Ayoon Wa Azan (Israel and the qualitative boycott)

British physicist Stephen Hawking is boycotting Israel. This is a huge academic slap in the face for Israel, as big as the reputation of a renowned Cambridge University professor, and for its crimes and fascist government. Hawking was invited to participate in a conference in Israel titled Facing Tomorrow, under the patronage of Israeli President Shimon Peres – a professional impostor familiar with public relations coups. The University of Cambridge issued a statement saying that the scientist and author of bestselling books would not be able to attend for health reasons, after his doctors advised him not to travel. However, the university later retracted the statement and acknowledged Hawking’s move had political grounds. Hawking, who has been disabled for 50 years and who needs special machines to be able to move and speak, had initially sent a letter to the organizers of the Israeli conference and said that he accepted the invitation so that he can have the opportunity to express his opinion about the prospects for a peace accord, and also to speak on the West Bank. However, he received messages from Palestinian academics who unanimously urged him to boycott the conference. Subsequently, Hawking decided to withdraw from the conference, and if he had indeed attended, he would have no doubt said that the current policies of the Israeli government will lead to a catastrophe. The current Israeli government is nothing short of being a neo-Nazi outfit. But this is another matter, so I stay with Professor Hawking. I read that renowned Jewish-American Professor Noam Chomsky was among academics from the universities of Cambridge, Leeds, Southampton, Warwick, Newcastle, and York who called on the British physicist to boycott the June conference. The boycott is part of the Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. This campaign has been endorsed by churches, particularly from protestant denominations in the United States, and student unions from America to Europe, and enjoys the support of some of the most renowned international figures such as Rev. Desmond Tutu. The Christian Science Monitor claimed that the boycott of Israel is limited so far, but that it would grow after a scientist like Hawking joined. I would like to add that the campaign to boycott Israel has been active for years, and included the boycott of Israeli universities and academics, even when some of these universities is famous for having a pro-peace majority in the rank of their students and faculty. Naturally, a counter campaign was initiated by the supporters of Israel, that is to say, the supporters of criminality and occupation, against the boycott. They are trying to take advantage of the boycott to promote the propaganda of the racist Israeli government, which claims to Jews around the world that they are victims of racism and are persecuted, and that their only salvation lies in immigrating to Israel. But the fact is that Jews around the world do not face racism more than any other minority in the east and the west, and they are definitely not persecuted. If there is any racism or hatred against the Jews, whether explicit or implicit, then the first and last reason would be the crimes of the Israeli government against the Palestinians, and the occupation, settlement, and the blockade of Gaza, as well as Israel’s unsparing efforts to do everything it can to undermine the peace process. I believe that the campaigns against Professor Hawking, along with Chomsky and a large number of Jewish intellectuals who support the rights of the Palestinians, will only increase hostility towards Israel around the world, which once again I say is motivated by the actions of the government of Israel, and not any academic boycott or otherwise. The attack on Hawking following his decision to boycott Israel revealed the ugly face of some of the supporters of Israel. They mocked the prominent scientist’s for his disability and disease, and wished evil upon him. I read ‘tweets’ to this effect which ultimately condemn those who wrote them and do not hurt Hawking. If I were to comment via my Twitter account, I would not have said nothing more than this: Thank you, Professor Hawking. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.