University presidents from US visit Israel 1 Jerusalem' Post
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JERUSALEM POST
University presidents from US visit Israe l
Haviv Rettig, THE JERUSALEM POST
Jul . 1, 200 7
The heads of several American state universities and university systems will arrive in Israel on Monday fo r
a week of briefings by Israeli education officials, politicians and academics, as well as prominen t
Palestinian leaders .
Each participant represents a campus of at least 40,000 students, and some state systems of over a quarte r
million. At a time of boycotts by British unions and, according to some, growing anti-Israel sentiment o n
American college campuses, the visit by chancellors of large universities and state university systems i s
being treated by the trip planners, the American Jewish Committee, as an important opportunity fo r
improving Israel's position on American college campuses .
The trip isn't about advocacy, says the AJC's Eran Lerman .
"We're going to talk about the need to sustain an open environment for debate, a reality in which suppor t
for Israel is not outside the scope of political correctness . It's important that the issue of Israel not b e
suppressed," he said .
"Academic life in America has become more oppressive and repressed than American society outside th e
campuses, and this is due to the imperative of political correctness . There are issues that can be openly
discussed in American society, but universities are overly sensitive," Lerman added .
At a meeting with Education Minister Yuli Tamir, participants will discuss Israeli education and society ,
rather than the British boycott proposals . "American academia isn't a partner to this boycott, and defined i t
as inappropriate from the start," Tamir told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday . Tamir added that the discussion
would focus on joint research opportunities .
"If there is a possibility to do joint work that will create academic opportunities for Israeli academia, the n
that's important. I'm sure they'll ask questions, and they'll see that you can send students here to Israel, "
Tamir added .
The participants include the heads of the University of South Carolina, Rice University, University o f
Texas System, Texas A&M University System, the Minnesota State Colleges Universities System ,
University of California-San Diego and University of Illinois-Urbana-Champagne, among others .
The trip schedule includes meetings with both Israeli educators and leadership, including Tamir an d
renowned Prof. Shlomo Avineri, and senior Palestinian leaders, including Palestinian Authority Prim e
Minister Salaam Fayad and Al Quds University president Sari Nusseibeh .
The trip is the latest in a decades-long series of visits that brings foreign leaders in various fields to Israel t o
learn about the country, its situation and dilemmas . It is the second trip by American university presidents .
The origin of this initiative goes back to events on US campuses two years ago, which led to a petition b y
250 university presidents who deplored the use of violence, anti-Semitic elements and anti-Israe l
campaigns on campus .
University presidents from US visit Israel * Jerusalem Post
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"Given that the place of Israel in the academic world has been challenged by some voices," explaine d
Lerman, "it's an extremely significant choice by another group [of university presidents] to come here, t o
learn directly about Israeli life, to meet Israeli counterparts and to appreciate the contributions of Israel t o
the academic and scientific world .'"
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