My Letter to the Association of University Teachers of the U

[ttraub]

5-17-2005
updated 6-23-2005

The Association of University Teachers of the U.K., a professional union, announced on April 22, 2005, a plan to boycott Haifa University and Bar-Ilan University. April 23 was the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday.

The AUT claims in their "About Us" section of their web site that they are not affiliated with any political party. They claim to have instituted the boycott of Jewish professors (the boycott does not affect Israeli Arabs) because of Bar-Ilan's ties to a Jewish college in what the AUT deems an "illegal settlement" in the West Bank, and because of Haifa's supposed repression of a political science professor, Ilan Pappe. However, Pappe himself has publicly criticized the AUT's claim as "baseless".

Curiously, the AUT has been silent on the subject of human rights abuses in China, as well as the continued occupation and subjugation of Tibet by that regime. Last we heard, university professors in China can get the sack by criticizing their government; they have to toe a very careful line. We have also not heard these people speak out against Sudan, Uganda, and dozens of other regimes around the world where mind-numbing atrocities are committed on a daily basis. No, only Israel, the sole democratic nation in the Middle East that has endured invasion after invasion and atrocity upon atrocity perpetrated by extremist Islamists.

The following is my letter to this union.

May 17, 2005

The Association of University Teachers is reported to have initiated a boycott of Jewish professors from two Israeli universities. Curiously, Arab-Israeli professors are excluded from this boycott.

This transparent and cowardly act sullies the reputation of British academia. You have sided with and taken up the clarion call of Islamic extremists and terrorists who wish to isolate and destroy the Jewish state. So much for the justice and fairness that your organization claims to support.

To top it off, it is reported that you made this decision at a meeting that occurred during the Jewish Passover holiday, thus ensuring that most of your Jewish members would be absent.

The AUT is the laughing stock of the civilized world. Perhaps you should move your headquarters to Tehran or, better yet, the West Bank of Palestine where you will enjoy the company of many like-minded bigots. Or perhaps you should disband your syndicate and get real jobs at restaurants and janitorial companies, if any would hire you; a little honest work is good for building character.

Terry Traub
Boston, Mass.
USA