Blair blasts boycott call

Tony Blair reassured Ehud Olmert over the proposed British boycott of
Israeli academia. The two prime ministers spoke by telephone Wednesday to
discuss recent developments on the Israeli-Palestinian peace track, Olmert’s
office said. During the conversation, Blair condemned a resolution passed by Britain’s University and College Union last year to advance a possible
boycott of Israeli universities and academics. Olmert’s office said in a
statement that Blair “said these calls do not, to his mind, represent
British public opinion, nor even the positions of universities in Britain.”
Speaking in the House of Commons in London, Blair said of the UCU
resolution: “I hope very much that decision is overturned because it does
absolutely no good for the peace process or for relations in that part of the world.”