is an academic boycott going to help? Israel are the world leaders in medical and technological research. Nearly 20% of nobel prize winners were jewish, many coming from israel. The world would be stupid to cut its nose of to spite its face. What is the rationale behind blaming the academics for a governments actions?

Academic boycotts are ridiculous but singling out one country is pure hypocrisy - especially when that country provides so much for the academic (and research) world.

Daniel, London, UK

Jay in Birmingham just watched the passion of the christ and know just what 'you people' are capable of. Your post is definitively of racist. However it helps to lift the cover off some of the more intelligent posters who agree with you.

Jay, you would look good in an SS uniform. Your brain is half cooked. Penny short of a pound, sandwich short of a piknik. It s people like you who cover their seething hatred behind a union that discredit the culture that feeds your tummy.

Zened, London, Scotland

The Israeli oppression of Palestinian academia since 67 has been so terrible and so great that
MOST PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITIES WERE FOUNDED AFTER 1967.

By the way, since when is stifling the free exchange of ideas the way to promote the freedom of learning and education?

Are British academics going to punish students and professors from any other countries which have policies they don't agree with as well? Like Russia? The United States? China? No, they’re too big and powerful, it’s much easier to pick on a small country.

And God forbid boycotting, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia etc.

Or perhaps that other evil imperialist country which is currently engaged in war in the Middle East, a country with a long history of occupation and oppression, maybe you've heard of it, the United Kingdom...

This boycott reeks of hypocrisy...

David, Tel Aviv, Israel

hi all. Forget Anti-semic. its a wrong expression. but you know what? the Brits should know better than simply follow the trends. as a Israeli citizen and a soldier who just came back from an anual service in the west bank im telling you, you want to make things better? thats NOT the way. there is a big problem here, israel can be reastrained up to a certain point. imagin Liverpool being bombed. daily. DAILY!! since a few years it happens here in the south. we gave Gazza back. what else do they want???
ill tell you what. our lives. and yours, when the day will come. if you fail from anderstanding that, unfortunately i promiss you many more examples in the future. remember the Tubes Bombing. you feel what were dealing with on a DAILY basis???

Oren, Tel Aviv,

What right has the UCU to boycott Israeli Universities, without the consent of its members, It reminds me of the bad old days of powerful union representitives before the 1980s, voting for its members whether they liked it or not. Is this the face of the new UCU now the AUt has been swallowed up.

Ruth, Fowey, UK

I have read several comments that say that this move is anti-semitic. Wrong! If you are going to use big words please learn what they mean first. Anti-semitism is the hatred of Jews simply for being Jewish. That is not the case here. No where in this article or in their debate is there any mention of "lets not lecture in Israel because they are Jewish". No, they said because of the misbehavior of the Israeli Govt towards the Palestinian, we will not lecture in Israel. And they are right. Israel does mistreat the Palestinians.
The Israelis keep the Palestinians in concentration camps or ghettos. They bomb the water and sewer treatment plants. They destroy every business that becomes successful. They starve them. They chase out doctors. They dont allow medical supplies to get in. In short, Israel stole the Palestinians land 50 some years ago and have treated them like dirt ever since.
I wonder why this wasnt done 20 or 30 years ago

Dan , Frederick , USA

Do 158 people really represent 120,000 academics? According to the "Telegraph", this same union has also passed a motion calling for Catholic schools to be banned from teaching the virtue of chastity. Looks like a group of Left-wingers has found another front for their agitation. A referendum will reveal more about the current plight of British-based students.

Kevin, London,

Last year Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians, who have full control, including their border, chose to put in a Hamas government. The result: anarchy in Gaza (militias/clans killing each other; Fatah vs Hamas, kidnappings, you name it). Not to mention the (pointless?) shootings of rockets at Israel. Perhaps the British lecturers should boycott the Hamas?

Simon, Tulsa, USA

Why is a double standard applied towards Israel? Ignoring for a moment what Israel has or has not done, why is Israel judged more severely than so many countries that have committed and are still committing atrocities, mass murder, denial of basic human rights, Just to mention a few: Sudan, China, Syria. Why is Israel singled out for "special treatment"?
The excuse given that Israel styles itself a democracy and must therefore be judged more harshly is insufficient; the continuous hostility towards the Jewsh State borders on obsession and can only be defined as Jew-hatred.

