The Guardian reports that a Nobel laureate cancelled plans to visit a British university in part because of the National Union of Journalists‘ boycott of Israel. Professor Steven Weinberg (pictured) was to give a talk on particle physics at the Imperial College this July:
In the letter, the professor said his decision was triggered by an agreement by the National Union of Journalists at its national conference to boycott Israeli products.
He wrote: “I know that some will say that these boycotts are directed only against Israel, rather than generally against Jews.
“But given the history of the attacks on Israel and the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanation other than anti-semitism.”
Professor Weinberg, who currently teaches at the University of Texas, received the 1979 Nobel Prize for his research on electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles.
UPDATE May 25: Professor Weinberg discussed his decision with Haaretz.
