On 16 December 2002 the Conseil d'Administration of Université Paris VI passed a motion recommending the rupture of the European Union's scientific cooperation agreement with Israel. A similar resolution is on the agenda of the meeting of the Université Paris VII Conseil d'Administration, which is to take place on January 7. This is in effect a call for boycott; the proposal would institutionalize the exclusion of Israeli researchers from scientific committees, conferences and scientific journals. It would kill international research projects involving Israeli scientists and academic hosting programs for university faculty. It would ban international student exchange programs.It's been said that Jews are the canary in the coalmine of civilization. The EU should study what happened to Spain and Portugal after they expelled their Jews, and how things went for the Dutch and Ottomans after they took them in.
It's not so much our magic Jewish stuff that gives your civilization that edge (well, that too) - it's that the conditions that make a culture hospitable to Jews (comfort with ambiguity, free inquiry and debate, cosmopolitanism, practical approach to life, solid middle class, entrepreneurship) are also the same conditions that produce great science, art, high standards of living, international trade, etc.
So here's a contrasting news item from the USA:
For the second year in a row, [emphasis mine] two seniors at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls in Hewlett Bay Park, L.I., were national finalists in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. But this time, it was not necessary to explain their need to make their presentation before the Sabbath and for glatt kosher food. “It wasn’t an issue at all this year,” said Rebecca P. Isseroff, a chemistry teacher and the students’ research adviser. “There was a lot of discussion last year because it was the first time Orthodox students had won the Siemens contest. But ultimately, Siemens made every accommodation.And what was their project?
. . . Simpser said it is hoped their research can be used in healing wounds. She said that since it was shown that cells can be made to adhere to a surface, perhaps a living bandage could be created to help a wound clot and heal faster.One would think that most people would prefer to live in a society that supports this kind of research, but if the EU would rather demonize Israel - oh well. Let's help the French Jews leave, the US and Israel can continue making technological and scientific discoveries that make the world a better place, and Europe can bask in its improved relations with the oh-so-sophisticated civilization of the Arab world. (Maybe it is all about the ooooiiiillllll after all . . . .)
UPDATE: The Forward has an article on the latest European boycott activities, but it doesn't seem to be on their website.
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