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UCL Provost reacts to boycott of Israeli universities by AUT

22 April 2005

UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant today responded to the motions to boycott Israeli universities passed at the AUT annual conference.

He said: "I am dismayed by the motions passed today. My view is that they are completely at odds with the historic mission of universities. Academic boycotts for political ends are in direct conflict with that mission, and betray a misunderstanding of our function.

"The freedom of speech that we cherish in universities, and which is absolutely fundamental to the global dissemination of knowledge, is under threat as a result of the AUT's action."