{"id":48606,"date":"2014-10-13T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T11:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=48606"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:29:39","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:29:39","slug":"on-the-academic-boycott-of-israel-claimed-by-university-of-sydneys-centre-for-peace-and-conflict-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/10\/on-the-academic-boycott-of-israel-claimed-by-university-of-sydneys-centre-for-peace-and-conflict-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"On the \u201cAcademic Boycott of Israel\u201d Claimed by University of Sydney\u2019s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regarding Prof. Jake Lynch\u2019s article, \u201cPlease Help Us Save the University of Sydney\u2019s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies<\/a>,\u201d posted on TMS on 6 Oct 2014, allow me to raise some questions.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What does \u201cthe Academic Boycott of Israel\u201d really mean?\u00a0\u00a0 Does this boycott include both the Israeli government and the people? Or does it include only the Israeli government? (But Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre, as an education institution, deals with \u201cstudents\u201d, not the government.) Be aware that it is not necessarily that all Israelis agree with the Israeli government\u2019s aggressive expansion of the territories. In fact, some Israelis are strongly against their government\u2019s policy toward the Palestinians. Even some Israeli soldiers are against their government\u2019s policy. What if such Israelis come to Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre, would Prof. Lynch refuse them to study peace at his Centre? If the Centre maintains the argument that all Israelis should be excluded from the Centre, it indicates that the Centre considers that all Israelis support the Israeli government\u2019s policy over Palestine. That also means that the Centre is labeling virtually all the Israelis as aggressors to Palestine. If that is the case, is it what a peace education institution should do? It was not necessarily that all Americans agreed with President George W. Bush\u2019s invasion of Afghanistan in the name of the War on Terror. It was not necessarily that Americans agreed with Bush\u2019s Iraq War. Likewise, it is not necessarily that all Israelis support their government policy over the Palestine issues. Given that situation, I dare to ask, what does the Academic Boycott of Israel really mean? Think the other way around: What if non-Israeli students come to study at Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre, and what if these students support the Israeli government\u2019s policy over Palestine? If that is the case, would Prof. Lynch accept such \u201cnon-Israeli students\u201d and refuse \u201cIsraeli students\u201d who are against their government\u2019s policy over Palestine? This question leads to another and more fundamental question: Does the Centre discriminate (or exclude) the students by their political opinion, religion (Judaism, for instance), citizenship (Israel, for instance), race (= ethnicity = the Jewish people, for instance), relative\u2019s occupation (= what if the students\u2019 parents are working for the US military industrial complex providing Israel with military weapon s, for instance? Another example: What if an Israeli student, whose father is a peace activist and mother is a humanitarian aid worker helping Palestinians while his uncle is a high ranking Israeli military officer, applies for the Centre? In this regard, see the paragraph 4.), or any other relevant factors? The same thing can be said of many other governments\/countries in the world. How about Putin\u2019s Russia? How about his policy over Ukraine, for instance? Would Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre practice \u201cthe Academic Boycott of Russia\u201d if the Centre would deal with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, for instance? (In this regard, see also the paragraphs 5 and 6, discussing another two examples.)<\/li>\n
  2. Why does Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies carry out \u201cthe Academic Boycott of Israel\u201d in dealing with the conflict of the Palestine\/Israel problem?\u00a0\u00a0 What is (are) the real objective(s) of this Academic Boycott? (A successful conflict resolution for the Palestine\/Israel conflict, \u201cby practicing the Academic Boycott\u201d?)<\/li>\n
  3. If the mediator or someone who tackles the conflict boycotts one of the main conflicting parties in the process of a conflict resolution, will the conflict resolution be more successful than in the case of not boycotting one of the parties? Prof. Lynch and his Centre exclude one of the conflicting parties because Prof. Lynch and his Centre consider that the one of the parties is too evil, too cruel, too unfair and\/or whatever and however too negative? Is that one of the steps toward a successful conflict resolution? Does Prof. Lynch teach the conflict resolution that way at his university?<\/li>\n
  4. If the Academic Boycott of \u201cIsrael\u201d is carried out in pursuing a successful conflict resolution for the Palestine\/Israel conflict, how about the United States? It is the United States that has been pushing Israel to this date. It is the United States that has been blocked almost all substantial solutions of the Palestine\/Israel conflict over the decades. On top of that, 90% of military weapons that the Israeli military forces are using are made in the USA. (The US military industrial complex is constantly making money from the constant bloodshed in Palestine. And the US military industrial complex is constantly giving financial or any other kinds of support to the US lawmakers who support their government to fuel the Palestine\/Israel conflict that brings about constant tragedies to Palestine. This vicious circle has been completed and has continued.) It was the United States that helped Israel equip with the nuclear weapons. It is obvious that as far as the United States is behind Israel, it is actually impossible for anybody to bring about a successful conflict resolution to the Palestine\/Israel conflict. Prof. Lynch knows all that. Why, then, is only Israel the subject to the Academic Boycott, not the United States? (Here in this paragraph, the same questions in the above mentioned paragraph 1 may be raised. For instance, does this boycott include both the US government and the people if the US is to be the subject to Prof. Lynch\u2019s Academic Boycott? Or does the Academic Boycott include only the US government? And so on and so forth of relevant questions as mentioned in the paragraph 1.)<\/li>\n
