Engage (organisation) explained

Engage is a British website, and briefly an online journal (from 2006–07), that aims to help people counter the boycott Israel campaign.^[1] Engage describes its mission as to "challenge left and liberal antisemitism in the labour movement, in our universities and in public life."

Anti boycott activity

In 2005, the Association of University Teachers (AUT) took a decision to boycott two Israeli universities.^{[2] [3] [4]} Engage was founded, by David Hirsh, who teaches at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Jon Pike, who teaches at the Open University, in order to try to reverse this,^[5] which, with the involvement of Academic Friends of Israel, occurred within a few weeks.^{[6] [7]} Supporters of Engage included the late Norman Geras^[8] and the late David Cesarani.^[9] In 2006, the AUT merged with the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, and proposed a Boycott Israel measure that Hirsh, speaking on behalf of Engage, called "nastier" than the 2005 proposal, because it proposed the boycott of individual academics who refused to disassociate themselves with Israel.^[5] Hirsh was also quoted in relation to a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions by the University and College Union in 2007.^[10] One effective takeaway from Engage's efforts has been that the UCU has conceded that their sought-after boycott efforts are largely theoretical and have been meaningless as the British government has made it clear that it will use legal means to dismiss those efforts if they're ever tried.

External views

In an essay, in the New Statesman, Nick Cohen described Engage's position as pointing out that "the act of singling out Israel as the only illegitimate state – in the absence of any coherent reason for doing so – is in itself anti-Semitic, irrespective of the motivation or opinions of those who make that claim," and noting that the Association of University Teachers provided no justification for singling out the Jewish State.^[11] An article in the online journal of International Marxist Tendency described Engage as "a group of academics... ostensibly set up to combat 'left-wing anti-Semitism' (but which in reality devotes much of its website space to articles beautifying Israeli foreign policy from a 'liberal' standpoint.)"^[12] Leslie Wright observed that "Engage's activities range from earnest theoretical debates about left-wing ideology to practical campaigning to ensure the election of antiboycott candidates in academic union elections".^[13]

Positions

According to its founding statement, the organisation:^[14]

• Opposes Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Engage is in favour of the foundation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.^[15]
• Opposes the idea of an academic or cultural boycott of Israel.^[15]
• Aims to encourage, facilitate and publicise positive links between both Arab and Jewish Israeli, Palestinian, British and global academia.^[15]
• Stands up against antisemitism in universities, in unions and in students unions. In Engages opinion, opposing the sometimes brutal actions of the Israeli government and army is not antisemitic, but certain expressions of criticism of Israel constitute antisemitism.^[15]

References

1. News: Halkin . Talya . Unions in Britain, Canada Urge Boycotts Against Israel . Jerusalem Post . 10 February 2006. .
2. News: Lappin. Yaakov. Anti-boycott profs fight back. UK academics' petition forces emergency meeting. Jerusalem Post . 4 May 2005. .
3. Book: Mendes . Philip . Dyrenfurth . Nick . Boycotting Israel is Wrong; the progressive path to peace between Palestinians and Israelis . 2015 . NewSouth Books . 9781742234144 .
4. David Newman (2008) Britain and the Academic Boycott of Israel, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, 2:2, 45-55, DOI: 10.1080/23739770.2008.11446311
5. News: Cowell . Alan . British Union Weighs Boycott Of Teachers From Israel . New York Times . 15 May 2006. .
6. Book: Pessin, Andrew. Anti-Zionism on Campus: The University, Free Speech, and BDS. Indiana University Press. 108. 2018. 12 Feb 2019. 9780253034083.
7. Book: Academics Against Israel and the Jews. Shchansky, Anatole. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 2007. 201. 13 Feb 2019. 9789652180575.
8. News: Pike . Jon . The new fault line on the left . 13 February 2019 . The Guardian . 22 March 2006.
9. News: Cesarani . David . The Left's 'anti-Semitism' can't go unchallenged . 6 November 2015 . The Times . 2 June 2006 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070615011329/http://www.engageonline.org.uk/blog/article.php?id=470 . 15 June 2007 .
10. News: Israel being ostracized. Lappin. Yaakov. Ynet News. 30 May 2007. 12 Feb 2019.
11. Cohen . Nick . the Association of University Teachers . New Statesman . 10 October 2005 . 18 . 880 . .
12. News: Leon . Walter . From Bolshevism to Bush – exploring the political trajectory of the Jewish people . 13 February 2019 . Defense of Marxism . 25 June 2009.
13. Wright . Leslie . At Issue WATCHING THE PRO-ISRAELI ACADEMIC WATCHERS . Jewish Political Studies Review . Fall 2010 . 22 . 3 . 69 . 10 February 2019.
14. Web site: Original founding statement. 13 September 2006. Engage.
15. News: Hodges . Lucy . The rebellion begins . The Independent . 5 May 2005. .