Norwegian University’s Board Rejects Academic Boycott of Israel

The governing board of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology voted unanimously today to reject a proposed academic boycott of Israel. The proposal, which had drawn significant coverage in Israel, would have made the university the first Western higher-education institution to adopt an academic boycott of the Jewish state, but similar motions have repeatedly been offered at national faculty-union meetings in Britain. In a statement after today’s vote, the Norwegian board said that the university’s mission was “to stimulate the study of the causes of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and how it can be resolved. This means that the university is also dependent on being able to cooperate with Israeli academics, and hear their views on the conflict.”