“Boycott a Cure for Cancer? Stop Drip Irrigation in Africa? Prevent Scientific Cooperation Between Nations?” So reads a full-page ad in today’s New York Times that was sponsored by U.S.-based support groups for seven of Israel’s largest universities.
The ad is a response to a proposal last month by Britain’s largest faculty union to boycott Israeli universities and refuse to cooperate with Israeli academics. The motion is likely to be debated among the union’s 120,000 members this fall and then come to a vote.
The support groups say the proposal “is not only biased and unethical; it’s counterproductive to human progress and world peace.” The ad lists discoveries made by academics at Israeli universities and ends with the note, “Everyone Loses With Academic Boycotts.” —Beth McMurtrie
