Double standards? 1

There is uproar over the UCU's decision to boycott Israeli academic institutions. It is even more alarming when we realise that those who feel uncomfortable about the motion cite intellectual terrorism and anti-Semitism as primary motives.

But where were those people when Israel embarked on a unilateralist venture of land expropriation, home demolitions and a relentless and deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians?

Where were they when Israel waged an aggressive and brutal war against Lebanon, killing more than 1,300 civilians - one third of them children - as well as destroying bridges, highways, hospitals, water and electricity plants and petrol stations?

Where were they when Israel refused to allow the return of more than 4 million Palestinian refugees still languishing in squalid refugee camps across the Middle East?

Israel has radicalised the region and legitimised terrorism. Where were those people when Israel refused to implement UN resolutions, the same reasons cited by George Bush and Tony Blair for invading and occupying Iraq?

What is the difference between the Taleban and Israel? The West has imposed economic sanctions against the entire Palestinian populace - where is the Jewish lobby's protest?

The option to remain silent is a recipe for durable instability and chaos.

Munjed Farid Al Qutob
London