What we have seen at NTNU these last days has been as scary as it has been greatly uplifting. First, a biased seminar series sprang out of nowhere. Then suddenly a proposal of boycott was put to the board. To the relief of many and the chagrin of some, NTNU board unanimously decided to reject the boycott proposal. Here is a congratulatory post from the American Jewish Committee.
New York – November 12, 2009 – AJC welcomed the decision of the Board of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to unanimously reject a proposed academic boycott of Israel.
“This is a victory for academic freedom and a decisive blow to the hateful politics underlying the campaign to boycott Israel,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “The NTNU has wisely acted in its own self-interest. Had the boycott proposal been passed, the university would have gained international notoriety for adopting a policy of discrimination.”
The boycott proposal drew a firestorm of condemnation, particularly from the academic world. Among those condemning the boycott were the American Association of University Professors and the Russell Group, a body which gathers the top universities of the United Kingdom.
“Most important of all was the opposition of principled academics in the NTNU itself,” said Harris. “In particular, we pay tribute to Professor Bjorn Alsberg for mobilizing more than 100 of his colleagues in a petition to counter the boycott proposal. His example serves as a beacon of hope for those academics in other universities around the world facing similar calls to exclude their Israeli colleagues from academic life.”
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