Israeli minister Herzog: Academic boycott 'discriminatory and one-sided'

The main item of Israel-related news in the UK and international media today is the decision by the British University and College Union (UCU) yesterday to vote in favour of boycotting Israeli academic institutions.

In the Israeli press, all papers report on the decision yesterday by the British UCU to vote in favour of a motion to boycott Israeli academic institutions. The papers also report that Qassam rocket attacks yesterday hit a power-line and an apartment in the southern town of Sderot. In other news, Haaretz reports that a government source has said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is exploring the possibility of resuming talks with Syria through a third party mediator. The paper also notes that the largest South African trade union plans to launch a campaign against Israel, which will demand that the South African government impose a boycott on Israeli goods and break diplomatic relations. The Jerusalem Post, meanwhile, notes that the Home Front Command will launch a publicity campaign in order to prepare the public in the case of a full scale war. The paper also notes that EU Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering is visiting the Middle East and addressed the Knesset plenum yesterday. In his speech, Pottering said that the EU will support Israel's right to security against the threat posed by Iran. The Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews note that the Middle East Quartet met yesterday and condemned the Palestinian Qassam rocket attacks while it urged Israel to show restraint in their response to the attacks.

The Financial Times in a lead article calls the boycott a "futile gesture." The Daily Express publishes a column noting a rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments in Britain highlighting the recent example of the Israel boycott. Most papers report that Israeli Vice Premier and veteran politician Shimon Peres yesterday officially announced himself as a candidate for the presidency of Israel. In other news, several papers report that the UN approved the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute suspects involved in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The Guardian runs a piece by Jonathan Freedland on the 1967 Six Day War and the consequences of the war. The paper also carries an article on the problem of honour killings within the Arab Israeli community. The paper carries a piece by former Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Samih Khalidi, who looks at the current state of the Palestinians amid the faction fighting in Gaza and clashes with the Lebanese army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon. The Financial Times and Reuters note that the Middle East Quartet mediators met in Berlin yesterday and said that the Quartet planned to meet with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab League leaders next month in order to revive negotiations and peace making efforts. In other news, the Times reports that a number of Palestinians are attempting legal actions in the UK against the British government over arms the British government sells to Israel, which they claim has been used against Palestinians.

 

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