Two of the signators of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) live in Omaha. Naser Z. Alsharif, a professor in Creighton University’s School of Pharmacy, and Mansour Zand, a computer sciences professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, are listed at #14 and #234 on the list of “endorsers” at the  organization’s website at: usacbi.wordpress.com/endorsers.
 The group’s mission states: “Responding to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement against Israel, we are a U.S. campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel).”

A Harvard student draped in an Israeli flag debates with an anti-Israel activist at Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA, on March 5. Credit: The David Project

 When called for comments about why he signed the petition, Dr. Alsharif responded, “Based on principle, it’s a different story. There is nothing that is anti-Israel” in the boycott. “I would not be comfortable to do this by phone, but I’d be happy to talk to you after I get back from a trip out of the country,” Alsharif offered.
 When pushed to set a meeting before he left, however he declined, insisting that the conversation was “off the record,” even though the purpose of the call to both Alsharif and Zand and the identification of this writer and newspaper was stated up front. A series of e-mails has not yet provided an answer from Alsharif to the Press’ only question: “Why did you sign the petition?”
 “I probably have more Jewish friends than Palestinians,” he offered, noting that he serves on the Tri-Faith Initiative, founded by Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture, of which Alsharif is secretary. As to the scholars who might be affected by the boycott, Alsharif said, “I think you have to look at each individual.”
 But the PACBI petition does not distinguish between Muslim, Christian or Jewish Israelis, so the goals of the organizers would mean that Israeli Arabs would be prohibited from lecturing at American institutions of higher learning as well.
 When Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, spiritual leader of Temple Israel, learned that Alsharif had signed the boycott petition, he told the Jewish Press, “It pains me to see the signature of my friend on the PACBI boycott statement. Our ongoing academic and cultural conversations are of the essence at this time of turmoil in the Middle East. Full honest and sincere exchange between all parties is what that region really thirsts for.”
 Rabbi Azriel, who just returned from a two-week visit to Israel, added, “Hearing the debate and witnessing the serious divide among the Israelis on the political, territorial agenda, only increased my desire to continue investing more of my energies to create more intense relationships with the Muslim community here in Omaha.”
 But, he said, “I will continue sitting next to Alsharif on the Tri-Faith board.”
 The Press attempted to reach Prof. Zand at UNO multiple times by e-mail and phone, to no avail.
 Dr. Guy Matalon, who also teaches at UNO and has been named the director of the new Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, stated that he does not know him.
 When asked what the affect on the new Schwalb Center would be should a boycott ever be ratified by America’s universities, Matalon, director of the Federation’s Center for Jewish Education,  said, “The Center will provide information for both the campus and the Omaha community to learn about the issues from a serious academic perspective, rather than slogans and agendas.”
 “Boycotts typically are not effective as well as they tend to alienate future relationships,” said Alan Potash, executive director of the Plains States Region of the Anti-Defamation League. “If anti-Israel divestment and boycott activists were truly interested in aiding Palestinians and promoting Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, they would advocate constructive initiatives between Israelis, Palestinians and others. Unfortunately, most of these activists ignore such initiatives, and focus solely on bashing Israel and promoting punitive actions against the state.”
 The boycott and divestment campaign doesn’t stop at keeping scholars and academics out of the U.S. In Los Angeles, even dance groups are not immune.
 In an article in the March 2 issue of the Daily Bruin at the University of California at Los Angeles, Juliana Gabrovsky wrote, “ Approximately 50 people protested at the performance of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company in hopes of drawing attention to the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza. The protest was organized by the USACBI, which saw its membership rise from 15 to more than 230 academics since its inception in January.”
 The group calls for academics to “comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli academic and cultural institutions until Israel withdraws from all the lands occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem; removes all its colonies in those lands; agrees to United Nations resolutions relevant to the restitution of Palestinian refugee rights; and dismantles its system of apartheid.”
 It is that boycott that both Alsharif and Zand have endorsed.
 But while the PACBI is extending its reach, the Israel Consulate is bringing three filmmakers to university campuses this month in honor of International Women’s Month: Ibtisam Mara’ana and two Jewish Israelis. The tour opens with the award winning documentary filmmaker Mara’ana showing her new film Lady Kul El-Arab. Her work “advances women and speaks to the relationships of women within Palestinian-Arab society.” She has lectured widely in Israel in a variety of settings. A Palestinian-Israeli citizen, she graduated from the school of cinema and television at the Jewish-Arab academic center of Givat Haviva.
 But according to the PACBI, she would not be allowed to lecture at U.S. universities.
 In addition to boycotts, the PACBI is involved with anti-Israel divestment campaigns. In recent years, these have sprung up at Columbia University, the University of Wisconsin, Haverford College, Macalaster College, the University of Rochester and Hampshire College (whose board made it the first college in the United States to actually divest from Israel).
 The campaigns are aimed at pushing universities to sell stock in companies that do business with Israel, from Caterpillar, General Electric, Motorola and ITT among others, which employ hundreds of American workers.
 In an article at FrontPageMagazine.com, noted lawyer and author Alan Dershowitz stated, “The divestment campaign applies to Israel and Israel alone. Hampshire will continue to deal with companies that supply Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Belarus and other brutal dictatorships around the world that routinely murder civilians, torture and imprison dissenters, deny educational opportunities to women, imprison gays and repress speech. Indeed many of those who support divestiture against Israel actively support these repressive regimes. This divestment campaign has absolutely nothing to do with human rights. It is motivated purely by hatred for the Jewish state.”
 On the other hand, more than 2,400 academics  around the world have signed a “No to Anti-Israel Boycott Calls” at www.PetitionOnline.com.
 “Israel is a country that respects freedom of expression in academia and in society,” Potash added. “Singling Israel out, versus countries that don’t honor freedom of speech, expression and academic freedom, let alone who are known to systematically abuse human rights, demonstrates how narrow this group’s interests are. In addition, this boycott also alienates Israeli academicians who are known for being outspoken critics of Israel. And it discounts the medical, creative and scientific achievements made by Israeli institutions that benefit the entire world.”
 In fact, the ADL has produced a new resource for students, “Fighting Back: A Handbook for Responding to Anti-Israel Rallies on College and University Campuses.” It can be downloaded from ADL’s website at www.adl.org and is being distributed in print through its 30 regional offices (including Omaha), through Hillel and other student groups. For more information, call 330.1303.