AUT overturns boycott by two thirds to one
Upon exiting the meeting, Scott Styles, an AUT member from the Aberdeen local branch, remarked, "it was a passionate but measured debate." He said that in the first AUT meeting, when it was chosen to pass boycott motion, there was no proper debate, which upset many members."
Styles thought that the first meeting's lack of discussion is what motivated members to vote against the boycott on Thursday.
Paul Anderson, from City University branch of the AUT and part of the department of journalism told The Jerusalem Post that "on all of the substantive motions, the boycott was overturned. It's good news."
Expect much seething and gnashing of teeth. (But, conveniently, Sue Blackwell is "away" and says she won't be able to update her boycott pages until the beginning of June. A pity.)
On a more somber note, the JPost article continues:
Luciana Berger, a spokesperson for the Union of Jewish Students, was elated at the outcome. "This is fantastic news," she said, pleased with the "good results today."
Berger categorized the results as just. "The feeling here is not one of being triumphant, but that the right decision was made. I'm disappointed we even had to be here in the first place."
UJS's sectary Andr Oboler also felt "relieved," but he was not willing to view the overturned decision as a victory. "This is the start of an ongoing problem," he warned.
All too true. And as pleased as I am with the outcome of the re-vote, I'm not at all sure that the boycott organizers don't still consider it a success. Did they really expect to sustain such a controversial decision, pushed through without discussion or debate? Or were they aiming for something else? Something perhaps expressed in the noxious comments of this Guardian reader earlier today.
Whatever happens at today's emergency meeting, I'm glad the AUT has publicised the role of Israel's academic institutions in perpetuating the occupation. The flow of ideas is precious, but so is ethical research, and the existence of the College of Judea and Samaria shows that some Israeli science and technology emanates from facilities built on stolen land in contravention of international law.
So it remains to be seen whether the boycott effort will actually backfire in the long run. I continue to hope.
