June 19th , 2007

Sally Hunt
General Secretary University and College Union
27 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JP
United Kingdom

Dear Ms. Hunt:

As chair of the Human Rights Committee of the New York Academy of Sciences, I write to you to reiterate the support of the New York Academy of Sciences Committee on human rights for the academic freedom and scholarly exchange (see our website) www. nyas.org/humanrights. The New York Academy of Sciences Committee on human rights strongly opposes the boycott of Israeli academics that is being considered by the university and college unions. This call for boycott contradicts the most basic tenets of academic life, which have been repeatedly reaffirmed by the international bodies, including those to which the United Kingdom adheres: The International Council for Science (ISCU) and United Nations Scientific International Organization (UNESCO).

We urge you to take steps necessary to prevent UCU from implementing the boycott. Sincerely,

Eugene Chudnovsky
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists

Statement on Potential Boycott of Israeli Academics from Haifa University, Bar-Ilan University and Hebrew University | April 2005

In view of a new initiative by a group of members of the Association of University Teachers Annual Council, being held this month in Eastbourne, England, to debate whether to boycott three Israeli universities (Haifa University, Bar-Ilan University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem), the Human Rights Committee of the New York Academy of Sciences strongly reaffirms its support for academic freedom of scholarly exchange without political restrictions. In particular, the Human Rights Committee wishes to strongly restate its previous position of May 2002 (see below).

Statement of the New York Academy of Sciences Committee on Human Rights of Scientists on Free Circulation of Science and Merit-Driven Awards | May 2002

A petition signed by some 125 European academics is currently circulating among the scientific community calling for a moratorium on grants and contracts with research institutions in Israel, "until Israel abides by UN resolutions and opens serious peace negotiations with the Palestinians."

The Committee on Human Rights of Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences strongly reaffirms its support for freedom in the conduct of science and its belief in merit-driven criteria for awarding research funds. The Academy, along with other scientific organizations in 72 nations, subscribes to the International Council for Science Resolutions on "Free Circulation of Science," which promote non-discrimination in the support and practice of science. The Committee also believes that instituting a non-merit nationalistic criterion for making grants will create an unwise precedent.

Encouraging communication among scientists and other scholars from all countries is crucial to the dissemination of the kinds of knowledge that will serve society. The proposed moratorium/boycott on funding violates the basic principles of scientific freedom and scholarship. All colleagues in science are directly harmed by a moratorium, not the policy makers whom such a boycott is intended to influence. Science and research will be undermined for the sake of some political goals. Ironically however, it is in the Israeli and Palestinian research communities that peace has been promoted in recent years through several dozen joint projects, still operating despite the current crisis. These will be negatively impacted by such a moratorium.

We fully support such scientist-to-scientist collaborations, which give strong backing in a concrete fashion to science carried out in the interest of bettering humanity.

May 17, 2006

President John Wilkin
NATFHE
27 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JP

Dear President Wilkin:

It has come to our attention that the NATFHE intends to vote on the issue of boycotting academic personnel (professors and teachers) and institutions in Israel.

We write to urge your organization not support such an academic boycott. It is clearly against the principles of Free Circulation of Science, which has been repeatedly supported by many organizations including the Royal Society in the United Kingdom. Not only would a vote in favor of boycott be against these principles, but it would also be counterproductive to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Many of the strongest critics of aspects of the present Israeli government's policies have come from that same academic sector that would be the target.

In April 2005, the British Association of University Teachers moved to impose such a boycott, which was later withdrawn. At that time this committee, the Committee on Human Rights of Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences, issued a statement opposing such a boycott. We attach that statement to this letter and strongly reaffirm it now.

We would urge you to circulate this letter and the attachment to your members.

Sincerely,
Eugene Chudnovsky
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists

April 26, 2005

Angela Roger
President
Association of University Teachers
Egmont House
25-31 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9UT
ENGLAND

Dear President Roger:

The Committee on Human Rights of Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences urgently calls upon the Association of University Teachers (AUT) of the United Kingdom to rescind and withdraw its call for a boycott of Israeli universities, passed by the delegates on 20 April 2005. This call for boycott contradicts the most basic tenets of academic life which have been repeatedly reaffirmed by international bodies including those to which the United Kingdom adheres.

The International Council for Science (ISCU) and the United Nations International and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) have promulgated protocols on the Free Circulation of scientists and other academics, and cooperation amongst academics, which have been ratified by all UN members (including the UK), and go back to the 1930s and the League of Nations. The very integrity of academic life and the possibility of progress depend on free, open, and voluntary cooperation between academics in different nations.

