HM Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould: “Everything we do is an expression of our values, and it is through our actions that we give voice to those values. Like our rejection of academic boycotts, because we believe that boycotts divide people and reduce understanding, when what we need is to bring people together … Our mission, of building scientific and academic links between our nations, is deeply unwelcome to some, who would rather go down the route of boycott than engagement … My government has stood firm by this mission [rejecting of academic boycotts], in part because of the knowledge that universities in Israel are places where the measure that counts is excellence, not agreement.”