A university in Ireland has cancelled an academic conference that was scheduled to debate the legitimacy of the state of Israel at the end of March, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reported.
The Irish Times reported that the university advised the organizers to come up with special security plans if they wanted the university to host the event at another date.
The conference entitled “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism,” was scheduled to take place at University College Cork (UCC) from March 31st to April 2nd, featuring speakers on both sides of the debate.
Israeli embassy & its lobby groups are up in arms over Irish Conference to debate the legal legitimacy of Israel https://t.co/PbNBGC5K63
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) January 11, 2017
Contrary to expectations, the UCC Management Team, which is charged with the management of operations, decided at a meeting earlier this week not to allow individual academics working in UCC to host the conference, claiming that it will cause disruption for students and staff.
The management team stated that the university security infrastructure and staffing is inadequate to deal with the level of security required for the event given that it had already received notice of protests. They added that bringing in additional security would have cost implications.
In a letter to the university’s president, Michael Murphy, the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign called the cancellation an infringement of academic freedom.
“This is an important conference that promises to be a crucial intellectual event with many senior international academics participating,” the letter said. “Yet there have been disturbing reports in the press that this conference may be cancelled owing to pressure from Zionist groups.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
Similar Zionist threats were received by the Australian National University which dared to discuss Human Rights in Palestine but opted to continue. The University of Southampton cancelled a similar conference because of threats of violence. University College Cork needs to support academic freedom and not capitulate to Israeli hasbara.
Forced to be postponed, not cancelled
https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/incoming-ucc-president-open-to-israel-conference-440776.html
Zionists 1, UCC 0. Another academic institution being successfully bullied by those dedicated to suppressing any and all attempts to lay bare the realities of the Palestinian ongoing Nakba.
It’s a dark day down by the Lee. Connolly and Pearse and Plunkett must be befuddled.