Engage is a British website, and briefly an online journal (from 2006–07), that aims to help people counter the
boycott Israel campaign.
Engage describes its mission as to "challenge
left and liberal antisemitism in the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
, in our universities and in public life."
Anti boycott activity
In 2005, the
Association of University Teachers
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) was the trade union and professional association that represented academic (teaching and research) and academic-related (librarians, IT professionals and senior administrators) staff at pre-1992 ...
(AUT) took a decision to
boycott two Israeli universities.
Engage was founded, by
David Hirsh
David Hirsh (born 29 September 1967) is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and co-founder of Engage, a campaign against the academic boycott of Israel.
Early life and education
Hirsh was raised in a Jewish fami ...
, who teaches at
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...
, and Jon Pike, who teaches at the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
, in order to try to reverse this,
which, with the involvement of Academic Friends of Israel, occurred within a few weeks. Supporters of Engage included the late
Norman Geras
Norman Geras (; 25 August 1943 – 18 October 2013) was a political theorist and Professor Emeritus of Politics at the University of Manchester. He contributed to an analysis of the works of Karl Marx in his book '' Marx and Human Nature'' and the ...
and the late
David Cesarani
David Cesarani (13 November 1956 – 25 October 2015) was a British historian who specialised in Jewish history, especially the Holocaust. He also wrote several biographies, including ''Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind'' (1998).
Early life ...
.
In 2006, the AUT merged with the
, 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.
Hirsh was also quoted in relation to a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions by the
University and College Union
The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff.
UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...
in 2007. 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
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'',
Nick Cohen
Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He was a columnist for '' The Observer'' and a blogger for '' The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left The Observer in 2022 and be ...
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.
An article in the online journal of
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is an international Trotskyist political tendency founded by Ted Grant and his supporters following their break with the Committee for a Workers' International in 1992. The organization's website, Marxi ...
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.)"
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".
Positions
According to its founding statement, the organisation:
* Opposes Israel's occupation of the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza. ''Engage'' is in favour of the foundation of a
Palestinian state
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...
alongside the state of Israel.
* Opposes the idea of an academic or cultural boycott of Israel.
* Aims to encourage, facilitate and publicise positive links between both Arab and Jewish Israeli, Palestinian, British and global academia.
* Stands up against
antisemitism in universities
Antisemitism in universities has taken place in many countries at various times. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation ...
, 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.
References
External links
*{{Website, http://www.engageonline.org.uk
Criticism of journalism
Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Zionism in the United Kingdom
Opposition to antisemitism in the United Kingdom
Labour Party (UK)
Left-wing activism