AUT Boycott Rescinded by Large Margin

The decidedly biased BBC reports that the British AUT's attempt to boycott two Israeli universities has been rescinded. It does not report (as I learned in an e-mail from Joy Wolfe to members of the International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom) that the vote against the boycott was an overwhelming two-to-one against the boycott.

What is appalling about the BBC coverage is that, while it might superficially appear to present both sides of the debate, it presents none of the reasons that so many people were so opposed to the boycott. Essentially, all it does is quote AUT executive members who are claiming moral victory [seems more immoral than moral to me] and who claim to be pleased to have opened up the debate.

Professor Steven Rose, from the Open University, had supported the boycott. He said: "The crucial thing is that the issue is on the agenda and the debate is going to go on and on in every campus up and down the country.

Let me assure Professor Rose that in any unstacked debate, the pro-boycott proponents will lose, unless they are debating before a crowd of anti-Semites.

For more on the Bent Broadcasting Corporation [aka the BBC], read what Melanie Phillips has to say in her diary. [thanks to MA for the link]