An Israeli man sits in front of an Israeli flag rising above the main road from Tel Aviv to Haifa. Photograph: Nir Elias/Corbis
Lecturers will be asked to reconsider their relationship with Israeli institutions and academics - again - at the annual congress of the University and College Union that's coming up in Manchester at the end of May.
As reported by EducationGuardian.co.uk last month, members of UCU will be asked to "consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions".
Although not actually calling for a boycott of Israel, those proposing the motion have been accused of trying to rekindle the fiery debate, which has, in the past, caused controversy around the world.
Plans to circulate and discuss a call to boycott, agreed at last year's congress, were eventually thrown out after legal advisers told UCU officials that any boycott would be discriminatory and unlawful. It was hoped then that the idea was buried.
The UCU insists it is right to encourage free academic discussion. But critics say the move shows how "obsessed" UCU is with boycotting Israel and it is well on the way to ruining its credibility. Certainly the issue has been on UCU's congress agenda since 2002.
Sally Hunt says she remains against a boycott and wants to avoid the "hyperbole" of last year's congress. But can it be avoided? Should the union debate the possibility of an academic boycott again? Or does it further inflame both sides of the argument to no real purpose?
