Sunday, 15 January, 2006

Bar-Ilan to Host International Conference on Academic Freedom and the
Politics of Boycotts

Ramat Gan, Israel: Following the successful campaign to persuade the British
Association of University Teachers (AUT) to rescind its proposed boycott of
Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities, the International Advisory Board for
Academic Freedom (IAB) has scheduled an international conference on Academic
Freedom and the Politics of Boycotts to be held at Bar-Ilan University,
Ramat Gan on January 25-26, 2006.

"The principles of academic freedom and equality among members of the
scientific community have a long and revered history" said Prof Gerald
Steinberg, Chair of the Conference Committee. "The right to follow the
research trail and search for knowledge without regard to whose interests
and power may be threatened is not an empty slogan to be tossed away by
political and ideological fashion".

The conference will examine aspects of academic freedom in the broadest
sense, including the origins and conceptual development and the debate
regarding legitimate limitations and exceptions. Presentations will discuss
the changes in the status of academic freedom in a number of countries, from
Europe (West and East) and North America to the Middle East, to China. The
second day will focus on political dimensions, beginning with an examination
of the complex boundary between political and academic freedom, and the
question of whether those who advocate academic boycotts in support of
political agendas are, in fact, seeking to curtail the rights of free speech
of those who have different views.

Other panels will examine the context of the boycott efforts in the
framework of the ongoing political struggle in Britain and elsewhere related
to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including examination of the factors that gave
rise to and sustained these efforts singling out Israel, the role of
anti-Semitism, the "Durban" strategy, links to the divestment campaign, and
the role of powerful NGOs. Finally, the roundtable that will close the
conference will examine the strategies that were employed in response to the
boycott vote, and the implications of these efforts for future such efforts.
The Conference organizing committee plans to publish the conference
proceedings on the internet and in print form.

Conference panels include diplomats, such as the British Ambassador Simon
McDonald and the European Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian - Uzal. Outstanding
scholars appearing include: Prof. Alan Dershowitz from Harvard Law School,
described by Newsweek as America's "most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer
and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights"
(www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/dershowitz/biography.html); Adv. Anthony
Julius, former lawyer for Princess Diana and author of "Anti-Semitism in the
UK", who helped with the boycott reversal, and represented Professor Deborah
E. Lipstadt, participating in the conference as well, in her famous case
against David John Cawdell Irving, British Holocaust denier; Anne Bayefsky,
senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, and a professor at Touro College in
New York, who is known for her human rights website www.bayefsky.com
(launched 2003) dedicated to enhancing the implementation of the human
rights legal standards of the United Nations; Prof. Asa Kasher from Tel-Aviv
University, winner of the Israel Prize for Philosophy, 2000. The
Conference's Honorary Board includes world known authors A.B. Yehoshua,
Professor of literature at Haifa University and Amos Oz, Professor of
literature at Ben Gurion University.

For further information on the upcoming conference and for interview
coordination contact:

Ofir Frankel, Manager, International Campaign for Academic Freedom
Website: www.biu.ac.il/rector/academic_freedom/
Office of the Rector, Bar-Ilan university, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel