We abuse human rights but hey.....

According to Ha'aretz, a delegation of Israeli academics is coming to the UK with a view to combatting proposals to boycott Israel coming from within the UK's academia.

"The boycott is a form of prejudice and discrimination because it unfairly singles out Israel and demonizes us," says Dr. Jonathan Rynhold, a senior lecturer in the department of political studies at Bar-Ilan University, and a member of delegation to the U.K. "We are nowhere near the worst human rights abusers in the world. We want to present a more balanced and realistic picture of Israeli academia. When they meet us, they will see we are not a bunch of fascists."

That rather depends who they bring. But on the point about human rights abuses, yes, other states abuse human rights but Israel exists solely on the basis of its human rights abuses.

On that latter point of Israel's uniqueness in the human rights abuse stakes, it calls to mind an article in Friday's Jewish Chronicle on the NUJ's Israel boycott where concern is expressed by Adrian Cohen (of Engage?), that, whilst zionists can mobilise people within unions to slow down or even overturn resolutions,

These difficulties are nothing more than the growing pains of a movement intending to demonise and isolate Israel. This movement seeks to single out Israel - as South Africa was under apartheid - as
uniquely worthy of being boycotted.

He goes on to complain that Israel is targetted, not because of what it does but because of what it is. The problem with that one is that Israel is what it does. It's a colonial settler state based on ethnic cleansing and racist laws.