In a historic first for the University of California system, all ten chancellors have signed on to a joint statement condemning any faculty attempts to implement any type of academic boycott of Israel on any UC campus.
“As chancellors of the University of California campuses, we write to reaffirm our long- standing opposition to an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions and/or individual scholars. Our commitment to continued engagement and partnership with Israeli, as well as Palestinian colleagues, colleges, and universities is unwavering,” wrote the chancellors.
Additionally, the chancellors also expressed their grave concerns about how the existence of such a boycott could serve to infringe upon the academic freedom normally expected by students and faculty, specifically as to how the boycott might unfairly influence the current discourse between supporters of Israel and Palestine on the UC campus:
While college campuses have long harbored academic criticism of Israel, the past few years have seen a resurgence of boycott efforts directed toward the Holy Land, specifically toward programs that provide Jewish students the opportunity to study abroad in Israel for a semester.
Last moth, the faculty senate at Pitzer College in California voted to suspend the last remaining study abroad program in Israel maintained by the college with the University of Haifa over concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestine. The move, which was criticized by several students and faculty, as well as the president of Pitzer College, was championed by several anti-Israel faculty who claimed that such a decision was similar to ending apartheid in South Africa.
“Apartheid of Palestinians is funded by the U.S. government,” said Dan Segal, a professor of anthropology and history who introduced the motion during the faculty senate meeting.
Despite the rogue efforts of a few anti-Israel faculty members, it appears that the administration for the University of California system is still willing to stand with Israel and protect the rights of both Jewish and Palestinian students to engage in free and fair debate over current issues in the Middle East, without allowing the BDS movement to stifle any support for Israel’s right to exist in the region.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
