LONDON - British university lecturers voted on Thursday to overturn a boycott of two Israeli universities, a controversial policy which had been condemned as discriminatory and anti-Semitic.
In April, the Association of University Teachers (AUT) decided to blacklist Haifa University and Bar Ilan University, meaning no member of the 40,000-strong union would be allowed to visit either Israeli institution.
The AUT said at the time it was boycotting Haifa due to concerns about "academic freedom" and Bar Ilan for its links with the College of Judea and Samaria, established at Ariel, one of the largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
It prompted outrage in Israel and accusations the action was prompted by extremist political views, and even anti-Semitism. Earlier this month the AUT decided to hold an emergency meeting to review the decision.
Following "a lengthy debate involving deeply held views on both sides of the argument", the meeting had voted to revoke the boycotts, the AUT said in a statement.
"It is now time to build bridges between those with opposing views here in the UK, and to commit to supporting trade unionists in Israel and Palestine working for peace," AUT general secretary Sally Hunt said.
The decision to boycott Haifa University followed claims that senior political science lecturer Ilan Pappe faced the sack and possible trial for backing a student's thesis documenting an alleged massacre of 200 Palestinian civilians by an Israeli army unit in 1948.
However, the university insisted this was simply not true, with president Aaron Ben Zeev saying the AUT boycott was "based on false claims about which they never bothered to even ask us".
Bar Ilan University had also slammed the move as "purely political", saying its links with the Ariel college were not relevant.
Professor Yosef Yeshurun, rector of Bar Ilan University, said Thursday he was "delighted" to hear about the policy reversal.
"Academic freedom is the hardcore of academia, without academic freedom there is no science," he told AFP.
"I myself worked in England for many summers. I know how academia works. This was an action of a very small minority and to me they do not represent academia in the UK."
After the meeting, some AUT members expressed their relief at the decision, with one saying it had "rescued" the union.
"A boycott is a tokenistic gesture which does more harm than good," said David Hirsh from Goldsmiths College, part of the University of London.
"AUT was in serious trouble, both in the UK and internationally.
"Members were leaving in disgust. More members would have left if the vote had gone the wrong way."
The government, which had expressed worries about the boycott, also welcomed the vote.
"The British government believes that the best way we can help achieve a peaceful resolution in the region is to encourage both sides to take the steps necessary for progress through close engagement," junior foreign office minister Kim Howells said in a statement.
"We do not believe that sanctions and boycotts help towards that aim."
05/26/2005 17:30 GMT