Jonathan Safren, Kefar-Sava, Israel

jack from London: 'Why is it that everytime Israel is criticised the label "Anti-semite" is plucked out of the air?'

Why is it that everytime immigration solutions are criticised the label "racist" is plucked out of the air?

What goes round, comes round!

Frederick Davies, Oxford, UK

To David from Jerusalem,
None of the other countries tell the world they are the champions of democracy in their region.
You ask the world to treat you as a full-fledged democracy.
You must then be held to the same standards.
Anti-Semitism has nothing to do with it.

Tom, Newcastle,

The boycott decision by academics is a pity. It's not a case of being anti-Semitism or not - it's a case of denial of freedom of speech. The academics who voted for the boycott clearly have closed minds - and do not want to allow opinions contrary to their own to be uttered.

I hope that they never teach or mark any of my papers. It is clear that their teaching and marking will be equally biased, thus reducing the quality of their research and teaching, and the reputation of the organisations that employ them.

Nick Hamilton, London , England

Israel has terrorised the Palestinian people for too long. What will it take to get people to realise what they are doing to them. America supplies arms to a state that invades, kills, bombs and controls another countries population. They weren't satisfied with the land they were given in 1967 and decided to grab as much land as possible.

I for one do not buy any produce that comes from Israel. The sooner the world wakes up to the atrocities that are happening every day to these innocent people the better.

Neal, Wokingham, England

The Nazis have returned in the form of these so called 'academic' lecturers.

Who was it said : "While I despise what you say, I will fight to the death for your right to freely speak your opinions"?

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

Mladen say britain should be avoided, perhaps Israel an illegally occupying state should be instead, and this boycott is a first step,putting out nonsense like anti semitism and hiding behind remarks like anti- american just shows how arrogant and ignorant you as most the zionist are, but hey we just need to watch something like the film " The Passion Of Christ" to know what your people are capable of. Where are the rights of freedom for palestinians universitys that have been bulldozed by the israilis

jay, birmingham,

Im all for it, whether it unfairly impacts on isreali acedemics or not something must be done to make the Isreali government understand that their actions are looked upon negatively by the populations of the world whether they are supported by western governments or not!

neil, truro, cornwall

I think Jeremy Newmark, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, should look and think about what he is saying, yes it may be preceived as a full-fron-tal assault on academic freedom, however how can they complain when they do the same to the Palestinians?

Sometimes the only way you can get people to learn and to realise what it is they are doing is to give them a taste of their own medicine, otherwise they will just continue to live in denial

Rich, edinburgh,

Why is it that everytime Israel is criticised the label "Anti-semite" is plucked out of the air?

jack, london, uk

This is he highest form of hypocracy. What is everybody's fixation with the conflict in Israel? has anyone suggested the boycotting of Chinese, Syrian, Iranian or even American and British establishements for their involvement in dubious conflifcts and conquest around the world?

This boycott is tainted.

Jack McAlister, Cardiff,

To hold closely to the belief that one's people are inherently, racially superior to those who are less civilised, is wrong.

Blaming anti-semitism is to fundamentally misunderstand others' perceptions - that Israel's actions are, particularly for such a mature culture, morally unjustifiable.

However, the Israelis have had to grow up in a tough neighbourhood in the past few decades, so perhaps our libertarian ideals are not well suited to judging their particular situation.

Mark, Woking, UK

There's the rethoric and the reality: UCU may have many members, but these are mainly members so that they would have someone to go to in case of workplace-related problems and pay-related issues (well, pay is perhaps a bad example...). UCU may boycott Israel, but that's not the same as saying that 120.000 academics boycot Israel. Frankly, academics don't tend to take UCU very serious, and that's why they don't bother becoming active in the bodies that take these decisions. So we really shouldn't be taking that boycott very serious.
Anyway, I continue collaborating on my project with Haifa university. At the same time, I do think that Israel is engaged in some very dirty politics, and has a number of very totalitarian tendencies. And the same goes for quite many other countries. Yes, perhaps we should speak out more, but this selective outrage is not helping much.

stephane, Birmingham,

Relevant words here are: cowardice, hypocrisy, anti-semitism, unprofessionalism, intolerance, narrowmindedness, prejudice, racism, ignorance........

