Britain’s new University and College Union voted in advance a boycott of Israel’s academic institution in support the Palestinians’ plight. Our editorial page applauded the international backlash against the British.

Yesterday, the American Jewish Committee paid for a full-page ad in the New York Times written by Lee Bollinger of Columbia University and signed by 286 presidents of major U.S. universities asking to be boycotted as well.

The ad headline proclaimed, “Boycott Israeli Universities? Boycott Ours, Too!” It went on to say, “Boycott us, then, for we gladly stand together with our many colleagues in British, American and Israeli universities against such intellectually shoddy and politically biased attempts to hijack the central mission of higher education.”

By late yesterday afternoon, the AJC was flooded with phone calls of support and requests from 17 more universities, including Johns Hopkins, to join the list. Other local institutions had already signed on were Towson, Goucher, University of Baltimore, and University of Maryland – College Park and Baltimore County. More national institutions continue to join in.

It’s great to see such great support from our major intellectual institution showing solidarity for academic freedom, and recognizing that the Jewish state – with such wonderful and respected academic successes—is being unfairly singled out . It’s a nice twist given the perceived anti-Israel bias in academia.

Free press and speech are a responsibility and a privilege.  How lucky we are to live in a country that supports both that right and our homeland of Israel.  I am pleased that they did not boycott the not include all its 120,000 members and only 158 vs 99 against. 
I look forward to reading your blog.