The British Ambassador to Israel, Tom Phillips, spoke at Bar Ilan University a few days ago. He said:

My Government is very clear on this issue: we are utterly opposed to any type of boycott of Israel. Boycotts are counterproductive, particularly in this region where we should be encouraging as much dialogue as possible.

He also highlighted some of the strenghtening links between Israeli and British academics, students and throughout education.

The full speech appears below:

Speech by British Ambassador to Israel, Tom Phillips, at Bar-Ilan University’s “British Day” and inaugural award ceremony of the Katz Family Research Grant Incentive Programme.

10 May 2009

It is a real pleasure to be here today.

I’d like to give my heartfelt congratulations to the recipients of the awards, and I should like to salute the work of the British Friends of Bar-Ilan University. I know from my visits here over the years what a contribution you have made here, and very much appreciate what this means as part of the links between Britain and the UK.

I wanted to say something today about the wider question of the relations between the UK and Israeli academic communities in general.

Bar-Ilan University was unfortunately among those Israeli institutions singled out in an attempt by a minority of British academics to boycott Israeli institutions a few years ago. That attempt – and the ones that followed – all failed and it is important to stress that there is no academic boycott in the UK.

My Government is very clear on this issue: we are utterly opposed to any type of boycott of Israel. Boycotts are counterproductive, particularly in this region where we should be encouraging as much dialogue as possible.

I also want to take this opportunity to tell you more about just some of the amazing links between our academia.

Last year in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and then-PM Ehud Olmert launched the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) – a unique scheme aimed at enhancing research and academic cooperation between the UK and Israel. Hundreds of bids have already been received and BIRAX has the full backing of – and funding from – the Israeli and British governments.

This programme was developed by the British Council in collaboration with The Pears Foundation and in close consultation with both governments, academic, business and philanthropic leaders, and in partnership with the two umbrella bodies representing the UK and Israel’s universities (Universities UK and Israel’s University Presidents’ Association). The Pears Foundation and the UJIA provided significant funding – and the door is still open for others who might wish to contribute.

Also last year, and in celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary, the British Foreign Office launched the UK-Israel Collaboration Development Award programme for stem cell research.

This year, we will once again be sending several outstanding Israeli students to some of the best universities in the UK for further study as part of our government-funded Chevening Scholarship programme. Hundreds of Israelis have travelled to the UK under this programme over the years. Indeed, with all due respect to this university and the podium upon which I currently stand, UK universities are very popular with Israeli students. There are some 1,000 Israelis currently studying in the UK, while another 8,000 or so take British degree courses through distance learning here in Israel.

The British Council here in Israel also runs another innovative initiative: Skills@Work which aims to promote links between education and industry. One of the aims of this project is to create partnerships between colleges in the UK, Israel and participating European countries.

Our links with education don’t just stop at university level: the British Embassy also supports the work of the Hand in Hand schools here in Israel which aim to bring together Jewish and Arab children from a young age to enable them to better understand each other and together help create a better future for themselves. Indeed, I was at the Hand in Hand school in Wadi Ara yesterday with several of my EU colleagues, and saw the excellent work they are doing there – when I was also glad to say that the UK will be helping them by providing sports facilities and a computer laboratory.

Back in the UK, the government last year increased the funding it provides to the Holocaust Educational Trust for its Lessons from Auschwitz programme which aims to take two pupils from every sixth form college in the UK to visit Auschwitz and learn about the Holocaust. I know that there are couple of email chains still making the rounds, claiming that the UK has removed the Holocaust from its national curriculum, so I would just like to set the record straight and ensure you that teaching of the Holocaust is compulsory in all secondary schools between the ages of 11-14.

I should like to close by saying that we are always interested in supporting new initiatives and helping establish new links between our academics and institutions. I should also like to reiterate my thanks to the British Friends of Bar-Ilan University for all their work over the years in bolstering the links between Bar-Ilan and the UK.