Unions deal blow to Israel boycott

The movement to boycott Israeli scholars and universities in protest against the country's treatment of Palestinians has suffered two serious setbacks.

Last week, the Association of University Teachers abandoned its policy to boycott Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities over specific allegations of complicity in human rights abuses.

This week, lecturers' union Natfhe failed to even discuss a proposal for a move to sever ties with Israeli scholars as two emergency motions put to its annual conference in Eastbourne recommending boycotts were declared "out of order".

In a closed special AUT council last week, delegates overturned the decision reached at the AUT annual conference in April to boycott Bar-Ilan and Haifa.

An AUT representative said: "AUT council has decided to base its policy on providing practical solidarity to Palestinian and Israeli trade unionists and academics, by agreeing a motion committing the union to having a full review of international policy, working alongside Natfhe and the Trades Union Congress."

David Hirsh, from the anti-boycott group Engage, said the victory against the boycott policy was "not a victory" for Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister or for the Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, or a victory of Israel's policy of "targeted assassinations" or of its "security fence" and other controversial policies against Palestinians.

"It is a victory for the other Israel - one where academic and cultural space exists and where democratic values have found a place; where Jews and Arabs study side by side."

At Natfhe's conference this week, two motions calling for boycotts were declared out of order by the union's steering committee and were therefore not put to a conference vote.

The committee ruled them out of order because they referred to the AUT's original boycott policy, which had already been overturned by the time of Natfhe's conference, and also because it felt that such serious policy-changing issues should not come in the form of emergency motions but only after full debate at local Natfhe branches.

Natfhe did pass a motion defending the AUT's right to mount a boycott if it decided to do so, without the level of "orchestrated intimidation" it is alleged to have faced.

Sue Blackwell, who put the AUT boycott motions to the annual conference, said: "The AUT's original pro-boycott decision was largely symbolic. What is important is that people join the wider boycott and divestment campaign against Israel."