[wvns] Israel Divestment Back On the Agenda
In solidarity with Palestinians
John Chalcraft
May 30, 2007
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_chalcraft/2007/05/boycotty.html
An international, non-violent movement supporting divestment,
sanctions and boycott of Israel is gathering strength. While progress
has been made in Northern Ireland and South Africa, Israel continues
to settle and occupy Palestinian land in defiance of international law.
The question for British academics is whether they should join this
international movement, and refuse to do business as usual with
Israeli academic institutions. At stake is not the boycott of
individual Israelis, nor their subjection to some political test, but
the withdrawal of institutional collaboration with Israeli
universities. The boycott implies the refusal to participate in
conferences or research sponsored by Israeli authorities or
universities; withdrawal from institutional level cooperation;
opposition to the award of grants by the EU to Israeli institutions,
and refusal to serve as referees for publications based at Israeli
universities.
Academics are unlikely to be persuaded by the erroneous claim that
Palestinians themselves are against the boycott. In fact, the
Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and
Employees and many other organisations have endorsed the call for
boycott in general, and the specific motion before the University and
College Union in particular.
Also feeble is the notion that Israeli universities have been
trenchant critics of Israeli violations and supporters of Palestinian
rights. In fact, no Israeli academic institution has ever taken a
public stand against the military occupation of East Jerusalem, West
Bank and Gaza, now in its 40th year. Indeed, the courageous few
Israeli scholars who have dared to challenge conventional Zionist
narratives have been hounded and harrassed. The reality is that the
Israeli academy has long provided intellectual, linguistic,
logistical, technical, scientific and human support for an ongoing
military occupation in direct, long term violation of international
law. In particular, Israeli universities have never seriously opposed
the infrastructural degradation of Palestinian education at all
levels, the destruction by Israel of educational buildings and
equipment, the killing and injuring of students and others, or the
checkpoints, border controls, land seizure, and the illegal separation
wall which place significant obstacles on academic and educational
activity.
Academics sincerely wrestling with their conscience will not be
impressed by opponents who resort to calling them anti-semitic. The
movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions includes Jews and
non-Jews, stands against racist prejudice of all kinds, and refuses
the determinist and anti-semitic notion that all Jews by nature must
be linked to Zionism and its atrocities. The movement's charge is simple.
Israel is a state founded on discrimination. Israel privileges
Zionist-Jews, and subordinates and dispossesses Palestinians and
Arabs. The latest phase of this discrimination has been compared by
many - former US President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond among
them - to the South African system of apartheid.
More challenging is the argument that the boycott is
counter-productive because dialogue and scientific collaboration are
more effective than a divisive boycott. The example of South Africa
tells otherwise. The international boycott movement had a tremendous
impact in breaking down apartheid by raising consciousness and
disrupting international business as usual. Crucially, Israel now,
like South Africa then, considers itself part of, and has multiple
ties to the west. This means that unlike in Iran, say, the boycott
cannot plausibly be viewed simply as western imperialism. When western
civil society says enough is enough, Israelis, not to mention western
governments, will take notice.
Is it unfair to single Israel out? It is not clear that there are
other heavily militarised, nuclear-armed, expansionist apartheid
states with extensive illegal settlement, land seizure and
wall-building activity. There are certainly other violators of
international law, and the case for boycotting each must be made on
its merits. That does not weaken the case for a nonviolent,
international movement regarding Israel. To say that it does is simply
special pleading.
As for academic freedom, it should be remembered that the situation
has long involved the denial of Palestinians' academic freedom. The
point of the boycott, which will certainly involve forms of
institutional disruption, is to end this vicious discrimination and
the massive and structural violation of academic freedom involved. The
boycott, moreover, will encourage and give protection to Israeli
academics critical of academic complicity and occupation, and stands
in solidarity with Palestinians whose freedoms have long been repressed.
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