Mindless Jerks in Ivory Towers

It's so infuriating that I find it difficult to quote from this Jerusalem Post article

British motion to boycott Israeli Academics
The Birmingham University branch of the AUT (the older of the UK's two academic trade unions) has put four motions on the council's agenda, one of which is also being supported by the Open University's union branch. Three of these motions call for a boycott of specific academic institutions – Haifa University, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Bar-Ilan University.

Writer A.B. Yehoshua observes with perhaps a hint of sarcasm:

"The incredible sensitivity of the British is very encouraging precisely at this time, while the British army is still in Iraq," said prominent Israeli writer and peace activist A. B. Yehoshua. "Are these esteemed academics also boycotting their British and American colleagues who are not speaking out against the war in Iraq?"

"We are very flattered," Yehoshua added, "by the expectation that Israel remain unblemished. But there is a great distance between academic dialogue and an academic boycott. If they cared to dialogue with Israeli academics and intellectuals, they would discover how many of them have been struggling for years against the occupation and for recognition of a Palestinian state, even in a very complex situation of war and terror. Perhaps they would realize that part of the positive steps towards resolution of the conflict taken by the Israeli government are the result, in part, of such intellectuals' efforts. If they choose to boycott, let them boycott everyone in the world who doesn't think like them. And if they choose to dialogue, we are always ready to talk things over for the sake of peace."

It's not the first time European academics have singled out Jews for special attention. As recently as 2002, hundreds of European academics signed on to an academic boycott of Israel. The website, www.pjpo.org, is no longer in existance. However, thanks to the inexorable caching of web pages, the list of signatories, in all their shame, is still available here

So fundamental is cooperation to the efficient pursuit of science that most journals mandate that contributers agree to provide reagents upon request. But obviously individuals who publically declare that they don't wish to participate in free cooperation, should not benefit from the system. Therefore, in the interests of fairness, I decline to provide reagents or support to any of the people on the petition above, and signatories to similar efforts. Should this motion pass, I see no course than to refuse academic cooperation with members of the AUT. Anybody who feels similarly might like to point this out to the President of the AUT, Angela Roger (president@aut.org.uk).