Hundreds of academics have called on Queen Mary University of London to boycott an Israeli institution after they claim it contributed to the persecution of one of its academics and “endangered” her life.
Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a leading Palestinian feminist scholar, was arrested and detained by Israeli police in April shortly after she was suspended from teaching responsibilities by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ).
Her colleagues at QMUL, where she is also a professor and the Lawrence D. Biele chair in law, have now called on their institution to issue a public statement in her defence and immediately suspend its partnership with HUJ.
The letter, which has been signed by more than 270 members of QMUL’s academic staff, accuses HUJ of “flagrant disregard for academic freedom and its failure in its duty of care for its own staff”.
