Stephen Hawking Boycotts Israel Academic Conference

[Drett]

Hawking's decision was hailed by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine as support for its goal of severing academics' connections with Israel.



'This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there,' the committee said on its website.




Stephen Hawking Boycotts Israel Academic Conference

 

[Drett]

Five reason given for boycotting the event

Here are five reasons why Professor Hawking is right to boycott:
5. Whitewashing apartheid
The Israeli government and various lobby groups use events such as the "Presidential Conference" to whitewash Israel's crimes past and present, a tactic sometimes referred to as "rebranding". As a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official put it after the 2009 Gaza massacre, it is the kind of approach that means sending "well-known novelists and writers overseas, theatre companies, [and] exhibits" in order to "show Israel's prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war". "Brand Israel" is all about creating a positive image for a country that is the target of human rights campaigners the world over - as if technological innovations or high-profile conferences can hide the reality of occupation and ethnic cleansing.
4. Shimon Peres
Despite his reputation in the West as a "dove", Peres' career to date includes war crimes in Lebanon,support for collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, and, in private discussions, incitementagainst non-Jewish citizens. Anyone would do well to avoid a conference hosted by such a hypocrite. Simply not being Ariel Sharon does not really cut it; Peres should be scheduled for a trip to The Hague, not welcoming foreign dignitaries and celebrities.
3. Boycott is not incompatible with 'dialogue'
Contrary to the rhetoric of Israeli officials and sympathisers, boycott is not contrary to dialogue. Hawking's decision, for example, will mean people are discussing Israeli policies and strategies for ending occupation. That is not atypical - BDS initiatives often encourage a meaningful exchange of views and perspectives. However, some people abuse the concept of dialogue to defend an asymmetrical status quo, leaving intact a colonial power dynamic where, in the words of South African poet James Matthews, "the oppressor sits seared with his spoils/with no desire to share equality/leaving the oppressed seeking warmth/at the cold fire of/Dialogue". Boycott has nothing to do with having, or not having, conversations - it is about accountability for, and opposing, basic violations of a people's rights. Confronting and resisting the reality of Israeli apartheid begets a dialogue that is fully realised in the context of equality and decolonisation.
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2. Impunity and accountability
The boycott is grounded firmly in the well documented facts of Israeli policies. The US State Department speaks of "institutional discrimination" faced by Palestinian citizens, while Human Rights Watch says Israel maintains a "two-tier system" in the West Bank. From the "discriminatory" control and distribution of water resources (Amnesty International) to the "forced transfer of the native population" (European Union), it is no wonder that the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has reportedIsrael as violating prohibitions against "racial segregation and apartheid".
Illegal settlements are used to colonise the West Bank, Palestinians in Gaza are blockaded and bombed, Palestinians in East Jerusalem have their homes demolished - and all the while, of course, expelled Palestinian refugees just a few miles from their properties are still prevented from returning home on the basis they are not Jews. And note that the "But what about China/Myanmar/Syria etc" line misses the point (as well as placing Israel in some rather interesting company). A boycott is a tactic, advisable in some contexts, and not in others. It is not about a scale of injustice or wrongdoing. It is about a strategy targeting systematic human rights abuses and breaches of international law, called for by the colonised. Which brings us to…
1. The Palestinian call for solidarity
Palestinians suffering under Israeli apartheid are calling for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as a strategy in the realisation of their basic rights, a fact that many Zionists choose to ignore when attacking boycott campaigns. The Palestinian civil society call for BDS was officially launched on July 9 2005, a year after the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel's Separation Wall. Signatories to the BDS call come from representatives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel, and Palestinian refugees. Since then, growing numbers of people in the likes of academia, the arts world, trade unions and faith communities have answered the BDS call with initiatives that put the focus firmly on Israel's routine violations of international law and ending complicity in these crimes. Professor Hawking is to be commended for seeking the advice of Palestinian academics, and heeding their request for international solidarity in a decades-long struggle for freedom and justice.

Five reasons why Hawking is right to boycott Israel - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

 

[crossnote]

Drett,
Now that you have been brainwashed by one side let the other side de-program you.

 

[Drett]

Drett,
Now that you have been brainwashed by one side let the other side de-program you.

Videos from the MFA Israeli Foreign Affairs ? I would have given more weight to an unbiased source myself. I'll have a look.

 

[Drett]

Drett,
Now that you have been brainwashed by one side let the other side de-program you.

I should tell you I was actually brainwashed by the other side. I was very pro Israel and relying on local media for information. Pro Palestinian is where I have ended up after educating myself. I'll have a look at your videos.

