Ramallah: A group of Jewish academics in Britain has attacked the cancellation of a conference on the legitimacy of the Israeli regime, claiming the move was against academic freedom and “intellectually lazy.”
The University of Southampton conference was titled “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism” and sought “to explore the relatedness of the suffering and injustice in Palestine to the foundation and protection of a state of such nature.”
The conference had been opposed by significant Jewish groups in the United Kingdom, including the United Kingdom Zionist Federation (which gathered more than 6,400 signatures on a petition), the Jewish Board of Deputies, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and several members of parliament, the Israeli media reported.
In the end the University of Southampton made the decision to cancel, citing health and safety concerns.
Conference organisers attempted to have the High Court in London conduct a judicial review of the university’s decision, but the court rejected the application.
The 13 signatories to the letter maintained that the conference would not have breached UK law in any way.
Their letter stated that the cancellation “sets dangerous precedents.”
“In this instance, those precedents include legitimising the interference and intervention of outside interest groups on campus, limiting academic debate, silencing critical voices, and setting the stage for further moves to boycott academic events and individuals. None of this is acceptable, and we feel we have a duty to stand up against this now.”
“We hope that the University realises that the reported actions of some organisations in relation to this conference do not speak for all Jews, and that many of us — including those who disagree vehemently with the viewpoints of some of the conference presenters — are nevertheless dismayed by what had happened,” the letter stated.
