| What is wrong with British academics? In their headlong rush to sympathize with so-called Third World liberation movements, why are they ignoring solid facts? Yes, the occupation of the West Bank is not great, but Israel is a liberal, democratic country, like Britain, not an authoritarian dictatorship, like Syria or Saudi Arabia. Anyone who has been to Haifa, East Jerusalem, or the Galilee knows that Israel is not an apartheid state, like pre-1994 South Africa. Do British academics really want to support a terrorist organization (Hamas) and autocracies (almost all Arab states) over a progressive, democratic state? And a democratic state can be led to ameliorate unfortunate policies. So, how about trying to understand Israel, helping the Israeli left, supporting their academic colleagues in Israel, and promoting dialogue? Or are these calls for boycott more about them and less about Israel per se? The whole thing baffles me. |
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