Stephen Hawking joins academic boycott of Israel

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Increasingly Israel is losing the oxygen of moral backing among intellectual heavyweights. A win for the Palestinians and for the boycott Israel campaign.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/ma ... ic-boycott

It's nice and all, but I am a little bit suspicious of the "Einstein quotes" syndrome here. Just because you are a very clever mathematical thinker doesn't make you a reliable source on world politics.

I read a very interesting article that actually analysed the entire effect of the BDS ovement in the States and it came to very little.

As for pacifist Jews and good-hearted Palliea living in peace - look what happenes to Juliano Mer.

The Guardian were fed a line from a 'pro-Palestinian' group by the name of British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP). In fact, it looks like these people lied to The Guardian about his reasons for pulling out.

The Commentator has written a piece on this story:

Also, a member of CiF Watch actually e-mailed the university - Cambridge University - in question and asked for a comment and a spokesman for the University said:



Yet again, the Guardian completely uncritically buys the lies of 'pro-Palestinian' groups without checking out the facts. Anyone would think they had a mindless anti-Israel bias.

Academics shouldn't be getting involved with politics.

Actually, you are bang wrong. The claim that he pulled out purely because of his doctor's advice was a lie circulated by the zionist internet mouthpiece 'The Commentator'.

This was later denied by Hawking's office and that he was indeed withholding primarily because of moral principle.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mid ... story.html

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali ... not-health

Even an Israeli newspaper is corroborating that this is because of political reasons-
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hawking-is ... alem-meet/


So, unfortunately for the Zionists Professor Hawking is not supporting them.

Why? Politics affects everyone.

If you spent your life avoiding politics, you wouldn't have much of a pro-active life.

Or, to quote the German Marxist Bertolt Brecht:

"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies.”

― Bertolt Brecht

You sound like a neo-Nazi or an Arab antisemite when you talk like that. The rhetoric is identical.

There is another update to this story, which makes the whole thing sound even weirder.

Raheem Kassam - such a Jewish name! - says he rang up all the telephone numbers at BRICUP but couldn't get an answer to any of them. One of their bodies then came up later and denied all this.

Then we get this update that confirms that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel from CiF Watch.

It's such a bizarre story and a weird way of actually announcing a boycott, I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. I can't say I've ever heard of BRICUP, for instance. I've never seen it mentioned anywhere on any website I've been on.

It seems (though I await final confirmation) that I was wrong on this issue - I hold my hands up here.

Stuff like this does not help to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, because it takes it as an article of faith that Israel is a demonic-like and uniquely evil entity and the Palestinians have never done anything wrong.

I hope that Hawking will be rejecting the Israeli custom-built computer and technology that is helping to keep him alive and, if not well, in the best condition that can be expected.

Is he going to boycott that?

Nah - he's a coward. Fundamentally, all Israeli BDSers are cowards.

And you sound like an Islamophobe when you talk like that, or try to claim the Guardian has an anti-Israel bias...

Typical of the cowardly tactics of the pro-Israel lobby.

When intellectual discourse fails, throw enough slander and hope it sticks.


Why does it matter? Whatever the religious groups of the parties concerned, does not alter the fact that Hawking is erring morally towards the Palestinians.

Logical fallacy. Those technologies were from individuals, not nations so would eventually have emerged, irrespective of whether or not Israel came into existance.

It is a foolish basis for justifying any country, especially Israel. Please stop using it.

The sex doll, methadone, the assault rifle and ballistic missiles were invented in Nazi Germany. Should we stop using these as well for the same reason?

EDIT:

Actually, after closer research the first programmable electronic computers were also invented by the nazis, not by Israel.

click here

Does this justify the Third Reich?

Everybody should be getting involved in politics.

Do you like Fanta, Tequila?

Hint: It wasn't invented by the Americans.

If you read the Guardian, you know what viewpoint you'll get.

If you read Haaretz, you know what viewpoint you'll get.

If you read the Sunday Times, you know what viewpoint you'll get.

If you read the Washington Post, you know that you'll get a viewpoint from whoever gave the information for the story.

If you read the Washington Times, you know viewpoint you'll get.

If you read Arutz Sheva, you know what viewpoint you'll get.

that sort of logic nullifies any source, so we may as well delete the PPR forum and call it a day.