Nicko, Cape Town,

Americans should avoid the infected area

Another boycott . This time the UCU. The time has come for Americans to avoid traveling to Britain. It is an infected area - infected with anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism . Like a SARS epidemic it should be sealed off from the rest of the sane world, or what's left of it - the US,. Australia, Israel and perhaps India and Thailand. One could argue that contact is necessary to influence and explain to the ignorant and brainwashed. Arguments do not help. Logic does not help for it is a malaise of the mind. A hypnotic trance of nonsense pouring out of the country that was once the pinnacle of our civilization. How scary . How sobering

Mladen Andrijasevic , Be'er Sheva , Israel

An interseting fact that escaped the lecturers' attention:
all Palestinian universities were established after 1967.

Ether, Paris, France

April 1, 1933. The boycotting of Jewish businesses by the Nazis in Germany. It makes me ashamed to be British that more than 70 years later there is a call for something not too dissimilar in my country.

Nick, London,

richard mullens, London, England: I see no boycott of any Muslim counties by the UCU, many of whom have a far worse record on human rights. But then again, the view from the bandwagon of hypocricy is often an obscured one.

Dan, Hampton, UK

well done nigel you put it perfectly.

israel goes straight on the defensive pulling the anti-semite card, when really they should just stop and look at what they're doing.

i don't see it happening any time soon, however.

Brian, London, UK

This vote by UCU, as it calls itself, could totally discredit our UK tradition of seeking/dispensing/sharing knowledge.
UCU appears to be a ghastly "throwback" to the 1970's Trade Unions movement, who sought to have a second vote over national government:
Luckily in this case, there are apparently 120,000 members to bury this ridiculous proposition, if they have the wit.
That will be the test for them.
Are they academics, pursuing and dispensing knowledge for its own sake, or are they left-wing political pawns?
The concept of "boycotting" Israel is STUPID.

Mike Medina, St. Albans, England

Nothing new. Every time someone tries to protest, to do something about the incredible acts of Israel, immediately is accused of anti-semitism, racism, even terrorism!

And don't pretend to compare this conflict with China, Australia or whatever: this is created by the west, UK in particular. And since then we support Israel. Of course we have a responsibility.

The question is, if this boycott is not a good idea, and perhaps it is not, what other measures can be taken? I was too young then: what did you do against the apartheid in Southafrica?

jesus, Barcelona, Spain

Israel as a nation can be seen flagrantly flouting international law every night on television news, and many of its 'intellectuals' deny that the Palestinians, descended from the ancient federation of the Philistines, exist as a people, and it is a name they have adopted over the years. They use racial typing to claim who should and should not be allowed in their nation. For every Israeli that is kidnapped, 300 Arabs (often civilians) lose their lives. For a nation that claims to be civilized and seeks to be a part of Europe (football, Eurovision, etc) this is unacceptable - Turkey has been condemned for its treatment of Kurds and Armenians, and action is being attempted on all the above. Russia and Israel are both nations who think of themselves as special cases to whom international law does not apply, however, and the sooner embargoes and blockades are put on both to teach them a lesson, the better

Gavin Le Boutillier, Hull, East Yorkshire

The objection surely is not about race or creed, it is about behaviour. It reflects the fact that Israelis are sophisticated, educated, a democracy, and we should expect high standards from them. Rather than hide behind claims of prejudice, Israeli academics should ask "why do these thoughtful and moderate UK academics, with whom we have so much in common, disapprove of our nation's behaviour?" Listen to your friends, they are telling you something important, something that is more easily seen from the outside.

