[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 336 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 336
Urging the international community to reject a boycott of Israeli
academic and cultural institutions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 8, 2002
Mr. Corzine submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the international community to reject a boycott of Israeli
academic and cultural institutions.
Whereas a campaign is underway by elements of the international academic
community to limit cultural and scientific collaboration between foreign
universities and academics and their counterparts in Israel;
Whereas a number of European academics have signed petitions calling upon the
national governments of Europe, the European Union, and the European
Science Foundation to sever contacts with Israeli academics, as well as
issue a moratorium on grants to Israeli research centers and cultural
institutions;
Whereas the Association of University Teachers and NATFHE, unions that represent
professors and researchers employed by research centers and universities
in the United Kingdom, have passed resolutions supporting academic
boycotts of Israel;
Whereas several institutions of higher education, such as the University of
Lille in France, have refused to cooperate with Israeli Universities;
Whereas invitations requesting Israeli researchers to address academic
assemblies have been rescinded because of anti-Israel sentiment;
Whereas Israeli scholars, including Gideon Toury and Miriam Shlesinger, have
been dismissed from their positions on the editorial boards of academic
journals solely because of their affiliation with Israeli institutions;
Whereas because of its location in Israel, the Goldyne Savad Institute in
Jerusalem was denied scientific materials needed to develop effective
treatments for anemic Palestinian children by a Norwegian school of
veterinary medicine;
Whereas a campaign to limit academic ties between the United States and Israel
is emerging, as demonstrated by a petition calling for an American
academic boycott of Israel circulated by Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Yale
University professor;
Whereas counter campaigns to oppose an academic boycott of Israel have gathered
significant support in several countries, including France, Poland, the
United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and the United States;
Whereas Philippe Busquin, the Commissioner for Research for the European Union,
issued a statement on April 23, 2002, maintaining that ``the European
Commission is not in favour of a policy of sanctions against the parties
to the conflict but rather advocates a continuous dialogue with them
which is the best way to bring them back to negotiations'';
Whereas an open letter written by Paul Scham and Eva Illouz, academics
associated with Hebrew University in Jerusalem, asserts that ``the call
to boycott Israeli academics shows unpardonable ignorance of the role
played by scientists, intellectuals, and artists in challenging the
political consensus and in creating the public debate that rages in
Israel at all times, including now'';
Whereas an editorial in the May 2, 2002, issue of the respected British
scientific journal Nature states that, ``Israel is a research powerhouse
that, given an eventual improvement of relations with its neighbors,
could rejuvenate science and development in the region through
collaboration and training. Rather than signing boycotts, which will
achieve nothing, researchers worldwide can help the peace process
concretely by actively initiating more . . . collaborations and
encouraging their institutions to do the same.'';
Whereas foreign-funded research projects intended to foster cooperation between
Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab academics in various disciplines
including water resource management, desalinization, and cancer
treatment, have continued despite current events;
Whereas Article 19, section 2, of the United Nations Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights states that, ``Everyone shall have the right to . . .
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of his choice'';
Whereas any attempts to stifle intellectual freedom through the imposition of an
academic boycott is counterproductive since research and academic
exchange provide an essential bridge between otherwise disconnected
cultures and countries; and
Whereas stifling scientific and cultural exchange would limit the substantial
contributions the international academic community makes to humanity:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the international scholarly community, the European
Union, and individual governments, should reject, or continue
to reject, calls for an academic boycott of Israel and reaffirm
their commitment to academic freedom and cultural and
scientific international exchange;
(2) the worldwide educational establishment should reverse
actions taken to impede academic collaboration and free
intellectual expression with Israeli intellectuals and
institutions; and
(3) the United States and the American scholarly community
should continue to actively support efforts to increase
academic cooperation and encourage cultural and scientific
exchange between the United States and Israel.
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