Hey Ireland, Shove It
You know what, screw Ireland:
Israeli academics over the holiday weekend slammed a call for a European Union boycott of Israeli academic institutions delivered by 61 Irish academics in a letter sent to The Irish Times. Signatories to the petition, meanwhile, defended their actions. While complaining that "The Israeli government appears impervious to moral appeals from world leaders and to long-standing United Nations resolutions," the September 16 petition called for "a moratorium on any further [cultural and academic] support to Israeli academic institutions, at both national and European levels."
No similar calls for boycotts were made against Iran (in violation of UN resolutions), China (impervious to moral appeals), Syria (in violation of UN resolutions), Russia (impervious to moral appeals), Sudan (in violation of UN resolutions and impervious to moral appeals). In fact, no similar calls for boycotts were made against any other country on the planet. If we were Irish, we'd be a little more circumspect given that our country had supported the Nazis during World War II. And no, we're not saying that countries that were complicit in the Holocaust should have to avoid sounding anti-Semitic when criticizing Israel (although it'd be nice). We're saying that countries that were complicit in the Holocaust should have to avoid BEING anti-Semitic. Unless there's a different explanation for why some 'progressive' parts of the international community disproportionately target Israel and make up human rights atrocities in order to discriminate against the Jewish State and its residents - which we don't think there is. Maybe jealousy...
Via Strategy Page, here's an interesting list of twenty facts you didn't know about Israel, the 100th smallest country with less than 1/1000th of the world's population:
1. Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions, Israel places first in this category as well.
2. Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
3. Israel has the highest per capita ratio of scientific publications in the world by a large margin, as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
... but that's pretty much the only good excuse.
Israeli academics over the holiday weekend slammed a call for a European Union boycott of Israeli academic institutions delivered by 61 Irish academics in a letter sent to The Irish Times. Signatories to the petition, meanwhile, defended their actions. While complaining that "The Israeli government appears impervious to moral appeals from world leaders and to long-standing United Nations resolutions," the September 16 petition called for "a moratorium on any further [cultural and academic] support to Israeli academic institutions, at both national and European levels."
No similar calls for boycotts were made against Iran (in violation of UN resolutions), China (impervious to moral appeals), Syria (in violation of UN resolutions), Russia (impervious to moral appeals), Sudan (in violation of UN resolutions and impervious to moral appeals). In fact, no similar calls for boycotts were made against any other country on the planet. If we were Irish, we'd be a little more circumspect given that our country had supported the Nazis during World War II. And no, we're not saying that countries that were complicit in the Holocaust should have to avoid sounding anti-Semitic when criticizing Israel (although it'd be nice). We're saying that countries that were complicit in the Holocaust should have to avoid BEING anti-Semitic. Unless there's a different explanation for why some 'progressive' parts of the international community disproportionately target Israel and make up human rights atrocities in order to discriminate against the Jewish State and its residents - which we don't think there is. Maybe jealousy...
Via Strategy Page, here's an interesting list of twenty facts you didn't know about Israel, the 100th smallest country with less than 1/1000th of the world's population:
1. Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions, Israel places first in this category as well.
2. Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
3. Israel has the highest per capita ratio of scientific publications in the world by a large margin, as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
... but that's pretty much the only good excuse.
