International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom

The International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom (IAB) was set up at Israel's Bar-Ilan University in response to a 2005 academic boycott vote by the UK-based Association of University Teachers (the AUT later merged into the University and College Union) which named Bar-Ilan as a supporter of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. The AUT boycott was not compulsory and was passed to express solidarity with Palestinian academics who suffer from the effects of Israel's occupation. The IAB marketed itself as an international organization but focused its efforts on boycott calls targeting Israel, arguing that academic institutions should be exempt from boycotts. Shortly after the AUT rescinded its decision to boycott Bar-Ilan University after a widespread anti-boycott pressure campaign by IAB and several other organizations, the IAB ceased its official operations, with all further anti-boycott activities being initiated on a member by member basis. Bar Ilan University President Moshe Kave has recently called for the firing of any faculty member that supports international boycott campaigns on Israeli academic institutions.

History

The IAB was launched in 2005 by chair Yosef Yeshurun, a professor at Bar-Ilan University, after a AUT vote to boycott Bar-Ilan for it's direct involvement with Israel's occupation of Palestine. Since 1982 the College of Judea and Samara (now known as Ariel University Center of Samaria) operated as a regional branch of Bar-Ilan University from within illegal settlements built on the Palestinian West Bank. Yeshurun rejected the claim that Bar-Ilan was linked to the College (it is still not officially accredited as a full University in Israel despite its name change) because almost immediately after the boycott call was issued the college began to pursue university accreditation which would make it independent from Bar-Ilan. Some college officials applauded the boycott call because of the inadvertent gains the college could reap as a result.

Website

http://www.biu.ac.il/academic_freedom/4.htm

Affiliates

IAB Executive Committee

• Chair: Prof. Yosi Yeshurun, Pro Rector, Bar-Ilan University
• Prof. Eitan Gilboa, Bar-Ilan University
• Prof. Menachem Kellner, The University of Haifa
• Dr. Jonathan Rynhold, Bar-Ilan University
• Prof. Wendy Sandler, The University of Haifa
• Prof. Joshua Schwartz, Academic Coordinator, Bar-Ilan University
• Prof. Gerald Steinberg, Bar-Ilan University

Executive Director

• Ofir Frankel

Corresponding Academic Secretaries

• Dr. Ed Beck, President, SPME
• Mr. Ronnie Fraser, Chair, AFI