Reply #5: So, Ilan Pappe hates Israel??

[Violet_Crumble]

You know that he, as well as other Israeli academics, were fully supportive of an academic boycott? I don't know if boycotts against South Africa involved an academic boycott, but I guess if there had been, the same silly response of 'hundreds of repressive governments. Only one has its scholars boycotted' would have been thrown around. What you should take note of is that I'm not particularly impressed with the idea of an academic boycott, and probably after Ilan Pappe's visit, even less so. If there was a boycott happening, I'm assuming that the Ilan Pappe lecture I went to this week would never have happened, and voices like his need to be heard. The Israeli govt and its supporters would love nothing better than to have their voices stifled, and a boycott would play right into their hands...

Having said that, I'm becoming more and more convinced that diplomatic and economic sanctions should happen if the US won't get off its butt and do what's needed to pull Israel into line - which is merely to warn that it's going to cut off funding to Israel if it keeps on ignoring international law...

Violet...