Posted on 07/13/2007 8:47:10 AM PDT by SJackson
The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday afternoon condemning a British call to boycott Israeli universities.
The measure, approved 414 to 0, urged the European Union and governments around the world to reject the call by the leadership of the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to cease cooperation with Israeli institutions.
The resolution describes the "senseless" boycott as "a dangerous assault on the principles of academic freedom and open exchange" and a move that "contributes to the deligitimization and demonization of the state of Israel."
The resolution was the first bill freshman Representative Patrick Murphy (D-Penn.) got through. In his floor speech, he emphasized the strong ties between Israel and the US.
"I rise today to offer a resolution to let the world know that this house stands opposed to anti-Semitism and re-affirms our support for academic freedom," he said Wednesday.
"That's why, when Israel comes under attack from hate-mongers, it is the American values that are also under such attack. Today, by passing this bi-partisan resolution, we are stating with one voice that this Congress will stand up and defend our friend the state of Israel."
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110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 467 Condemning the decision by the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to support a boycott of Israeli academia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 6, 2007 Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. WEINER, Mr. KIRK, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SIRES, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, and Mr. BACA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
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RESOLUTION Condemning the decision by the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to support a boycott of Israeli academia.
Whereas on May 30, 2007, the University and College Union of the United Kingdom voted in favor of a motion to boycott Israeli faculty and academic institutions;
Whereas the UCU was created in 2006 out of a merger of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE). Both AUT (in 2005) and NATFHE (in 2006) have passed resolutions supporting a boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions;
Whereas Britain's National Union of Journalists called for a boycott of Israeli goods in April 2007;
Whereas these unions have a hypocritical double standard in condemning Israel, a free and democratic state, while completely ignoring gross human rights abuses occurring around the world in nations such as Sudan, Zimbabwe, Iran, and Venezuela;
Whereas a totally unjustified 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 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 these and any other attempts to stifle intellectual freedom through the imposition of an academic boycott are counterproductive since research and academic exchange provide an essential bridge between otherwise disconnected cultures and countries;
Whereas such boycotts represent a dangerous assault on the principles of academic freedom and open exchange;
Whereas the UCU boycott motion appears to have spawned similar movements in Britain to boycott Israel economically and culturally, as the country's largest labor union, UNISON, said it would follow the union of university instructors in weighing punitive measures against Israel;
Whereas Nobel laureate Prof. Steven Weinberg, who refused to participate in a British academic conference due to the National Union of Journalist's boycott, stated that he perceived `a widespread anti-Israel and anti-Semitic current in British opinion'; and
Whereas the senseless boycotting of Israeli academics contributes to the delegitimization and demonization of the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the vote by the University and College Union of May 30, 2007, to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions;
(2) urges the international scholarly community, the European Union, and individual governments, to 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;
(3) 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;
(4) urges other unions and organizations to reject the troubling and disturbing actions of the UCU; and
(5) urges the general members of the UCU to reject the call of the union's leadership to boycott Israel.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Who were the two weenies who voted “Present?”
[Wild guess: Keith Ellison and Cynthia McKinney.]
And guess who voted “Present”???
None other than RuPaul.
“That’s why, when Israel comes under attack from hate-mongers, it is the American values that are also under such attack. Today, by passing this bi-partisan resolution, we are stating with one voice that this Congress will stand up and defend our friend the state of Israel.”
AMEN, Well said.
Who were the two who voted “present”?
Excellent. A slap in the face for these uppity lefties.
Cynthia isn't there any more. Two Republicans.
| Paul |
Thornberry |
| Berkley Coble Cubin Davis, Jo Ann Davis, Tom |
Dicks Hastert Hinojosa Kucinich McCrery |
Porter Rangel Tancredo Tierney Young (AK) |
see post 9
OK, Nostradamus I ain’t. Thanks for the info.
Well done by the House. I fear the British may be caving to their nome-grown islamofascists.
The article is very misleading. The British government is not supporting the boycott. It is just left-wing Academics trying to cause a fuss.
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