Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

he attempt to impose an academic boycott of Israel is back. As one opinion piece at The Guardian notes,

A new attempt to impose an academic boycott of Israel is dishonest, disingenous and discriminatory.

The academic unions can be myopic, to say the least:

Ronnie Fraser, director of the Academic Friends of Israel, said, "The unions offer support when there is right-wing anti-Semitism but do not acknowledge the existence of left wing anti-Semitism. Any protest against it is labelled as an attempt to silence critics of Israel. When this happens, the unions should defend its members against discrimination, yet all too often they compound the situation by failing to recognize and often actively denying the existence of a problem."

This new attempt to boycott Israeli academics will fail, as have all the boycotts that preceded it. Why? Because the boycotts are predicated on falsehoods and illusions- one of which is that Israel is preventing the Palestinians from exercising their rights to self determination.
Let's get real. The Palestinians are so dysfunctional, that they cannot manage to grow plants, flowers and vegetables in the greenhouses that they worked in for decades- an incredibly successful industry that has been ruined.

No amount of boycotts will change the reality of Palestinian dysfunctionality. In fact, boycotts of Israel only serve to strengthen the 'allergy to reality.' With each boycott attempt, Palestinians believe that their suffering will end if only Israel were punished. They delight in obscuring and denying their denial. See Dr Sanity, here, for an excellent look into the denial mechanisms. In adition, see Shame, The Arab Psyche And Islam. It is one of her best posts, providing a clear and insightful look into what makes the Arab qworld tick
We have had our say about academic boycotts before- and it bears repeating:

SC&A received an email today from an alumnus group, asking us to help support the AUT boycott of Israeli universities and professors. We were outraged and wrote a letter of rebuttal. We have rewritten the letter in a format more suitable for an SC&A post.
There is a boycott of university exchanges with Israeli institutions, instigated by the AUT (Association of University Teachers) of Great Britain. The boycott has generated a lot of controversy and press. The AUT says the boycott is an expression of anti Israel sentiment- that is, anti-Zionism- relating to the 'occupation' and is in no way an expression of anti-semitism. That of course, is ridiculous. The entire supposition is based on a lie. This particular expression of Anti-Zionism is indeed anti-semitism.

To be sure, Israel, as a nation, is not above reproach. There are policies that deserve renunciation and reconsideration. Nevertheless, to single Israel out from the body of world nations that have for decades and longer have been far more repressive than Israel has ever been as an expression of 'anti-Zionism' is patently anti-Semitic. Indeed, it is incumbent upon free nations to criticize those policies they find offensive. Criticism is one thing. Demonization is quite another.

What comes to mind is the utter hypocrisy and duplicity of these AUT academics. Where was the boycott of Russian universities, considering the atrocities in Chechnya? Where is the boycott of Kuwait after the expulsion of 350,000 Palestinians? Where is the boycott of Syria, after the slaughter of 10,000-30,000 in Hama and the occupation of Lebanon? How about boycotting China for human right's abuses that are legendary? How about Castro's Cuba?

Again, criticism of Israel is one thing- that is, a free exchange of ideas, a back and forth. There is none of that. There is simply a closing of doors and a cessation of communications. SC&A wonder why Israel is singled out for such treatment. What is it about Israel that is so special? Why is Israel treated so differently? Simply put, it is anti-semitism. To point to Israel as the worst human right's offender in the world is laughable. There are tens of millions of women that have suffered FGM- and the world, for the most part, remains silent (SC&A wonder how quiet the world community would be if Jews were committing these atrocities).

One remark we read resonated with us. Simply because many people close their minds or accept something as truth, is not an expression of democracy. It is an expression of mass prejudice and stupidity. Just because it is au courant to say criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic, does not make it so. It an absurd and skewed look at reality. Criticism of Israel has become anti-Semitic because there is a different standard of measurement for Israel than there is for any other country (the same applies to the US. When America is criticized, is also by a different yardstick).

One more, Jews are being 'ghettoized'- this time, in their own country. Now before anyone goes off half-cocked, Israel is as legitimate a country as any other (probably more so than some of her neighbors). Here's the rub: Virtually every country in the world was founded on the basis of conflict. There it is folks. Reality. Whatever your country of origin, it's very existence today, is as the result of conflict. That said, take your sanctimonious opinions and feelings about Israel out of the mix. The criticism of Israel under the guise of 'outrage' at the 'treatment' of the Palestinians or the 'violation of human rights' is a laughable outrage. As we noted earlier, the 'occupation' of the Palestinian territories has been the most benign occupation in history.

The old canard of 'ethnic cleansing' is often touted as the goal of Israeli policies in the region. That is simply a tired excuse, hauled out, when legitimate argument cannot be made.

Ethnic cleansing is what occurred in East Timor, when the Christians were slaughtered by Muslims, or forced to convert at 'edge of sword'- and were forcibly circumcised. Ethnic cleansing took place when the GIA in Algeria raped and murdered children as a matter of course- because the GIA wished to instill it's own version of Islam. Ethnic cleansing has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands in Darfur (you know, the place Israel's critics don't give a damn about)- women raped to the music of singing Arab women. Hundreds of thousands- if not millions- dead, and nary a word from the AUT.

The death toll as a result of the intifada? Just over 3,000 Palestinians in the five year period from 2000 to 2005.

Lets be clear. The hatred of Jews pre-existed the establishment of the State of Israel. What Israel is facing now is a continuation of a long honored tradition- excoriate the Jews, any way possible. Those that profess to be anti Israel only, have been given a gift, of course. They can spew their anti semitism because they can make the claim they are protecting an 'underdog,' the Palestinians, from the 'evil' machinations of the Jewish lobby, Jewish ideolology and the Jewish State.

It bears to remember that the Arab world had no part in the persecution of Jews in Europe (though they certainly did an admirable job of it in the Arab countries). The Muslim community, if they chose, could point to the Christian world and say, 'This is your shame, not ours.' Instead, they celebrate and identify with the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and even glorify the evil, pining in their writings, 'If only Hitler had finished the job.' Of course, the AUT remains silent. Of course, the AUT obsessed over Israel, the pariah state.

We wonder why.