The BMJ set up an online poll asking readers whether they support an academic boycott of Israel, and inviting them to give their reasons. There is a serious question about why the BMJ wants to play a part in this particular political game, and also about why it's chosen to do so using the kind of poll which lends itself to being exploited. Predictably enough, there are hundreds of yes-responses coming from one single address. Such activities are an inbuilt feature of these polls - why does a respected medical journal want to open itself to being manipulated in this way? But however invalid the poll is in terms of being representative, it's certainly interesting to see some of the reasons given for supporting the boycott.
The most typical reason given in the responses which I read is that Israel violates Palestinian rights, along with a resounding silence about all the other countries which are worse rights-violators. But leave that issue aside for now. Many other reasons were also cited, and it's very instructive to see them; they're highly relevant to what the principal pro-boycotters, and the university union itself, have to say about their aims. Some themes are prominent: Israel is committing genocide; Israel is evil, the worst state in the world, the cause of the world's troubles; Zionists control the world's media and/or the American government, Israel/Zionism is equivalent to Nazism; Arab students aren't allowed to attend Israeli universities. (You might think that the last of these points isn't quite equal in gravity to the rest, but the fact that it's so egregiously and blatantly false makes it of some interest.)
Here are some of the things voters in the BMJ poll have actually said about why they support an academic boycott of Israel. I should say that the responses I quote are in no way unique - there are always several others making the same or similar points. (I haven't corrected spelling, punctuation, etc.)
The brutal occupation of Palestine by Israel, its slow motion genocide has gone on decades too long.Here are some things to bear in mind, in the light of these quotations.Due to the genocide being heaped upon the Palestinian people.
anyone voting "No" is either a jew or ignorant.
you boycotted hitlers regime
Israeli occupation forces are as bad as Nazis.
israel i a terrorist state.killing innocent palestinians.there should be no existence opf israel at world map.
israel is a racist apartheid state that massacres/ tortures/ imprisons/ rapes /starves /displaces innocent people on a quotidian basis. it is guilty of repeated war crimes. it constantly violates international law. it is causing a holocaust of palestinians. it is guilty of ethnic cleansing.
It's time the zionists stopped milking the holocaust industry. Jews haven't been victims in decades. They are now the victimizers, the persecutors, the oppressors. Too bad the only lesson they learned from Hitler was how to treat Palestinians the way they were treated. Shameful!
Sick and tired of Israel crying victim. Israel is a bully and an abomination which should not be allowed to continue existing as a Jewish state. This would never be tolerated if it were any other so-called democracy, but Israel thinks its chosen status allows it to murder and plunder with impunity.
Arabs are not allowed to attend Israeli Universities or not given permission to travel to these universities, and they had been silent about this for quite some time...
The world needs to show Israel its genocidal policies towards the Palestinians is unacceptable.
Zionism is the new Naziism…
Apartheid is racism at its worst. It was in South Africa. It is today in Israel
Israel is a fraud. It is not a defenseless little state surrounded by enemies. Israel has NEVER been attacked. Israel is nothing less than an arrogant bully propped up by an American government which is bought and paid for by zionist lobbyists.
Israel is a racist state which practices the worst kind of apartheid...
Israel is a white, racist state that occupies another people...
Since Israel will never offer the Palestinians a fair and just peace, and since the US is afraid to stand up to zionist lobbies, it's time for the people of the world to take action. Israel must be stopped.
Most of the Israeli academic staff do support the genocide against Palastenians.
Because they are the root of ALL EVIL
Israel is the main root for all the problems in the world, especially its bruitality towards Phalestinians.
The world is waking up to the truth about what Israel is doing. Zionist propaganda is losing its edge, and we will no longer bow down to AIPAC and the zionist mafia in the US.
this country is the main problem in the world,has no consideration to other humans other than juish.
Israel is guilty of war crimes against the Palestinians. It is guilty of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and genocide in Gaza.
Israel has become the most murderous and inhumane country in the middle east. Would you not boycott dr mengele?
Because the Israelis treat Palestinians as the Americans treated the red indians ,they want to slaughter as many as they can and the rest to put them in reservations for the benefit of tourists.so far they are succeeding with the 'divine' inspiration of 'dear' Mr Bush .
Because Israeli is an Apartheid state that can be stopped through pressure sparing both Palestinian and Israeli lives. This genocide cannot continue.
Universities in Israel are only for Jews ie those born of a Jewish mother. Arabs are not allowed in universities and when they get a grant to travel abroad to study are not given permission to do so.
Because Israel is a racist and militarist state determined to eliminate the Palestinian population.
The Israeli government continues it's actions then hides behind clever manipulation of the media and the onscene support of the EU, US,UK et, al. It's up to us, the human race to stand up for one another.
Israel is one of the most dangerous countries on earth. It has taken the land from its rightful owners, and it is no better than South Africa once was.
... jews are trouble maker and they are not used to listen to arguments.they should be bycotted as south africa was bycotted and their special privilege and treatment and immunity to criticism should put to an end.
because they are all liers and killers and deamons !
(1) Arab students form some 20% of the student body in Haifa University, around 30% in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
(2) In 1948, there were around 750,000 Palestinian refugees. The current figures are between 4 and 6 million. Genocides, slow or fast, do not normally result in a huge increase in population.
(3) Spreading lies about whether Jews are murderers on a huge scale is what we might regard as a very old-fashioned, even traditional, form of racism.
(4) Tom Hickey, in his pro-boycott article, said that the accusation of anti-Semitism sometimes levelled against the boycotters is both absurd and offensive.
(5) The UCU has passed a motion declaring that in the context of the boycott, criticism of Israel can't be construed as anti-Semitic.
What is really noticeable is the mismatch between what pro-boycotters, and the Union itself, say about anti-Semitism and the proposed boycott, and what seems to be actually going on among some of the boycott's supporters. Whether through ignorance or malice, some of them are telling flagrant and disgusting lies about Israel, lies which express some very familiar anti-Semitic tropes. But the Union's view is that saying that Israel is the root of all evil just can't be construed as anti-Semitic. And saying that Israel is the most inhuman country in the Middle East, and that it's the cause of all the world's troubles, can't be anti-Semitic either. Saying that Israel's supporters have bought America's government can't be anti-Semitic. Saying that Israel is equivalent to the Nazis can't be anti-Semitic. Saying that Israel is committing genocide can't be anti-Semitic. Saying that Israel should be wiped off the world map can't be anti-Semitic. Really, you begin to wonder what the Union would regard as anti-Semitic.
Tom Hickey, and many other pro-boycotters, say that the charge of anti-Semitism is absurd, but many of the quotations above are clearly anti-Semitic. And the pro-boycotters also say (very very frequently) that the charge of anti-Semitism is offensive, but I imagine that Hickey et al might find being falsely charged with committing genocide even more offensive. Why do pro-boycotters like himself not show any concern about the kind of filth, displayed above, which the pro-boycott case attracts? Why do they not do something to dissociate themselves and their case from this kind of support, something more focused than giving general motherhood-and-apple-pie statements against racism? They might, for example, insist that Israel is not committing genocide, that Jewish nationalism is as legitimate as any other form of nationalism, and that there are many far worse rights-violators in the United Nations today. Is it that the leading pro-boycotters also think that Israel is commiting genocide, that alone among the nations Jewish nationalism is illegitimate, that Israel is the worst rights-violator in the world, and the root of all evil? It would be useful to know. If they don't believe this, they should at least take a hard look at the type of supporters and arguments the pro-boycott movement sucks in. (Eve Garrard)