Israeli ambassador says Britain 'hotbed of anti-Israeli sentiment'

'Attempts by academics to boycott Israeli universities are against British values,' Ron Prosor writes in comment piece for the Daily Telegraph, 'I implore the British public to prevent the radical fringe from monopolizing British-Israeli discourse'

AFP
Published: 06.10.08, 07:36 / Israel News

Britain has become a "hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views" and attempts by academics to boycott Israeli universities are against British values, Israel's ambassador to London wrote Tuesday.

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In a comment piece for the Daily Telegraph, Ron Prosor wrote he was "concerned ... that in Britain the most extreme elements of the debate have been allowed to hijack the mainstream."

"British academia has built its reputation on freedom of expression and the pluralistic exchange of ideas," he wrote.

"Alarmingly, these values are under threat in an institution that should be safeguarding them."

The University and College Union (UCU) triggered protests by the British and Israeli governments and US lawmakers when members voted in May 2007 to back a boycott of Israeli universities over the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The initiative called for British academics to stop writing for journals published by Israeli universities and refuse travel to Israel for conferences.

But the UCU received legal advice in September which warned that such a boycott would be illegal.

"I implore the British public to prevent the radical fringe from monopolizing British-Israeli discourse," Prosor wrote.

"It is vital that British values of fair play and even-handedness are brought to the debate."

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