British boycott of Israeli universities might be overturned

The controversial boycott of two Israeli universities by British academics could be overturned before it can start to take effect. Academics who oppose the boycott plan are to call an special conference of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) to overturn the ban after a massive international backlash against the boycott. Lecturers who oppose the ban believe they will collect enough signatures to trigger a new conference, according to the "Times Higher Educational Supplement". Jewish scholars have already called for a tit-for-tat boycott of British academics. The AUT, Britain's leading academics' labor union, last week voted to boycott Haifa and Bar Ilan Universities for their alleged collusion with the Israeli government in its mistreatment of the Palestinians. The boycott motion accused Bar Ilan of being "directly involved with the occupation of Palestinian territories" because it supervises degree programmes at a college based in the settlement of Ariel, near Nablus in the West Bank. Haifa was accused of failing to uphold the academic freedom of staff and students who conducted research into the founding of the state of Israel that portrayed the country in an unflattering light.