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Palestinians Divided Over Boycott of Israeli Universities
(New York Times) Matthew Kalman - Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi, director of American studies at Al-Quds University in eastern Jerusalem, said, "I believe that you should not have a general boycott against Israel, or a boycott against Israeli universities.... Don't target those Israelis and those universities and those institutions which actually are your partner." A professor in the College of Pharmacy at Al-Quds said more than 50 Palestinian professors were engaged in joint research projects with Israeli universities, funded by international agencies. He said that, without those grants, Palestinian academic research would collapse. Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, denied that Israel is interfering in Palestinians' academic freedom and said that Israel has provided much support for Palestinian universities over the decades. "The Palestinians can teach anything, conduct research, use whatever textbooks they like." Moreover, "there is no ban on the entry to the West Bank of any lecturer, professor, or researcher. There never was."