Campaign Group for Academic Freedom?

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, a zionist organisation, (the zionist organisation that led the charge against Ken Livingstone that you may have heard about) has formed an anti-boycott group called the Campaign Group for Academic Freedom (CGAF).

its remit will be to coordinate activity within and beyond the Jewish community in order to overturn the AUT decision.

In taking this step the Board has consulted with major communal organisations, those Israeli Universities named in the AUT resolution and those academics involved in opposing the boycott at grass-roots level.

Here's an email from the group doing the rounds:

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to you from the Campaign Group for Academic Freedom which has been inundated by requests for information from AUT members around the country about the location and timing of emergency AUT meetings that have been called in advance of the extraordinary meeting of the AUT council to be held in London on 26th May 2005.

I am making this contact on their behalf in order to avoid local associations from being swamped with enquiries as I realise that you will be exceptionally busy at this time.

It would be a great help if you could forward details of any special local association meeting that you will be holding before the 18th May and whether or not non-members or outside speakers will be permitted to attend. I will then pass this on.

Many thanks for your assistance,

Phil Stone
Campaign Group for Academic Freedom

Obviously, given the influence of the zionist movement and the depth of ignorance about Israel's colonial settler nature (even in academia) there is a deal of gloom among some boycott campaigners. This is misplaced. Even if the boycott is overturned many people will still know exactly why it was instituted and other boycotts could kick in or grow, eg, sport, culture and goods. Also, the fact that, at first, some zionists resigned from the AUT and now zionists are calling on non- and indeed anti-union people to join, shows the zionist movement in a rare state of disarray. Reasons to be cheerful, no?