109 HRES 858 IH: Condemning the recent vote by the British U.S. House of Representatives 2006-06-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 858 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 9, 2006 Mr. Higgins (for himself, Mr. Pence, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Souder, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Norwood, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Crowley, Mrs. Maloney, Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. Rothman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Engel, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Northup, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Israel, Mr. Berman, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Kirk) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations RESOLUTION Condemning the recent vote by the British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) to boycott Israeli academia.

Whereas on May 29, 2006, the British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) adopted a resolution to boycott Israeli faculty and academic institutions that do not dissociate themselves from their state and Government, which are falsely accused of practicing apartheid policies; Whereas a similar resolution in favor of an academic boycott of Israel was passed by the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) in April 2005 and then rescinded in May 2005 by a Special Council of the AUT; Whereas Israel is the strongest ally of the United States and a true democratic partner in the Middle East, one which upholds the principles and values of academic freedom; Whereas NATFHE seeks to impose an offensive loyalty test on Israeli academics; Whereas the boycotting of Israeli academics contributes to the delegitimization and demonization of the State of Israel; Whereas such boycotts represent a dangerous assault on the principles of academic freedom and open exchange; Whereas representatives of the British Government, as well as many university presidents, academic bodies, and leading scholars in the United States and Great Britain have spoken out against such campaigns; and Whereas NATFHE and the Association of University Teachers merged on June 1, 2006, into a new union, the University and College Union (UCU): Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)condemns the vote by the British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) of May 29, 2006, to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions that refuse to declare their opposition to the Government and State of Israel; (2)finds NATFHE’s criticism of Israeli policy particularly objectionable when the Israeli government has made courageous and far-reaching contributions to peace, including withdrawal, settlement-dismantlement in Gaza, commitment to a 2-state solution, and commitment to further withdrawals in the West Bank; (3)urges the University and College Union (UCU) to nullify and void the NATFHE resolution and to issue a statement deploring the campaign to boycott Israeli academia; (4)commends the British Government for its criticism of the NATFHE resolution, and commends leading academics for speaking out against the resolution; (5)deplores any comparison between the State of Israel, where all citizens are equal before the law, and the former apartheid regime in South Africa; and (6)urges governments and educators throughout the world to reaffirm the importance of academic freedom and open dialogue and to condemn measures that would prevent the production, sharing, and exchange of knowledge.