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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-Boycott-Israel-movement-scores-another-victory-434974
Academic Boycott? Palestinians Benefit from Cooperation with Israel
(Jerusalem Post) Ilan Troen - The American Anthropological Association passed a motion in support of BDS on Friday. Israel has become enmeshed in a moral binary in which it is widely assumed to be in the wrong. Those academics who advocate a boycott of Israel nowhere acknowledge the disruptions to Israeli education in the context of the missile war against Israel or of the terrorist attacks motivated by ideologies that deny the right of the Jewish people to an independent state. They ignore the reality that Palestinian universities were created only after 1967 during Israeli control. Thousands of Israeli Arabs study and teach at Israeli institutions, including the president of an Israeli college. Similarly, Palestinians from the PA collaborate with Israelis in education and research projects in health, agriculture and environmental problems. Even Hamas leaders send family members to Israeli university hospitals. BDS resolutions still the voices of those genuinely interested in resolving this conflict. Academic boycotts are an instrument for silencing and intimidation. The writer is Professor of Israel Studies at Brandeis University.