London:/Jerusalem: The campaign for an academic boycott
of Israel in protest against its treatment of Palestinians got a
boost on Wednesday after Stephen Hawking withdrew from a
high-profile conference to be hosted by Israeli President Shimon
Peres in Jerusalem next month.
The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who
has won international recognition for his work on black holes, had
been due to speak at a prestigious conference in June organised by
Israeli President Shimon Peres that draws hundreds of leading
world figures.
However, his name was quietly
dropped from the list of participants earlier this week, giving a
major boost to supporters of pro-Palestinian groups that want to
isolate Israel on the international stage over the continued
occupation.
"This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based
upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of
his own academic contacts there," the British Committee for the
Universities of Palestine said on its website, news agency Reuters
reported.
By snubbing the annual president's
conference, which is due to be addressed by former U.S. President
Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Hawking
has become one of the prominent scientists to join the boycott
movement.
Numerous figures from the world of art and entertainment have also
refused to perform in Israel in recent years as part of an effort
to promote the Palestinian cause, including British singer Elvis
Costello and U.S. indie rock band the Pixies.
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down
in 2010 over the issue of continued Jewish settlement building on
land seized in the 1967 war. Palestinians want to create an
independent state on the captured territories.
Conference organisers called the
decision “outrageous”.
“The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and
improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty
lies at the basis of his human and academic mission,” said Israel
Maimon, chair of the conference.
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