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New Initiative Fights Boycott of Israeli Academics
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal) David Suissa - UCLA Professor Judea Pearl has joined forces with David Harel, President of Israel's Academy of Science, and Moshe Vardi, Professor of Computer Science at Rice University, to fight the boycott of Israeli academics. They have already recruited 65 members of three National Academies, among them 10 Nobel Laureates, to issue a statement that essentially says, "If your institution boycotts our colleagues in Israel, count us out, we will decline any invitation to speak on your campus." "Academic boycotts, in all their manifestations, [are] fundamentally antithetical to the essence of scientific exploration, carrying harmful consequences to the global scientific community, to the junior scholars whose careers are derailed, to the boycotting institutions themselves, and to society at large." "In solidarity with our Israeli peers, we declare our unwavering professional and academic alignment with Israel's scientific community, and state our wish to be treated in the exact same manner as all our colleagues residing in Israel - subject to the very same restrictions, institutional barriers, and consequences that such discriminatory practices entail." Never mind the stupidity of boycotting a country that is at the forefront of scientific innovation and excellence, the singling out of Israel for special punishment was always inherently discriminatory and unjust. Now, prominent academics who believe in justice are giving the boycotters a taste of their own medicine.