Burstan chides the organization of British academics for agreeing to discuss a possible boycott of Israeli academics, who he describes as "...the one group within Israeli society which has consistently, vigorously and courageously campaigned against the occupation since its inception...."
What Bustan fails to note is that the Israeli academic community appears to be experiencing a significant sea change. In his recent interview on "Crossing the Line" with Chris Brown, long-time Israeli academic Ilan Pappe, when asked about his upcoming move from the University of Haifa to the United Kingdom, said that there is "...very little room for any genuine academic work for me here in Israel, in terms of dialogue with colleagues, research opportunities and advancing my research...."
Perhaps Burstan has missed the real issue here, i.e., the revival of boycott talks by British academicians is simply a reflection of this sea change within the Israel academic community. |
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