Academic Freedom and Academic Boycotts: The H.R. Network’s Position

(Published in Science journal on June 29, 2007)

June 14, 2007

We, the members of the Executive Committee of the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies (H.R. Network), oppose renewed initiatives that support an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. We also oppose Israeli restrictions on Palestinian students that prevent them from studying at institutions of higher education in Israel, the West Bank, and abroad. We call on national academies affiliated with our H.R. Network to do the same.

We reiterate our belief in “the free exchange of ideas and opinions among scientists and scholars in all countries” which thereby stimulates “the development of collaborative educational, research and human-rights endeavors within academies and the institutions with which they are affiliated.” Boycotts “deny our colleagues their rights to freedom of opinion and expression; interfere with their ability to exercise their bona fide academic freedoms; inhibit the free circulation of scientists and scientific ideas; impose unjust punishment,” and impede “the instrumental role played by scientists and scholars in the promotion of peace and human rights.” (For full text of June 13, 2002, statement, see http://www7.nationalacademies.org/humanrights/In_Support_of_Scientific_Exchange.html.)

We also oppose Israeli restrictions on Palestinian students such as the ban imposed in 2000 that prevents all Palestinian students in Gaza from traveling to the West Bank to study and a statement earlier this month by the Israeli military that it will continue to prevent Gaza students from studying in Israel. Additionally, a recommendation by the Israeli Supreme Court that the Ministry of Defense submit criteria for allowing Palestinian students from the West Bank to study in Israel repeatedly has been delayed to the point that West Bank residents, still banned from studying in Israel, now risk missing Israeli university application deadlines for the coming academic year.

We reiterate the hope expressed in our November 6, 2006, statement to the Israeli authorities http://www7.nationalacademies.org/humanrights/Network_Statement_Access_to_Education_Nov_2006.html that their “policy of academic exclusion will be promptly reversed.” In that same statement we joined the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in opposing “any measures, by any government, restricting or impairing the ability of scientists and students to carry out their scientific work and to discharge their scientific or academic responsibilities.” We also agree with four Israeli university presidents and a number of prominent intellectuals who recently wrote that "Blocking access to higher education for Palestinian students from Gaza who choose to study in the West Bank casts a dark shadow over Israel's image as a state which respects and supports the principle of academic freedom and the right to education."

Lastly, we recall and continue to support the joint statement of cooperation, signed at our H.R. Network’s May 2005 meeting by Professors Sari Nusseibeh and Menachem Magidor, Presidents of Al-Quds University and Hebrew University, respectively, that said, “Our disaffection with, and condemnation of acts of academic boycotts and discrimination against scholars and institutions, is predicated on the principles of academic freedom, human rights, and equality between nations and among individuals. We therefore call upon academics here and worldwide to act in support of our mission, as one which might allow for ending our shared tragedy rather than prolonging it.” (The full text can be found in the Proceedings of the meeting: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11740.html.)

Arjuna Aluwihare, Sri Lanka

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, France

Abdallah S. Daar, Oman/Canada

François Jacob, France

Belita Koiller, Brazil

Ida Nicolaisen, Denmark

John Polanyi, Canada

Alenka Šelih, Slovenia

Pieter van Dijk, The Netherlands

Edoardo Vesentini, Italy

Torsten Wiesel, United States of America