UK academic rejects $300,000 Israeli prize

A prominent British academic has turned down a prestigious Israeli academic award for political reasons.

Catherine Hall, a history professor at University College London, says her rejection of $300,000 in prize money from The Dan David Foundation was “an independent political choice.” 
The move appears to be inspired by the international BDS movement, which calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
She was due to receive the prize for her work’s “impact on social history, as a pioneer in gender history, race, and slavery”. But the feminist historian did not attend the prize’s award ceremony at Tel Aviv University on May 22.
In a statement, Prof. Hall said that she had declined the prize and her $330,000 share, after having “many discussions with those who are deeply involved with the politics of Israel-Palestine, but with differing views as to how best to act”, calling the move an “independent political choice”. 
The snub follows the decision by David Shulman, Renee Lang professor of humanistic studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, to donate his winnings from the Israel Prize for Religious Studies to Ta’ayush, an Israeli group that assists Palestinian residents of the South Hebron Hills.
He released a video documenting the attacks on Palestinians by settlers.
Richard Seaford, emeritus professor of classics at the University of Exeter and a member of the pro-Palestine group British Committee for Universities of Palestine, said that the “illegal colonization and the repressive measures of the Israeli government have now irredeemably tarnished Israel’s ‘glittering prizes’”.
He added: “For academics outside Israel, boycott of all activities relating to the Israeli state and universities is rapidly becoming the default position.”

Source : Arab News