ACRI’s Chief Legal Counsel, Dan Yakir, intervened before Ben-Gurion University President, Professor Rivka Carmi, to protest the university’s response to the publication of an article in the Los Angeles times by Dr. Neve Gordon, a politics lecturer, who wrote that he believes an international boycott is the last resort to end the Occupation and the only way “that Israel can be saved from itself”.
An official statement by the University President harshly criticized Dr. Gordon for writing the Op-Ed and suggested his services were no longer welcome at Ben Gurion University: “We are shocked by Dr. Neve Gordon’s irresponsible statements, which are morally deserving of full condemnation. We vehemently distance ourselves of the destructive views [advocated by Gordon], who makes cynical use of freedom of expression in Israel and Ben-Gurion University”. Academics who “feel this way about their country,” Carmi added, “are welcome to search for a personal and professional home elsewhere.”
Condemning the university’s attempt to restrict the freedom of expression of Dr. Gordon, who clearly stated his views were his alone and not the university’s, Yakir wrote: “This incident is about a much more fundamental right than academic freedom – it is about the freedom to express one’s personal political views, a right shared by all citizens in a democratic country, and one which enjoys the widest protection possible. The entire academic community, and anyone who holds human rights in Israel dear to him or her, must denounce the university’s stance”.
More: The Los Angeles Times, Israel: LATimes opinion piece on boycott makes waves, August 24, 2009
