An Israeli professor has drawn criticism for his calls to boycott a conference at an Israeli university in Samaria.
Professor Ofer Aharony, a theoretical physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, emailed invitees to an Ariel University conference on cosmology and particle physics, asking them not to attend. Arguing that the university was not situated inside Israeli territory, Aharony said the decision to hold a conference there was a violation of international law and a crime against humanity.
Taking his efforts even further, Aharony penned a letter, signed by a number of professors from universities in the Palestinian territories, United States, Britain, Finland and Belgium, that appeared in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian, Friday.
In the letter, titled "Don't Let Science Legitimize Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories," the signatories say that "Ariel University in the occupied West Bank is the wrong venue for a conference on cosmology and particle physics starting on Monday 3 September and running until 6 September. The settlements are illegal under international law and have been denounced by the International Court of Justice and numerous U.N. resolutions. Human Rights Watch has noted that Ariel's 'development is inseparable from a history of continuous dispossession of Palestinians from their land and restrictions on their freedom of movement.'"
In a statement, Aharony said that "when Ariel University invites scientists, who are colleagues of mine, to come visit [Ariel] and presents itself as if it is inside Israel, I feel a responsibility to clarify to them that Ariel was never annexed to Israel but rather is located in territory that is under military control, and any activity inside [that territory] is considered a war crime according to a majority of the world's jurists."
In response, a representative for Ariel University said the academic institute was "continuing its international research activity and would not allow calls for its boycott, despite their being a criminal offense under the boycott law, to harm this successful activity."
The Council for Higher Education voiced its support for Ariel University, saying it "strongly disapproves of calls supporting the boycott made by lone members of the academic faculty in institutions of higher learning in Israel.
"In addition, and in accordance with the decision of the Council for Higher Education, academic institutions will act in the coming year to adopt a code of ethics that includes a reference to the fact that an academic boycott constitutes an improper, anti-democratic step that deeply contradicts the essence of academia," according to the statement.
Matan Peleg, director general of the right-wing Zionist organization Im Tirtzu, said it was "shameful to find an Israeli professor at the head of the signatories against Israel. It is inconceivable for a blind eye to be turned toward such a thing."
