Letter from World Union of Jewish Students to student reps of NTNU

Here is a letter from Chaya Singer from the World Union of Jewish Students, addressed to the student representatives at NTNU: Julia Iablokova , Morten Olimb, Axel Sandaas and Kristoffer Kåsin. Let us hope the Norwegian students have the decency to answer it. For too long now, the Norwegian attitude towards Israel has been one of anger and rejection.

Chaya Singer E Chaya@wujs.org.il

www.wujs.org.il

Dear Fellow Students

Re: Proposed boycott of Israeli Academics at the University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

I write to you as Chairperson of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), founded in 1924 under the chairmanship of Albert Einstein, to combat the Numerus Clausus restricting admission of Jewish students into European universities.

In an age of unimagined technological advancement, open-source education and information sharing, it is irreconcilably antithetical that a university is considering calling for a politicised academic boycott. What a betrayal of the principles and spirit of academic freedom that a blanket boycott is to be imposed on scholars and students based on their national origin! Who would have believed that in the twenty-first-century, citizens of a democratic country that upholds the rule of law are being singled out for academic exclusion? This regression hearkens back to the very worst traditions in contemporary history—to the Norway of Quisling and his henchmen, who so sullied the good name of Norway.

The NTNU website boasts cooperative/exchange agreements with institutions in 58 countries, “from Albania to Zimbabwe”. The double standards of NTNU’s Israel-centric moral compass are blatantly apparent, evident in NTNU’s proud affiliation with such paragons of civil society as, Robert Mugabe. This begs the question as to why NTNU is demanding that the Board take a position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exclusively, while paradoxically calling for your vote in denying your electorate access to informed debate and critical research towards resolution of the conflict, through the exclusion of one of the primary parties.

Considering Norway’s esteemed role as international mediator of the Oslo Accords, NTNU’s adoption of a misdiagnosed South African Apartheid solution of boycott displays an embarrassing, fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Middle East conflict. As a South African, having grown up in a true Apartheid state and experienced true reconciliation, the intended boycott makes a mockery of both truth and reconciliation. As the only Western university to instate an academic boycott of Israel, NTNU would indeed be set to achieve its vision of “Internationally Outstanding 2020”, unless by example this action serves as a catalyst to widespread boycott of Israel and a further lack of creative interaction, constructive problem-solving and critical assessment. Would this potentially insurmountable stumbling block to peace be NTNU’s idea of success in its “search for innovative and sustainable solutions for…global challenges”, as articulated in NTNU’s vision?

How can NTNU, and you as its students , hope to be at the “leading edge” of technology while boycotting Israeli academics, who are among the highest ranking innovators in areas such as medical, information and communication, energy and environment technologies, strategic areas in which NTNU purportedly strives for excellence? Ha! If NTNU adopts such a resolution it will have consigned itself to the dustbin of intellectual history. No reputable academic institution in any free country will ever regard it seriously. Not to worry, though, this decision will be hailed in Tripoli and Teheran, and in other such centres of enlightened scholarship, where the rights of women, gays, religious minorities, atheists and other dissenters are routinely trampled.

As the student representatives on the University Board you vote on behalf of youth everywhere. We are the trustees of the traditions of the university as a bastion of open debate and education, and the safeguards of academic freedom and tolerance.

In the best interests of your university, all universities, and Israeli and Palestinian students who deserve a peaceful Middle East, I ask you in all conscience to take a firm stand against this travesty–and to cast your vote against the boycott of Israeli academia.

Yours very sincerely,

Chaya Singer

Chairperson

World Union of Jewish Students

Tags: Chaya Singer, NTNU, Student representatives, World Union of Jewish Students