Nigel Robertson, Melton Mowbray,

Thats the right thing to do. It will pressurise Israel to allow Palestinian students to study at Foreign universities. After all why Israel has not allowed these students to study elsewhere in the world. As they say majority can't be wrong. If majority of the intelligentia of world greatest powers feels that Palestinian are suppressed, they must be right.
Long Live the Lecturers Union.

Daniel, Manchester, UK

I think academics should consider a boycott of all the areas David from Jerusalem lists if there are links between them but Israel is a good start. Why is it that every time -- every time -- someone is critical of Israel they are anti-semitic? I am not anti-semitic in the slightest but I consider Israel a terrorist state.

Paul , Belfast ,

A very good decision. lets be honest, what israel is doing is wrong and deserves to be punished. the western governments have for too long supported isreael in its destruction of the palestinians. the israeli universities need to show that they do not support the criminal behaviour of its government.

sayeed ahmed, coventry, west midlands

I've studied at both British and Israeli universities. As in Britain, Israeli academics are more liberal and left-wing than your average man-in-the-street. Most oppose the Israeli presence in the West Bank. However they know there has to be a Palestinian partner who can take control of the West Bank without it becoming an existential threat to Israel. What has happened in Gaza tells us that giving full control to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority would be a disaster, both for Israel and the Palestinians. The current Israeli government was elected on a platform of territorial withdrawal, but Palestinian terror has rendered that impossible. Some problems don't have easy answers, unless of course you're on the British Left where everything can be blamed on Israel or "Bush-and-Blair " (delete where appropriate). Nice, simple, mindless and spiteful. That British academics subscribe to this brainless worldview should be a cause of shame.

Jonathan Karmi, Northwood, UK

"Global Outrage" you say? I dont think the outrage was global at all...its more like "local outrage" in the US and Israel...the rest of the world(All of South and Latin America, Africa, South East Asia, China, Russia, and many in Western Europe, not to mention the Middle East) are sympathetic to the Palestinian by and large...this is reflected in the many General Assembly resolutions passed that condemn Israel...many would also pass in the Security Council were it not for the US veto. So dont call it "global outrage" at boycotting Israel...

John, Johnston, US

And what about the educational rights of the Israeli students in Sderot wich is being bombed on daily basis from the Gaza strip that has been left by Israel a few years ago and not occupied anymore?

Gennady, Haifa, Israel

Academics should be radical, politically. This has always been the case and should continue to be so. I bemoan the fact that our universities now seem to be hotbeds of cheap consumerism and conformity.

So, I would support the UCU in this decision, if it came. I already boycott Israeli goods, and believe that only the West's firm hand will put an end to the complete misery of being a Palestinian under Israeli control.

Will this occur? Israel is a buffer against the nations that the West so stupidly fears, so I doubt it. What are a thousand Palestinian deaths compared to what Israel suffers then? And Israel does suffer, but not on the scale of suffering that they have inflicted on the Palestinians, nevermind the tensions, both political and military they have caused in the region.

It should be remembered how Israel, the modern state, came to be. I recall vividly the horror stories my Dad told me about serving there, and the stories of those dispossessed by land grabs and violence.

Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, England

This is a scandalous and anti-Semitic move. Of course there must come an end to the present situation. Israel pulled out from Gaza but instead of rebuilding the strip with the billions of the western governments, they start fighting each other and shelling Israeli towns.
This move is also of nu use to the Palestinians.
Most of the Israeli academics have been opposing the occupation. The universities have campaigned in favour of easing measures against the Palestinians and for free movement to their universities.
This is typical double standards! Where are the boycotts against Russia occupying Chechnya or Chinese over Tibet, or against Saudi Arabia forbidding women to study?
A shame to the British people.

Joseph Krant, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This is an amazingly bad decision. Governments and politicians in various countries take decisions that we do not necessarily agree with. But people living in civil soceties do not penalise people of those countries for governmental decisions, especially those people who are perhaps in the best position to help foster constructive intra-country and cross-border debates about contentious issues. If we have to penalise people of various countries for the decisions of their governments, we should go after Chinese scholars for China's occupation of Tibet, Pakistani scholars for Pakistan's role in imposing the Taliban on the Afghans, and American scholars who have to bear with a neocon dominated government that can be held accountable for loss of thousands of civilian lives in Iraq. For all we know, we should stop working with other scholars in this country because we have all tolerated a PM who has gone along with the Bush administration. The UCU should reject this motion unequivocally.