 

[Drett]

I felt sick after watching that first video. The propaganda is right in your face. I like the way they portray Arabs with knives in their mouths shooting machine guns in the air and Israel as calm rational people.


How did the 1967 war start. The video suggests the peace loving Israel were surprised by the ruthless Arabs.


What actually happened.


Israel adopted a policy of diverting water from the Jordan River to the Negev Desert and this was became the cause of the tension. Naturally, this angered Arabs so much that they threatened to divert this flow into Lake Galilee. Syria was bombed by Israel in 1965 and 1966 soon after they began implementing their policy of diverting water from Israel. This resulted in the formation of the PLO and Fatah movements against Israel. They did not exist before this.


I have provided a non Arab source of what I have stated above.


BBC News - Obstacles to Arab-Israeli peace: Water


So who started the war ?


In a radio debate Peled also said: “Israel was never in real danger and there was no evidence that Egypt had any intention of attacking Israel.” He added that “Israeli intelligence knew that Egypt was not prepared for war.”


The Israelis knew that Egypt was not going to attack.


For those journalists, lazy or not, who might still have doubts about who started the Six Days War, here’s a quote from what Prime Minister Begin said in an unguarded, public moment in 1982. “In June 1967 we had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in the Sinai approaches did not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us, We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”


The lies about the 1967 war are still more powerful than the truth - Alan Hart


Do I have to watch the other 2 videos ? I don't know if my stomach can handle the lies ?

 

[hattiebod]

The BBC is not understood here in the UK as being a 'neutral' non Arab source, it is regarded as being anti - Israel. <><

 

[David_1]

You should love your neighbour as Yourself.
But Lord, who is my neighbour?
Updated Pro-Israel response: Well it's not the Samaritans who still live in the Palestian area of West Bank. Those guys need to be ethnically cleansed for not being Pro-Israel enough! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans

Oh?!??? said the crowd, then we should let Fox News tell us who our neighbours are?

 

[Agricola]

I like how the picture Drett posted has painting of missles being fired into Israel. Israel is not perfect, but Israel has done more than enough over the years to try and bring peace, but all time it exists, there will be no peace, the purpose of the terrorist groups is to continue the war against Israel, they will not stop until the Palestinian flag flies over the whole of Israel again.

Israel pulled out of Gaza and gave them complete control as part of negotiations for peace and due to US pressure and under an illusion that there would be no more terrorist attacks and missles fired , so what happened? an increase in missile and mortar fire.

If you want to see what is going on take a look at Palewatch, PMW - Palwatch.org you also have to look into how human shields are constantly used and how missles are stored and fired in middle of dense populations, knowing any reprisal will result in civillian deaths.

 

[Drett]

I like how the picture Drett posted has painting of missles being fired into Israel. Israel is not perfect, but Israel has done more than enough over the years to try and bring peace, but all time it exists, there will be no peace, the purpose of the terrorist groups is to continue the war against Israel, they will not stop until the Palestinian flag flies over the whole of Israel again.

Israel pulled out of Gaza and gave them complete control as part of negotiations for peace and due to US pressure and under an illusion that there would be no more terrorist attacks and missles fired , so what happened? an increase in missile and mortar fire.

If you want to see what is going on take a look at Palewatch, PMW - Palwatch.org you also have to look into how human shields are constantly used and how missles are stored and fired in middle of dense populations, knowing any reprisal will result in civillian deaths.

Your link is not a neutral source. I have had enough of reading propaganda. Please provide unbiased sources. Back to the facts.


The occupation of Palestinian land was forced.

Edgar O'Ballance, a military historian,


Israeli vans with loudspeakers drove through the streets ordering all the inhabitants to evacuate immediately, and such as were reluctant to leave were forcibly ejected from their homes by the triumphant Israelis whose policy was now openly one of clearing out all the Arab civil population before them.... From the surrounding villages and hamlets, during the next two or three days, all the inhabitants were uprooted and set off on the road to Ramallah.... No longer was there any "reasonable persuasion". Bluntly, the Arab inhabitants were ejected and forced to flee into Arab territory.... Wherever the Israeli troops advanced into Arab country the Arab population was bulldozed out in front of them.


O'Ballance, Edgar (1956) pp. 147, 172.

What is the tactic to gain further territory.


"We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population."


Source:
one source: May 1948, to the General Staff. From Ben-Gurion, A Biography, by Michael Ben-Zohar, Delacorte, New York 1978.
another source: Israel Koenig, "The Koenig Memorandum".

So don't let yourself be deceived. The Israelis has sited what they need to do to gain territory and they have gone down that path. Any withdrawal from Gaza is to get people such as yourself on board in believing Israel is doing everything they can.

