BMJ reopens Israeli boycott debate

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has reopened the debate over an academic boycott of Israel in its latest edition.

Several doctors in the UK and the US have proposed a boycott of the BMJ, which as the official journal of the British Medical Association (BMA).

The features section of the July 21 edition published two opposing views in an article entitled: ìHead to head: Should we consider a boycott of Israeli academic institutions?î

Tom Hickey, of the University of Brighton, who was among the initiators of the resolution adopted by the University and Colleges Union (UCU) to consider imposing a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, wrote in favour of a boycott. Michael Baum, professor emeritus of surgery at University College London, wrote against the boycott. The journal also put the question to a vote in an online poll.

The UCU resolution prompted condemnation from some local academics, Jewish groups in the US, Canada and Britain. The UK government responded by sending its minister for higher education to Israel for a series of meetings.