Letter to British Association of University Teachers

Letter to British Association of University Teachers

May 20, 2005

Dr. Angela Roberts, President
Dr. Sally Hunt, General Secretary
British Association of University Teachers
Edgemont house
25-31 Tavistock Place
London, England
WC1h 9UT

Dear Drs. Roberts and Hunt,

As members of the Unites States Senate, we write to express our serious
concern regarding the British Association of University Teachers' (AUT)
decision, by votes of 96-92, to boycott all academic relationships and
exchanges with Bar Ilan University and Haifa University. We are also very
troubled by the fact that the AUT is entertaining a boycott of the Hebrew
University as well.

Substantively, the AUT"s decision cannot be justified. The Israeli
universities at issue - Bar Ilan University, Haifa University, and Hebrew
University - are internationally renowned centers of academic excellence
where the free exchange of ideas is not only encouraged, but celebrated,
among the Arabs and Jews who teach and study there.

The AUT's boycott of these academic institutions in Israel, the only
democracy in the region, is also hypocritical. The AUT has not boycotted
Sudanese universities, despite the fact that Sudan is committing genocide
in Darfur. Nor has the AUT boycotted universities in countries like Egypt,
Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia, which are documented human rights abusers.

Procedurally, the AUT's decision is also fatally flawed. We understand that
there was no open debate concerning the boycott. Furthermore, the AUT
rejected its Jewish members' request that consideration of the boycott be
rescheduled from a time that conflicted with the beginning of the Sabbath
and Passover to a time when they could attend and vote. And finally, the
AUT refused to accept evidence offered by Bar Ilan University and Haifa
University refuting facts offered in support of the boycott.

Academia has traditionally celebrated academic freedom and encouraged
individuals to meet and share their ideas, irrespective of their racial,
ethnic, religious, or cultural background. The AUT's decision to ban
professors from these Israeli universities thwarts that tradition. These
academics, and every other academic, should be judged on the basis of their
individual scholarship, not simply their country of origin.

We urge you to correct this situation immediately.

Sincerely,

Senator Ron Wyden
Senator Sam Brownback
Senator Frank Lautenberg
Senator Rick Santorum
Senator Evan Bayh
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator David Vitter
Senator Jon Corzine
Senator Norm Coleman
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Barbara Mikulski
Senator Joseph Lieberman
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator Byron Dorgan
Senator Bill Nelson
Senator Christopher Bond

http://clinton.senate.gov/~clinton/news/2005/2005606A20.html