‘Universities UK’ comes out against academic boycott

The board of Universities UK, an organization that represents the UK’s universities with 133 members, is “committed to the free exchange of ideas between universities and between academics, regardless of nationality or location. The board therefore firmly opposes academic boycotts on the basis that they are inimical to academic freedom, including the freedom of academics to collaborate with other academics,” the group says in a press statement.

“Given the reported perception in Israel that UK universities support an academic boycott, the board of Universities UK wishes to confirm its previously stated position that it is firmly opposed to any academic boycott of Israeli universities. The board also confirms its view that all universities must uphold, in the interests of free expression of ideas, the fundamental right of academics to question national and international policies,” the statement concludes.