AUT again

At Harry's Place, David Hirsh has a round-up of the current state of the controversy over the proposed AUT boycott of Israeli academics. The arguments for and against are apparently being thrashed out almost entirely in the columns of the Guardian newspaper, with the actual AUT debate due to take place this week.

David Hirsh writes:

In yesterday’s Guardian there were letters signed by 262 academics setting out 3 different but overlapping arguments against boycotting Israeli academia. In Today’s Guardian there is a reply from those who are proposing the academic boycott . Also this leader in the Guardian and this story written by an Israeli, so if you’re in favour of the boycott, you are not allowed to read it.

The pro-boycott argument goes like this: Israel is, like the old South Africa an apartheid state. We know what to do with apartheid states – we boycott them. This is their only argument. They do not address any of the criticisms made in the 3 letters.