As Bill Rammell, the higher education minister, makes his way back from Israel today, the debate about an academic boycott continues to rage.
Today we carry a strongly worded plea for a boycott by Prof Colin Green, of the University of London, based on his experiences in the region. From welcoming Israeli postgraduates 20 years ago he has gone to refusing to collaborate with any Israeli university.
Against that Jonathan Spyer argues that the European far left is combining with Islamists to undermine, Israel, while Paul Scham answers the boycott call made on this site by the Palestinian academic Amjad Barham.
The University and College Union (UCU) met last week and decided the debate should go on in branches but has yet to decide whether it should culminate in a ballot or be referred to next year's conference.
Mr Rammell, who was promoting educational links with both Israeli and Palestinian institutions, has strongly condemned the boycott saying: "It is important to keep open channels of communication with academics and educational institutions."
Meanwhile, University College London (UCL) has protested about the threat to the literal, as opposed to academic, freedom of one of its graduates, the Iranian social scientist and urban planner Kian Tajbakhsh, arrested a month ago by his country's security services.
Doubtless British academics would back the university's call, but those opposed to a boycott of Israel will ask why lecturers aren't being asked to boycott Iran.
