Motion 1

1. Council:

(i) expresses its concern regarding Israel's deportation to Gaza of four Palestinian students at Birzeit University in the West Bank;

(ii) notes that these Gazan students have not been accused of any offence;

(iii) rejects as illegal the condition imposed by the Israeli military authorities that any resumption of their studies would be dependent on the students agreeing to permanently return to Gaza on graduation;

(iv) is concerned that the illegal separation of the West Bank from the Gaza Strip exacerbates the existing barriers to Palestinian education and development;

(v) urges the UK Government to insist that the Government of Israel adheres to its legal obligations to allow unimpeded access for all Palestinian students to their educational institutions.

(vi) believes that as long as Palestinian students and staff do not enjoy academic freedom equivalent to their Israeli counterparts, academic boycotts of Israeli universities are a legitimate form of peaceful protest.

NOTE: the above motion up to clause (v) follows the wording of Early Day

Motion 819 (Palestinian Right to Education) proposed by Dr Ian Gibson

MP. See: Link

2. Council notes:

(i) That on Monday 2nd May 2005, the Israeli cabinet voted 13-7 to confer university status on Judea and Samaria College in Ariel.

(ii) That Ariel is a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

(iii) That Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

(iv) That UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) calls for Israel to withdraw completely from territories it occupied.

(v) That Israeli Education minister Limor Livnat is reported in Ha'aretz as saying "Upgrading the colleges into universities is designed to support the settlement vision, out of a national interest of the State of Israel".

(vi) That the decision has been condemned by The Musawa Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

(vii) That on Wednesday 4th May 2005 a demonstration against the decision took place near the college, organised by Courage to Refuse, a movement of the IDF's reserve soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied territories.

Council agrees with Courage to Refuse that "A settlers' university, on an occupied land, contradicts the core values of the academic world as well as its spirit."

Council resolves:

(i) To send a message of support to Courage to Refuse

(ii) To send a message of support to the Musawa Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

(iii). To call on all AUT members to boycott the College of Judea and Samaria both in its present form and in any future form as a university;

(iv) That the boycott should take the form described in the Palestinian call for academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

Proposer: Melanie Wilson

Seconder: Adel Nasser

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Motion 2

Council notes with concern:

1. That Israel is in violation of UN resolutions, the Geneva Convention and the recent ruling, 9 July 2004, of International Court of Justice.

Link

2. That the Israeli military occupation systematically obstructs Palestinian education

3. That a number of Israeli universities collude with infringements of International Law by supporting institutions which consolidate and extend the occupation.

4. That Tel Aviv University is colluding with infringements of International Law by cooperating with the College of Judea and Samaria in the illegal settlement of Ariel on the West Bank. Tel Aviv University runs the Israeli Free Electron Laser Project, which is based in a multi-million pound research laboratory at the College of Judea and Samaria.

5. That the Weizmann Institute is colluding with infringements of International Law by donating equipment to the Israeli Free Electron Laser Project, whose laboratory is located in the College of Judea and Samaria in the illegal settlement of Ariel on the West Bank.

Council resolves:

(i) To call on AUT members to boycott any Israeli institution of higher education that supports the Occupation

(ii) To call on AUT members to boycott Tel Aviv University until it withdraws from all collaboration with the College of Judea and Samaria.

(iii) To call on AUT members to boycott the Weizmann Institute until it commits to refraining from any collaboration with entities located in settlements in the West Bank or with any entity that is collaborating with such entities.

(iv) That this boycott should take the form of disinvestment and refrain from any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects.

Proposer: Kamie Kitmitto

Seconder: Paul Kelemen

Motion 3

Council notes:

(1) That on Monday 2nd May 2005, the Israeli cabinet voted 13-7 to confer university status on Judea and Samaria College, in Ariel.

(2) That Ariel is a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

(3) That Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

(4) That UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) calls for Israel to withdraw completely from territories that it occupied.

(5) That Israeli education minister Limor Livnat is reported in Ha'aretz as saying "Upgrading the colleges into universities is designed to support the settlement vision, out of a national interest of the State of Israel".

In the light of these facts, Council recognises the conferral of university status on Judea and Samaria College as a further extension and consolidation of Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank, and resolves:

(a) To call on all AUT organisations and members to boycott the College of Judea and Samaria, both in its present form and in any future form as a university.

(b) That this boycott should take the form of disinvestment and disengagement from academic cooperation, collaboration or joint projects.

Proposer: Justin Hayes

Seconder: Chris Roberts

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Motion 4

i) UMAUT condemns the National Council’s call for a boycott of Haifa and Bar Ilan universities , and calls on the Council to reverse this decision.

ii) UMAUT calls on its delegates to the special council on the 26th May to vote against any form of academic boycott.

Proposer: Yaron Matras

Seconder: Anthony Lesser

Seconder: Louise Sylvester

Seconder: Hillel Steiner

The University of Manchester Association of University Teachers
AUT@Manchester.AC.UK
Tel: 53080/64031