By Roger Kornberg, Stanford University and Steven Weinberg, University of Texas at Austin
| Published in: A Project of the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East Task Force on Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions | October 28, 2010 |
Statement of Nobel Laureates on Academic BDS Actions against Israeli Academics, Israeli Academic Institutions and Academic Centers and Institutes of Research and Training With Affiliations in Israel
Believing that academic and cultural boycotts, divestments and sanctions in the academy are:
* antithetical to principles of academic and scientific freedom,
* antithetical to principles of freedom of expression and inquiry, and
* may well constitute discrimination by virtue of national origin,
We, the undersigned Nobel Laureates, appeal to students, faculty colleagues and university officials to defeat and denounce calls and campaigns for boycotting, divestment and sanctions against Israeli academics, academic institutions and university-based centers and institutes for training and research, affiliated with Israel.
Furthermore, we encourage students, faculty colleagues and university officials to promote and provide opportunities for civil academic discourse where parties can engage in the search for resolution to conflicts and problems rather than serve as incubators for polemics, propaganda, incitement and further misunderstanding and mistrust.
We, and many like us, have dedicated ourselves to improving the human condition by doing the often difficult and elusive work to understand complex and seemingly unsolvable phenomena. We believe that the university should serve as an open, tolerant and respectful, cooperative and collaborative community engaged in practices of resolving complex problems.
| Sidney Altman Yale University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1989 |
Walter Kohn University of California Santa Barbara Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1998 |
| Kenneth Arrow Stanford University Nobel Prize in Economics, 1972 |
Roger D. Kornberg Stanford University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2006 |
| Robert J. Aumann Hebrew University of Jerusalem Nobel Prize in Economics, 2005 |
Harold Kroto Florida State University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996 |
| Mario Capecchi University of Utah Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2007 |
Finn Kydland University of California Santa Barbara Nobel Prize in Economics, 2004 |
| Aaron Ciechanover Technion Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2004 |
Leon Lederman Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988 |
| Claude Cohen-Tannoudji École Normale Supérieure Nobel Prize in Physics, 1997 |
Tony Leggett University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Nobel Prize in Physics, 2003 |
| Robert Curl Rice University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996 |
Robert Lucas, Jr. University of Chicago Nobel Prize in Economics, 1995 |
| Edmond H. Fischer University of Washington Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1992 |
Rudolph A. Marcus California Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1992 |
| Jerome Friedman Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physics, 1990 |
Roger Myerson University of Chicago Nobel Prize in Economics, 2007 |
| Andre Geim Manchester University Nobel Prize in Physics, 2010 |
George A. Olah University of Southern California Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1994 |
| Sheldon Glashow Boston University Nobel Prize in Physics, 1979 |
Douglas Osheroff Stanford University Nobel Prize in Physics, 1996 |
| David Gross University of California Santa Barbara Nobel Prize in Physics, 2004 |
Martin L. Perl Stanford University Nobel Prize in Physics, 1995 |
| James Heckman University of Chicago Nobel Prize in Economics, 2000 |
Andrew V. Schally University of Miami Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1977 |
| Avram Hershko Technion Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2004 |
Richard R. Schrock Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2005 |
| Roald Hoffman Cornell University Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1981 |
Phillip A. Sharp Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993 |
| Russell Hulse University of Texas Dallas Nobel Prize in Physics, 1993 |
Steven Weinberg University of Texas at Austin Nobel Prize in Physics, 1979 |
| Tim Hunt London Research Institute Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2001 |
Elie Wiesel Nobel Peace Prize, 1986 |
| Daniel Kahneman Princeton University Nobel Prize in Economics, 2002 |
Torsten Wiesel Rockefeller University Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1981 |
| Eric Kandel Columbia University Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2000 |
Lawrence Klein
University of Pennsylvania Nobel Prize in Economics, 1980 |