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University Will
Not Be Silent in Face of UK Boycott
 The
University has determined not to remain silent in face of the
boycott against the University adopted by Britain’s Association of
University Teachers (AUT) in April. (See President’s Focus column.)
The AUT boycott resolution falsely charges the University with
violations of academic freedom, states Prof. Ada Spitzer, Vice
President for External Relations and Resource Development. The
British union also voted to boycott Bar-Ilan University on other
grounds. Many see the resolution against the two Israeli
institutions as a watered-down version of the AUT’s attempt in 2003
to severe ties with all Israeli academic institutions.
The University Management has initiated a series of steps to combat
the boycott. These activities are being coordinated by Professor
Spitzer, and monitored by Prof. Ron Robin. Major steps included:
*set up a rapid response team to offer immediate responses to
various media outlets and internet sites abroad, as well as in
Israel;
*developed a mini-website (accessible from the University’s
homepage) that includes a wealth of information on the boycott, the
University’s supporters, and adversaries;
*offering affiliate professorships to leading academic figures who
have chosen to protest the boycott by becoming honorary members of
the University’s academic staff (this step under the direct
responsibility of the Rector).
*sent two faculty members to the UK to explain its position to AUT
representatives;
* initiated a fundraising operation in conjunction with the American
Jewish Congress and other organizations in both the United Kingdom
and the United States;
*contacted a well-known British attorney, Anthony Julius, to address
legal issues.
Anthony Julius, who is an expert in libel laws, has offered to
defend the University's good name. As a strategic adviser and junior
counsel to the historian Deborah Lipstadt, he was instrumental in
convincing a British court that David Irving was, indeed, a
Holocaust denier. Among other public cases, he represented the late
Princess Diana in her divorce.
A letter drafted by Mr. Julius warns the British academic trade
union that it may face a libel suit. The letter states that “the AUT
has, both by the assistance it gave to the resolution’s sponsors and
by its publication of the [boycott] resolution on its website,
defamed the University of Haifa. Our client is entitled to seek
damages, a retraction, and an undertaking against further
publication of the defamation. It reserves its position in this
regard.”
In response to a petition brought by members who oppose the action,
the AUT was to reconsider its boycott stance in an extraordinary
meeting on May 26.
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In
This Issue:
President’s Focus - Battling Unjust
Resolutions
Prof. Azy Barak’s SAHAR Offers a Vital
Virtual Shoulder to Those with Nowhere Else to Turn
University Joins War on Drugs,
Campaign Is Integral to Interdisciplinary Clinical Center’s Service
Kidma Project Helps Students Face Their Identities
University Will Not Be Silent in Face of UK
Boycott
Anat Liberman Is New External Relations
Head
Prof. Majid Al-Haj to Be New Dean of Research
Prof. Sophia Menache – New Dean of
Graduate Studies
Prof. Menachem Mor—Dean of Humanities
Virtual Open House Proves a Big Hit
Students Have an Address for Complaints:
Professor Schatzker, Their Ombudsman
Computer Science and Occupational Therapy
Team Up for Virtual Reality Conference
Student Develops Innovative Technology to Deal with Post-Traumatic
Stress
Giora Lehavi: His Job Is to Check on
Quality Management, and Other Standards
University’s Sports Teams Prove a Winner in
More Ways than One
Student Publishes His Road to Wisdom
Honors and Awards
Mother and Son—in utero—Studied Hebrew at University’s Summer Ulpan
University’s China Connection Continues
Unique Algorithm Enables Better Mobile
Wireless Communication
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