In light of the recent vote by the United Kingdom's University and College Union at the UCU conference yesterday to support the boycott of Israeli academics, you may want to speak to Dr. Charles Small, Director of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, Yale University.  
 
"Scholarship is intended to be based on an honest search for truth that examines all sides of a given issue and context. The fact that the UCU voted to reject this basic premise and boycott Israeli scholars and academic institutions goes against the very nature of real scholarship. The UCU decision is based on a one sided view of the Middle East conflict. It singles out scholars based on national origin in a manner is not acceptable and discredited. It undermines academic freedom and sets different standards for people based on their origin rather then on their scholarship or ideas."  
 
"It is incredible that some are attempting to de-legitimate Israel, the only democracy in the region, while a significant radical social movement gains strength that is anti-Enlightenment, genocidal in its antisemitism, not to mention anti-democratic, sexist and homophobic, and in fact governs Israel's neighboring Palestinian Authority." 
 
Charles Asher Small, D. Phil.
Director of the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA), Institution for Social and Policy Studies

charles.small@yale.edu