The British government rejects all calls for academic boycotts of Israel
"because we believe that boycotts divide people and reduce understanding, when
what we need is to bring people together," British ambassador Matthew Gould said
Wednesday upon accepting an honorary doctorate at Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev.
Gould said that while building scientific and academic links between
Israel and Britain "is deeply unwelcome to some, who would rather go down the
route of boycott than engagement," his government rejects that approach because
it understands that "universities in Israel are places where the measure that
counts is excellence, not agreement."