  5. If Prof. Lynch\u2019s conflict resolution method as such (i.e. the Academic Boycott) is effective, let us apply his method to the Korean Peninsula\u2019s problem, whose conflicting parties may include South Korea, North Korea, Japan, China and the United States. Given that situation, if North Korea will be boycotted from the academic realm (i.e. from Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre, for instance), will this boycott work for the peacemaking of the Korean Peninsula effectively, especially in the long run? How would this academic boycott positively affect in producing a successful conflict resolution for this conflict? If Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre would deal with this conflict, would the Centre actually use the so-called academic boycott method as in the case of the Palestine\/Israel conflict?<\/li>\n
  6. Another possible example of the application of Prof. Lynch\u2019s method (= the academic boycott): China is now conflicting with some neighboring countries over the territorial issues in the South China Sea. The Philippines brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. Both the Philippines and China are member countries to the PCA Statute. Nonetheless, China refuses to join the court session of the PCA. It is because China refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of the PCA regardless of the fact that China is a member country to the PCA Statute. (See http:\/\/www.pca-cpa.org\/showpage.asp?pag_id=1529<\/a> , http:\/\/visayanbizpost.com\/philippines-news-china-rejects-arbitration-over-south-china-sea-p242-1.htm<\/a> , and\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/apdforum.com\/en_GB\/article\/rmiap\/articles\/online\/features\/2014\/10\/09\/china-construction-neighbors<\/a> , for example.) China has the problem of the South China Sea not only with the Philippines but also with Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. It seems that China is ready to use the military force to these countries, rather than to bring about their cases to a legitimate international institution (or by inviting an international mediator) to solve the conflicts in the peaceful manner. Even one of the China\u2019s prominent scholars argues that a Third World War might occur from the South China Sea. (See Prof. Han Xudong\u2019s argument: http:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/content\/881538.shtml?utm_content=bufferd317c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer<\/a> and\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.ibtimes.com\/chinese-scholar-world-war-iii-will-probably-be-result-maritime-disputes-1689849<\/a> . For more on this conflict, see http:\/\/www.cfr.org\/world\/armed-clash-south-china-sea\/p27883<\/a> , for instance.) His claim also implies China\u2019s willingness to resort to the threat or use of force to these countries. All those conflicting countries over the South China Sea consider that China is a rogue state now. Given that situation, let us apply Prof. Lynch\u2019s method to the conflict. That is, \u201cto boycott China from the academic realm (i.e. from Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre, for instance)\u201d. Would the conflict resolution become more successful then? How would this academic boycott positively and\/or effectively affect in producing a successful conflict resolution for the conflict (especially in the long run)? If Prof. Lynch\u2019s Centre would deal with this conflict, would the Centre actually use the so-called academic boycott method as in the case of the Palestine\/Israel conflict?<\/li>\n
  7. If Prof. Lynch would not use the so-called academic boycott method in dealing with the above mentioned two conflicts (as mentioned in the paragraphs 5 and 6) in East\/South East Asia, why would he use this academic boycott method in dealing with the Palestine\/Israel conflict? Now, this question goes back to the above paragraphs 2 and 3.<\/li>\n
  8. If Prof. Lynch claims that his Centre\u2019s method\/policy, \u201cthe Academic Boycott of Israel\u201d, is to positively contribute to the preparation of a successful conflict resolution for the Palestine\/Israel conflict in the long run, his method\/policy must stand against the test of questioning, first of all. (Some people might name these questions and\/or the argument contained in these questions, \u201cDevil\u2019s advocate\u201d.) The above raised questions are only a few of a huge number of questions for the test of his policy. Then, secondly, the method\/policy must stand the test of time. Thirdly, the conflict will prove it. In other words, (1) questions from the world (not only the questions from me) to his method\/policy will tell. (2) Time will also tell. (3) Eventually, the conflict itself will tell.<\/li>\n
  9. Lastly but not least, let me state as follows: Prof. Lynch is one of the most respectable professors of peace studies, especially in the field of peace journalism. In fact, I am one of those who studied peace journalism by using his book, Peace Journalism,<\/em> published by Hawthorn Press, 2005. If Prof. Galtung is the initiator of peace journalism, Prof. Lynch is one of the main developers or explorers of peace journalism. Without sufficiently acknowledging Prof. Lynch\u2019s outstanding contribution to the development of peace journalism, one cannot discuss peace journalism today. With peace and respect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    _____________________________<\/p>\n

    Satoshi Ashikaga is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, originally from Japan.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Regarding Prof. Jake Lynch\u2019s article, \u201cPlease Help Us Save the University of Sydney\u2019s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies,\u201d posted on TMS on 6 Oct 2014, allow me to raise some questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}