We call attention to the "Commentary” in Nature (vol. 421, 23 January 2003) by four prominent UK academics: Colin Blakemore, Richard Dawkins, Denis Noble and Michael Yudkin entitled "Is a scientific boycott ever justified?" This commentary reaffirmed the importance of the UNESCO-ICSU protocols in the most emphatic manner. It points out, that short of preventing (sic) a nuclear war, even extreme circumstances do not support boycotts. Also relevant is a statement by ICSU Chairman James C. I. Dooge and Executive Director Peter Schindler writing in 2002 on "Israeli Scholars.” They “urge all scholarly communities and not least those in science and technology” to heed the words of the London Evening Standard of 10 July 2002: "Intellectual communities world-wide are in the business of fostering international understanding and co-operation, not of penalizing each other for the shortcomings of their governments.” And on August 27, 2002, in response to earlier boycott proposals, the Council of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), among other learned bodies, issued a “Statement on the Critical Importance of Continuing International Cooperation in Science,” a title which speaks for itself.

Cooperation between nations in the Middle East already exists in the functioning SESAME project (opened in Amman Jordan in the last year) which brings scientists from the region together, including Jordanian, Palestinian, Israeli, Egyptian and others from Arab countries. Another example of international cooperation in the Middle East has been the conference on "Frontiers of Chemical Sciences: Research and Education in the Middle East" held in Malta in December 2003. It brought together scientists from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Arab countries representing all areas of the Middle East. Six Nobel Laureates served as leaders on a subject of common interest. Scholarships for any interested Arab students were offered by the President of Technion and a joint Israeli-Palestinian proposal on water purification was written and submitted to USAID-MERC. Other common projects on desalination, health care, and many other regional issues involving Israeli-Palestinian cooperation are ongoing at universities, hospitals and institutes in Israel and elsewhere.

The ill-advised AUT boycott resolution would damage or destroy all these activities. The AUT resolution, by selecting individuals and universities for boycott, is a very clear reminder of "McCarthy-like" tactics of accusation which were the shame of the United States some 40-50 years ago. We remind those members of the AUT who voted for boycott that this year—2005— has been declared by the United Nations the Year of Physics to celebrate the centennial of the extraordinary contributions that Albert Einstein made to physics, science and international cooperation. We call upon the AUT to take immediate steps to rescind their regressive vote and join forward-looking academics the world over in voting for cooperation and not boycott.

The New York Academy of Sciences is an organization of more than 23,000 members worldwide, building communities and advancing science since 1817.

Sincerely,

Joseph L. Birman
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists
New York Academy of Sciences

July 18, 2002

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Hakirya, Jerusalem
91007 Israel

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

We have learned that the offices of Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al Quds University and Palestinian representative in East Jerusalem, have been closed by your ministry.

As an organization devoted to the protection of academics and academic freedom, we want to be sure that this closure does not damage the functioning of the university. We therefore ask for your assurance that Al Quds University is being permitted to function normally, and that no restrictions have been placed on its administrative or academic activities.

I respectfully await your response to this matter of great importance to the international scientific community.

The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, nonprofit, global membership organization committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. Established in 1817, the Academy is the oldest scientific organization in New York, and the third oldest in the nation. It is an international organization with over 30,000 members in more than 150 countries.

Sincerely,

Joseph L. Birman, Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists

August 6, 2002

Mr. Joseph L. Birman
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists
New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich St, 40th Fl
New York, NY 10007-2157
U.S.A.

Dear Mr. Birman,

On behalf of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, we thank you for your letter of July 18, 2002.

Every agreement signed with the Palestinians since the Oslo Accords of 1993 has included a Palestinian commitment to situate Palestinian Authority offices exclusively in areas under PA jurisdiction, and to refrain from exercising Palestinian authority outside said territory.

Accordingly, on July 7, 2002, after compelling evidence had indicated that Al-Quds University was operating as an arm of the Palestinian Council, and that the University's activities in the State of Israel were in violation of these signed agreements, Minister of Public Security Dr. Uzi Landau ordered the closure of the offices of the President and administration of the University.

Information obtained by our security services substantiated that the University was being funded by the Palestinian Authority - which was paying the salaries of its employees - and that donations to the University were being transferred through the PA. Moreover, the PA had been actively involved in the financial, professional, and administrative operations of the University, as well as the appointment of its senior officials.

After Prof. Nusseibeh declared, in writing, that his institution would operate without connection to the Palestinian Authority, and that he personally would not perform his PA "Jerusalem portfolio" function on its grounds, the reopening of the above offices was facilitated.

Sincerely,

Shalom Tourgeman
Acting Foreign Policy Adviser
to the Prime Minister