British academics voting on boycott

Britain’s largest trade union and professional association for academics will vote this week whether or not to boycott their Israeli counterparts.The University and College Union, which was formed last year by the merger of the Association of University Teachers and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, is holding its first congress Wednesday to Friday at the sea resort of Bournemouth, on the southern coast of England. Last year NATFHE voted to boycott Israeli academics, but the vote was nullified by the merger.The UCU’s decision to vote represents a growing trend in Britain toward Israeli boycotts in a number of fields, including education, academia, medicine and journalism.The union represents more than 120,000 academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers and academic-related staff working in higher education throughout the United Kingdom.