Earlier this week 343 signatories bought a full page in TheGuardian entitled “A commitment by UK scholars to the rights of the Palestinians”. They were, they said, deeply disturbed by Israel’s various sins against the Palestinian people and had resolved not to visit Israeli schools or colleges or research institutes, not to act as referees for Israelis and not to participate in anything sponsored, funded or organised by them “or otherwise co-operate with them”. This to continue “until the state of Israel complies with international law, and respects universal principles of human rights”.

Google the word “boycott” and you’ll see that, in all the early entries, only one country is mentioned: Israel. I did some research to see if the signatories, selected at random, were in favour of treating other countries in the same way — refusing co-operation, say, to Chinese universities until that government “respects universal principles” etc, but — as I expected — I could find no sign that they were.

Many were old lags in the boycott business. Their spokesmen are a Socialist Workers Party member from Brighton who has devoted his life to boycotting Israel and the other, an academic from LSE (and there while Mr Gaddafi was funding part of the institution) has been active in trying to prevent Israeli theatre companies from performing in Britain.

What characterises most of the signatories, as far as I can see, is great concern for the plight of the Palestinians. And if they seem far more worried about a terrible conflict in which 12,000 have died since 2000 than the one next door which has consumed a quarter of a million lives since 2011, that doesn’t make their feelings less real and less admirable. In many, many ways I share them and always have.

Read the article in full at The Times.