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Lecturer defends Israeli boycott plan on eve of vote
EFL:
The woman behind a divisive vote today to boycott Israeli universities has brushed aside criticism of the proposals, saying it is impossible to treat that country's academics as "normal citizens from a normal state".
"They're all Jooos, you know!"
Sue Blackwell, a Birmingham loonie lecturer, who is launching her second attempt to secure a national boycott of Israeli academia, said that, if successful, the move would increase the pressure on the "illegitimate state of Israel". She accused the country's universities of being complicit in the alleged abuse of Palestinians in the occupied territories. The proposal, due to be heard at the Association of University Teachers' conference in Eastbourne today, has already sparked a heated international debate. This week more than 250 leading academics voiced their concerns in the Guardian, claiming that there should be a "free flow of ideas" between universities, unfettered by politics. But the boycott campaign received a boost today when the Palestinian Authority said that it was supporting the motion. Ghassan Khatib, the minister for planning, told the Guardian: "Academics of the world should hold Israeli academics responsible for the deeds of their government, and maybe this might waken consciousness within them."

Speaking to the Guardian, Ms Blackwell said it was essential that academics took a stand against an "apartheid state." "There is this great wall of silence, great complicity, about what is happening," she said. "On one hand they are not saying anything about the occupation and on the other they expect it to be business as usual; they expect to be treated as normal citizens from a normal state. "They expect to come to international conferences and the boycott campaign is about saying no, you can't have your cake and eat it." She said those who objected to the proposed boycott did not understand "the extent to which Israeli academics are routinely implicated in racist discourses against Arab students and Arabs in general". Last night Ms Blackwell said she would not give up even if the motion was defeated. "Whatever happens, there's been a really good debate and we've got it on the agenda."
Posted by: Steve 2005-04-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=62016