Dr. Sumon Bhaumik, Uxbridge,

Big suprise. Intellectual honesty is a foreign concept to many in the UCU.

Dan, Hampton, UK

It may be antisemitism, but this is above all extreme Leftism to further the Marxist multicultural agenda: The Unholy Allience of two irrational, totalitarian 'minorities' against the forces of freedom and justice! Journalism as well as higher eduction is where the Allience lives. We shouldn't be surprised, but the truth is this is very bad news for humanity. The message is, we prefer you have yourselves blown to bits, over measures that 'suppress minoraties'.

Cassandra, Athens, Greece

Israel takes the lands of the Palestinians, kidnaps their elected representatives, withholds their money, destroys their orange groves & bombs them using US supplied aircraft.

Is this not sufficient reason to boycott their academics ?

richard mullens, London, England

I don't think the boycott is racially motivated, it's cheap to say that it is. I do believe, however, that the boycott is misguided. As other readers have pointed out, there are many injustices in the world, none of which the Union has addressed. To single out the Isael/Palestine issue seems absurb. It seems even more absurd that an academic union would seek to impact on upon members of their own profession. Good luck to them I say. They're raising more questions about themselves than actually usefully highlighting any wrongdoings in the middle east.

Chris K, London,

David from Jerusalem writes "But as it is only Israel that is mentioned,one can ask why? Because:-there are no visible jews in China,Sudan,Tibet,Chechnya or Darfur. As to Turkey,Australia and New Zealand ,U.C.U,is still in the process of head counting their jewish population.

james hazan, huddersfield.west yorks, uk

Living in the uk- it saddens me to see our educational standards drop,but when I see academia wishing to boycott Israel it shows where the fault lies.
The twisted logic that singles out the only true democracy in the middle east beggars belief.
Israel is trying to deal with an enemy who seeks the extermination of Israel and the jews
an enemy that cannot even honour a truce between its own factions
It is being assaulted by a religiously driven enemy that has attacked it for 1400 years.
The UCU boycott is based on ignorance which shows more kinship with a macademia nut

tommy, belfast, uk

I imagine if my view of the middle east was based only on the media reports I would also be highly critical of Israel. However for a balanced opinion I suggest the people who who voted for the resolution should live in Sedorort with missiles falling randomly on the residents, should travel on buses that may be blown up or listen to mothers who are proud that their children are suicide bombers. Of course the Palestinian situation is not good but what posotive steps have they taken to help themselves. The opposite is true. When close to any agreement, we know a terrorist attack is imminent

stanley , Haifa , Israel

As with most Trade Unions - they are pro-terrorist and anti semitic.

Nigel MacDonald, Camborne, UK

I suspected this would happen. Not many Jewish voices were raised agaisnt the no-platform policy for racists and fascists. Neither did I criticise it very volubly myself, I must admit - I don't need hassle. Now it's the turn of Israel, then Israeli-front organisations, then Jewish organisations. Judaism is a racist religion, is it not?

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

I do not understand how any intelligent person can back a boycott of academic institutions that have many Arab Israeli and Palestinian students and faculty.

What can this possibly achieve apart from showing the world the minimal respect of those responsible for this action have, for the right of academic freedom and the seperation of politics from free thought.

As the previous comment mentioned the lack of condemnation of any other human rights abusing country MUST draw one to question the racial motivation of the Union.

We appear to have a racially driven Union that imposes a boycott to fight aparthaid. Extremely hypocitical and worrying for the UK.

Jo, Birmingham, UK

It would be easier to believe that this motion wasn't anti-semitic if it included a call to boycott China for its policies in Tibet, Russia for the situation in Chechnya, Turkey for its treatment of Kurds, Sudan for Darfur, may be even all the countries of the Americas as well as Australia and New Zealand for their oppression of indiginous populations. But as it is only Israel is mentioned. One can only ask why?

