Britain’s education minister in Israel said a boycott on Israeli academics would be counter-productive and does not represent the position of the British people or their government.”A boycott is fundamentally wrong,” Bill Rammell said Sunday at a press conference at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “I hope that my visit here sends a strong message of the views of the British government and people.”The
University and College Union recently voted to advance a proposed boycott of Israeli
academics. Rammell stressed that a boycott would hinder the globalization of higher education, and prevent colleges and universities from bringing together people of different nationalities.A boycott “does not help promote dialogue between moderates on both sides” of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, he said. Rammell said he was planning to hold a seminar in London to discuss ways to promote the peace process with Israeli, Palestinian and British journalists.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who met with Rammell, called the academics wishing to push the boycott “extremists” and said she was hoping his visit would “help to bridge the gap between image and reality.”Rammell also is scheduled to visit the Palestinian Authority.
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