Activism and BDS Beat 20 December 2013
We discussed what the boycott means, some of the criticisms of it, and some of the ways Israeli acacdemic institutions participate in violating Palestinian rights.
Rather than shut off dialogue as some critics claim, I argued that the boycott vote has promoted debate where before there was silence. I also say that students and professors don’t go on campus and “leave [their] morals and ethics behind.”
Universities are traditionally, and ought to remain, sites of ethical deliberation and that is why more people are willing to consider the boycott.
Watch the video!
Israeli universities’ complicity
Here’s more information on some of the issues I referred to in the interview:
“Tel Aviv University is asked to acknowledge its past and to commemorate the Palestinian village on which grounds the university was built,” Zochrot, 2003.
“Academic Boycott of Israel and the Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in Occupation of Palestinian Territories” (PDF), Alternative Information Center, 2009.
Israeli students to get $2,000 to spread state propaganda on Facebook, Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 4 January 2012.
“Israel’s repression of Palestinian students reached new level during Gaza attack,” Yara Sa’di, The Electronic Intifada, 28 November 2012.
“Tel Aviv University’s role in settler-run archaeological dig ‘playing into hands of BDS,’ Israeli academics complain,” Ben White, The Electronic Intifada, 26 December 2012.
“Comment posted, damage done: Online battle for Israel’s hasbara,” Ynet, 18 September 2013 – This article details university complicity in setting up “war rooms” where students are encouraged to disseminate online propaganda justifying Israeli military attacks on Palestinians.