David, Jerusalem, Israel

I can see what comes next: UCU invites Iran to hold holocaust conference in England.

Zened, London,

"where are the boycots of egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and how they treat there palestinians?" -- joshua, montreal, canada

Dear joshua, Palestinians should not even have refugee camps in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria or Jordan. Is it because of Israel's ethnic cleansing, maybe?

All credit goes to British lecturers for doing the right thing. Welldone Britz!

S.Parker, California, US

Britain's academics have made a statement. It was not a statement made in a vacuum. They will have to defend it. In doing so will demonstrate their willing partnership with people and regimes of the most backward, regressive and most oppressive order.
They would deny the legitimacy of the Jews having even this minuscule bit of land as their national home. From the moment Israel was created in '48 every surrounding Arab country invaded it promising to overrun it. Except for some new names nothing to this day has changed. Israel's only protection come not from Britain's academics but from buffer zones.
So let these misguided academics deliver their prejudices and skewed intellectualizations to the historians notebooks . They impress no one. Unfortunately the stain carries through to everything England had proudly stood for.
With those academics out there most Jews know just why they need Israel.

Ernalud France, Tours, France

I am ashamed to br British. Perhaps someone could enlighten meas to which other countries the academics have seen fir to boycott on the same grounds. Democracy is about encouragin academic freedom this cannot be limited to the academic freedom of the people we agree with!!
The absurdity of it is of course that in many cases it is the academics in Israel who have lead the case for political change between Palestinians and Israelis and as such should be rewarded and not punished.

Daniel Goldman, Bet Shemesh, Israel

I was debating with some Union members they said 'we will not vote this measure in', they called me paranoid for worrying about it ahead of time.

Now I would expect the UCU to Invite Iran to hold its 'holocaust denial conference' in England next year.

You teachers must be so proud of yourselves.

Zened, London, Scotland

All the stories have been told
Of kings and days of old,
But there's no England now.
All the wars that were won and lost
Somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore.
All the lies we were told,
All the lies of the people running round,
They're castles have burned.
Now I see change,
But inside we're the same as we ever were.

Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Living this way, each day is a dream.
What am I, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line,
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Now another century nearly gone,
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do,
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much, does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter?
Yes, it really, really matters.

donald dworken, West Covina, CA

Its seems as though calling for the boycott as Israeli scholars seems more "news worthy" then boycotting other nations. Britain’s lecturers’ union should rethink their approach as to not mix politics with academics and seem more anti-sememtic then anything else. This is definately a giant step backwards and will brand the Britain’s lecturers’ union as a short sighted organisation, which it obviously is. Whats a shame.

Steven , London, UK

I always laboured under the impression that university gave students the amunition to learn to think for themselves. Isn't this going against the grain? Here the lecturers are using their position of influence to 'impose' their opinions on others. Is that legal? Can they refuse to work with people with green eyes, or those with speech impediments. They are clumping all Israelis together and treating them as one. Not that long ago would they have complained that they wouldn't work with any Irish academics because of the IRA? It is rediculous.

Jennifer de Sanchez, Alessandria, Italy

the reasion the world has a problem with Israel is because Israel is an Apartheid state with it's 21% Arab population being subject to different laws than the Jewish ones. The fact that the Palestinian population were thrown out of their country in 1947-48 doesn't help either.

Tom Eisner, london, uk

u can say this isn't anti-semetism, but where are the boycots of egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and how they treat there palestinians? only because its a jewish state does the world have a problem with it

joshua, montreal, canada

Another boycott . This time the UCU. The time has come for Americans to avoid travelling to Britain. It is an infected area - infected with anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism . Like a SARS epidemic it should be sealed off from the rest of the sane world, or what's left of it - the US,. Australia, Israel and perhaps India and Thailand. One could argue that contact is necessary to influence and explain to the ignorant and brainwashed. Arguments do not help. Logic does not help for it is a malaise of the mind. A hypnotic trance of nonsense pouring out of the country that was once the pinnacle of our civilization. How scary . How sobering

Mladen Andrijasevic , Be'er Sheva , Israel