​

 

[Agricola]

The only propaganda is the propaganda being printed and broadcast from Gaza and WestBank. PMW simply collate it and make it available for all to see. PMW are not the ones making these programmes or statements, so how can it be biased propaganda. Could it be it makes embarasing and difficult viewing for yourself, as it shows the true agenda and motives of these poor "victims"?

Here is one example
[video=youtube;TlX0PDlDyPk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlX0PDlDyPk[/video]

 

[Drett]

The only propaganda is the propaganda being printed and broadcast from Gaza and WestBank. PMW simply collate it and make it available for all to see. PMW are not the ones making these programmes or statements, so how can it be biased propaganda. Could it be it makes embarasing and difficult viewing for yourself, as it shows the true agenda and motives of these poor "victims"?

Here is one example
[video=youtube;TlX0PDlDyPk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlX0PDlDyPk[/video]

If I had my home taken away from me by force and have my electricity and water restricted I would be angry as well. You are just highlighting symptoms. The source of all this needs to be addressed. I have highlighted the source from unbiased sources. All you are doing is highlighting that the patience of the Palestinians to this has disappeared.

 

[Agricola]

Well then Drett, I see quite clearly for who you are and that you obviously have no problem with suicide bombers blowing up civillians, maybe you should make yourself a banner with the "heroes and martyrs" of Palestine celbrating the people they killed, just as they are doing in this video.

Before you start going on about the people IDF have killed, you have to ask why have these people died? just about every innocent Palestinian who has died, was murdered by likes of Fatah, Hamas and all the other terror groups who use the civilian population as human shields. None of these terrorists wear a uniform, they hide like cowards in the civilian population, so when they are killed by Israel, its easy to just call them "innocent Civilians".

Palestinians also breach countless human rights laws by training child combatants and using young boys to help with firing of missles, again if they are killed, its "poor innocent children".

 

[maxwel]

The Israel/Palestine issues are fairly complex, and it's fair to have debate and discussion about them.

However, regarding Stephen Hawking in particular - at this point in time he's made a number of fairly absurd philosophical conjectures about numerous things, which even most scientists disagree with. So whatever your point of view on Israel, I just wouldn't bother bringing Stephen Hawking, or his opinions, into the discussion. He isn't a politician, he isn't a historian, he isn't a lawyer, he isn't a philosopher or a theologian... so, regarding these particular issues, he just isn't any more relevant than any other Joe on the street.

 

[Grey]

Both sides have large amounts of blood on their hands, don't support either, support peace, peace wins all wars.

 

[zone]

Well then Drett, I see quite clearly for who you are and that you obviously have no problem with suicide bombers blowing up civillians, maybe you should make yourself a banner with the "heroes and martyrs" of Palestine celbrating the people they killed, just as they are doing in this video.

Before you start going on about the people IDF have killed, you have to ask why have these people died? just about every innocent Palestinian who has died, was murdered by likes of Fatah, Hamas and all the other terror groups who use the civilian population as human shields. None of these terrorists wear a uniform, they hide like cowards in the civilian population, so when they are killed by Israel, its easy to just call them "innocent Civilians".

Palestinians also breach countless human rights laws by training child combatants and using young boys to help with firing of missles, again if they are killed, its "poor innocent children".

ugh......puleeze.

 

[Drett]

Well then Drett, I see quite clearly for who you are and that you obviously have no problem with suicide bombers blowing up civillians, maybe you should make yourself a banner with the "heroes and martyrs" of Palestine celbrating the people they killed, just as they are doing in this video.Before you start going on about the people IDF have killed, you have to ask why have these people died? just about every innocent Palestinian who has died, was murdered by likes of Fatah, Hamas and all the other terror groups who use the civilian population as human shields. None of these terrorists wear a uniform, they hide like cowards in the civilian population, so when they are killed by Israel, its easy to just call them "innocent Civilians". Palestinians also breach countless human rights laws by training child combatants and using young boys to help with firing of missles, again if they are killed, its "poor innocent children".

Throwing in red herrings has not worked so now I see you are trying a new tactic now. Discredit me. As I said I understand the Palestinian anger. Angry people do dumb things. To solve this you need to go to the core issue. That being the war crimes committed by Israel. Fix the core problem, everything else will fall into place. Remember Fatah and Hamas were not formed until 1967 when Israel started diverting water from their neighbours.

 

[hattiebod]

I wonder if Prof. Hawking is grateful to Israel for the development and production of the technology responsible for him to be able to communicate with the world..... <><

 

[zone]

no doubt he is hattie.
the credit goes to the american taxpayer though.