Hawking 'backs Israel boycott'

Stephen Hawking 'backs Israel boycott'

UK physicist reported to have withdrawn from upcoming Israeli conference in Jerusalem as part of an academic boycott.

British cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking has announced his withdrawal from an Israeli conference in Jerusalem, prompting reports that he is supporting an academic boycott on the country. Hawking was due to appear at the conference, hosted by Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, but his name was recently dropped from the list of speakers.

 A statement on the website of the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine said: "We understand that Professor Stephen Hawking has declined his invitation to attend the Israeli Presidential Conference, Facing Tomorrow 2013, due to take place in Jerusalem on 18-20 June. "This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there." Agencies reported that the University of Cambridge, where Hawking works, confirmed the statement had been approved by the professor.

Israel Maimon, chairman of the Israeli Presidential Conference, said on Wednesday that Hawking's decision was "outrageous and wrong". "The use of an academic boycott against Israel is outrageous and improper, particularly for those to whom the spirit of liberty is the basis of the human and academic mission," he said. "Israel is a democracy in which everyone can express their opinion, whatever it may be. A boycott decision is incompatible with open democratic discourse."