Boycott of Israeli academics by the British union of academics

For the third year in a row, the British union of academics have recommended to their 120,000 members to boycott all academic ties with Israel.

I find this decision to be in very poor taste, when Israel is the only country in the middle east in which Arab academics, along with their Jewish colleagues, can pursue their work freely and openly, when that work is often critical of the country that provides them with this very opportunity. That is the way a healthy democracy works. In contrast, researchers in the Arab world face social and professional excommunication, harassment, and even death for attempting to collaborate with their Israeli counterparts.

This decision is especially cynical, while Arab and Jewish students and faculty at Sapir college, near the city of Sderot, are gripped by fear and confusion from the threat of Kassam rockets fired daily by the Palestinians. While the decision to boycott Israel was taken in peaceful Bournemouth, my sister, who teaches at the college, and along with the rest of her students, is absolutely terrified, try to continue their academic pursuit of knowledge under the harrowing threat of the air raid siren, signaling a frantic 20 seconds during which they must find adequate cover.

As for the commitment to education and pedagogics displayed by the Palestinian government, it is suffice to read this article describing the indoctrination into fundamentalism of young minds. As another example, consider this ironic adaptation of an icon of Western imperialism, enlisted for the Palestinian "cause" of Jewish annihilation.

Five Boro bike ride

I recently participated in the NYC five borough bike tour. This year, the tour celebrated its 30th year, and included 42,000 riders, a 42 mile traffic-free route, five magnificent bridges and one ferry ride. There were official inspection points along the route, where massive security personnel pulled aside the free riders that tagged along. The route itself was surprisingly flat, enabling an effortless ride through narrow streets, large highways, bridges and tunnels, culminating in a crossing of the dramatic Varrazano bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island. Riding on a bicycle allowed to fully appreciate this man-made monster of steel. that On the way, we got to experience some of the colorful neighborhoods in this great city that are so close to Manhattan, and yet a million miles away.

See some more pictures here, or watch the "official" documentary on youTube.