We Must Try Harder Shamai Leibowitz and Yehudith Harel June 17, 2005
an abbreviated and edited version of the following article appeared in: Chronicle of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i41/41b01301.htm <http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i41/41b01301.htm> The May 26 decision of the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) to reverse its earlier boycott declaration against two Israeli universities requires a response from Israeli human rights and peace activists. Both authors of this piece actively pursue these goals and so, at this point, we feel the need to reaffirm our support of a comprehensive boycott and urge our colleagues in the academy and elsewhere not to give in to pressure, but to renew the efforts for the implementation of the boycott of complicit Israeli institutions. The AUT reversal of its earlier decision is illustrative of the raw political power that the so-called `pro-Israel` lobby wields in Europe and the US. At the same time, the AUT backtracking reflects the weakness and lack of resolve of the global community. Instead of standing firmly in the face of the barrage of partisan criticism that inevitably follows on attempts to hold Israel accountable for its illegal and brutal treatment of the Palestinians, the AUT capitulated and gave in. Answering the call of more than a hundred Palestinian NGO`s, trade unions, and academic institutions for a comprehensive academic and cultural boycott of Israel until the occupation ends could have helped to move our region towards a new era of respect for human rights, security, and peace. As Israeli Jews who have graduated from Israeli universities, we have first-hand experience in Israeli academia, which is a microcosm of Israeli society. During our time in the Israeli academy and ever since, there were lamentably few voices raised from inside the academic establishment against the occupation and the colonization of Palestinian land. To date, most Israeli academics, artists, lawyers and judges - with very few exceptions - have not engaged in a single act of protest or civil disobedience to put an end to the oppression of the Palestinian people. All attempts to issue official condemnations on behalf of Israeli Universities on the closure of Palestinian universities, during the first and second Intifadas, failed. Likewise, none of the few student and faculty actions of solidarity with their besieged Palestinian colleagues was endorsed by the official establishment of any of the Israeli universities. The majority of academics were either silent or actively justified the criminal conduct of the Israeli government and judiciary in the cruel oppression of millions of Palestinians. Moreover, academics who express extreme racist opinions are not a rarity in Israeli universities. Because of the influence of professors as educators of young Israelis, such ideas have a profound, long-term effect on building a racist, intolerant society. Arnon Sofer of Haifa University speaks about Palestinians in general, and the Palestinian citizens of Israel in particular, as being a "demographic threat" and has called for the "transfer" of the latter, a euphemism for ethnic cleansing. Dan Schueftan, also from Haifa University, has demonized Palestinians and openly advocated cutting national insurance payments to Palestinian citizens of Israel to minimize their birthrate. Another Haifa University academic, David Bukai, teaches in his classes that that `Arabs are stupid.` Benny Morris of Ben-Gurion University has said that `ethnic cleansing is a legitimate tool". Morris expressed his regrets that the ethnic cleansing of 48' was not effectively finalized during the war and he has suggested building cages and enclosing the Palestinians in them. Eerily, Morris' strategy is currently being implemented on a vast scale by the creation of walled Palestinian ghettoes in Gaza and the West Bank. The problem is not that some individuals inside the Israeli academy advocate racist ideas. Such people exist everywhere. The depressing fact is that these people are not isolated individuals but they represent a trend that has gained prevalence and legitimacy inside the Israeli academy and Israeli society at large. This reality may explain the response of Israeli academic institutions which has been silence and complicity: lecturers who espouse extreme racist positions that violate international law and human rights conventions face no censure-and keep their jobs as teachers of the next generation of Israeli youth. In the name of `academic freedom`, the main argument raised against the academic boycott and used to undermine and de-legitimize it, Israeli academia has legitimized racism of the worst kind and promoted state policies that contribute to oppression, violence, hatred, and fanaticism. People and organizations, in Israel and abroad, calling for a comprehensive boycott face an onslaught of criticism and accusations of `anti-Semitism` from the so-called `pro-Israel` lobby. Abusing the concept of anti-Semitism in order to support the Israeli government`s occupation and oppression of Palestinians, the `pro-Israel` lobby does nothing less than desecrate the memory of Jewish victims of real anti-Semitism. For decades, the pro-Israel" lobby has wielded its immense power to fuel hatred and fanaticism in our region. By threatening and intimidating the sane voices of fair-minded people, this special interest group has promoted a deeply flawed, narrow, unbalanced agenda that has continuously worked against peace. To struggle against an all-powerful Israeli colonial regime, we, the Israeli human rights community, need support and assistance from the international civil society in the form of boycott. The boycott is a classic tool for social change. The American Revolution began with the Boston Tea Party. The non-violent movement that brought down the British colonial empire included Gandhi`s boycott against British textiles. The Montgomery bus boycott launched the American civil rights movement, which ended segregation and disenfranchisement of Afro-Americans. And, of course, the international boycott of South Africa played a vital role in ending apartheid. These historical precedents support the boycott organizers` statement that boycott is `the most practical contribution to ending Israel`s occupation and colonization of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.` Because Israel is a highly market-driven country, intertwined with foreign academia, culture, and commerce; because Israeli Jews are accustomed to think so highly of themselves and yet they are so dependent on being acknowledged, the boycott has the power to encourage them to take an active role in demanding an end to the barbaric policies being carried out by their own government. They need to be awakened, and it will take shock treatment from the international community to do it. We must not be discouraged by the AUT setback, as it was expected. We must actively combat the attempt to be silenced and marginalized. As Israelis familiar with Israeli politics, it is clear to us that we will not see the end of occupation and subjugation in our lifetimes, if Israel does not face a comprehensive boycott. If Israel is ever to embrace values of justice and human dignity, if Israel is ever to end the 38 years old military occupation - the longest in modern history- civil society in the international community must implement a strategic boycott aimed at ending the occupation. Indeed, the academic boycott could serve just such an end. One must admit, however, that boycotting the academies before other institutions is just a first step and a matter of expediency, on the assumption that it is easier to mobilize academies for a just cause than other parts of society. Those in the AUT who supported the boycott and other human-rights-oriented individuals and groups should not give up, but rather, to paraphrase the famous Avis slogan - try harder. Yes, we must try harder. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Yehudith Harel is an Israeli organizational psychologist, veteran peace activist, and one of the founders of Israeli-Palestinian Action Group for Peace; Shamai Leibowitz is an Israeli lawyer, Human Rights activist, and a former officer in the Israeli army. http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=4502 Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VTJP/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
