Boycott Israel!

The British University and College Union (UCU) has called on its 120,000 members to consider boycotting exchanges with Israeli colleges and universities, because they are complicit in the occupation of Palestine. As Dr John Chalcraft of the London School of Economics is quoted in The Independent: “A boycott will be effective because Israel considers itself part of the West: when Western civil society finally says 'enough is enough', Israelis, not to mention Western governments, will take notice. A non-violent international boycott, like that of South Africa, may well play a historic role in bringing down the Israeli system of apartheid.” (Lecturers vote to boycott Israeli academics)

He is right. Of course, the Israeli lobby is raising a hue and cry: anti-Semitism, a singling out of Israel, an assault on academic freedom,... While boycotts have a limited usefulness, it is appropriate in this case to show the world that Israel is not just another “civilized” country. Why? Because:
It does not have a constitution
It is illegally occupying other countries' territories
More than any other country, it is violating U.N. Security Council resolutions
It is a racist state, where Jews from all over the world are welcome to settle, but Arab citizens are discriminated against

The list of why Israel is not an ordinary country is much longer than this, but it suffices to illustrate why a boycott is appropriate. In The New York Times (Should British Academics, or Rock Bands, Boycott Israel?), Prof Steven Weinberg of the University of Texas calls boycotting Israel an indication of “moral blindness”. On the contrary, it shows moral courage to resist the Israeli lobby and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian people.