Is it outrageous that a Jew with any real Jewish feeling should support a boycott of Eretz Yisrael, even a boycott of Medinat Yisrael. Of course, Jews can and should engage with Israel in a meaningful and not-uncritical way. They can push the Israeli government to act in a better, "more Jewish" way. But for those Jews who feel a bond with Zion and Am Yisrael, to have a fellow Jew willfully turn her back on fellow Jews is insulting.
Moreover, since Israeli academia might be the most progressive segment of society, a boycott of Israeli academia by foreign academics only punishes those most inclined to work for progress.
The article describes Rose as a "one-time proponent of the academic boycott." I hope that she has come to her senses. To those British Jews who support international isolation of Eretz YisraeI, I can only say (to borrow a phrase): In you my dear academics, as in so many intellectuals from the European Left, I find little trace of this Ahavat Yisrael. |
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