CAIRO: The question of whether universities have an ethical duty to boycott Israeli universities and traveling scholars caused a furor in Britain a couple of years ago. According to an article published in Al-Masry Al-Youm last week, the furor may have migrated to Cairo. As one of the hottest topics to be discussed in academic circles worldwide, rattling the cage of scholarships and splitting opinion left, right and center, the issue is now causing ripples on the campus of the American University in Cairo (AUC). The conflict was triggered by a conference held on campus last year to which US scholars, allegedly of Israeli nationality, were invited. However, according to staff at AUC, the issue as reported has been blown out of proportion. Halah Mohsen, media relations manager at the university, told Daily News Egypt, "The discussion was an internal discussion between faculties. I don't know why or how it received so much media attention. With regard to the private meeting which was called last week on Oct. 17 she commented that "It was simply to provide a space in which staff could engage in a healthy debate on the issue. It is strange that it was reported on, as all those who were attending the meeting are faculty members. Her sentiments were echoed by Hussein Amin, head of the journalism and mass communications department at AUC. "It is a bit disconcerting that there was a report on the meeting, especially since no Israeli academics have been formally invited to the university. The article did not make that clear. Whoever is saying that the university invited people should bring evidence. We held an international conference and do not have the authority to decide who enters the country, that is for the Foreign Ministry to decide. In any case, the conference was held more than a year ago. It is insignificant considering the minute percentage of Israeli scholars who may have attended. Amin also pointed to the ramifications that a complete boycott of Israeli academics would have for the university, as well as the more complex moral ambiguities of boycott on ethical grounds. "If we held a complete boycott of Israeli academics, then where will it end? The university may be obliged to boycott Britain and America if they boycott Israel. And if they did, then countries may refuse to come to Egypt. What benefit is there of turning one's back to shoot oneself in the foot? Although it is a good and healthy discussion, it is not based on deep and rational thought, it is emotional. At present AUC follows national universities on academic relations with Israel, and its precise policy remains unwritten. However, Egypt's cordial political relations with Israel could theoretically preclude any action to boycott what has been branded an apartheid state by many academics internationally. But, observers say, if AUC wishes to remain a prominent player in international intellectual circles, it must be seen to hoist the flag of international academic freedom, which means not cutting links with Israel.
