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Stephen Hawking had in May 2013 boycotted conference hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, protesting the treatment of Palestinians by Israel. He had made it clear that he would have criticized Israeli policies towards Palestinians if he had gone.
The full letter read, “I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster”
The decision had made him the “the poster boy of the academic boycott”, with supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement celebrating it and, at the time, finding new-found momentum to their cause. However, it wasn’t popular with the Israeli press and drew outrage on Facebook, with many either attacking him or calling his health into question.
A year has passed, and, what at the time, seemed like a controversial statement feels more relevant than ever. Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” has killed 184 Palestinians in the past week, and according to the UN, a shocking 77% of them are civilians.
Israeli science and technology have always been the backbone of its military strength. Israel had developed the drones systems used by the US. A year ago, Israel produced enough home-produced chemical weapons to match the number used in Syria. Israeli universities provide a substantial supply of psychological, sociological and technological means to Israeli Defense Forces. Hawking was the first scientist of his statute to take a public stand against Israel.
In an interview to Al-Jazeera English, Hawking called a 2009 attack on Gaza “similar to that on Lebanon two years ago that killed over 2,000 but did not achieve Israel’s war aims. I think the assault on Gaza will be equally unsuccessful. But people under occupation will continue to resist in any way they can. If Israel wants peace, it will have to talk to Hamas like Britain did with the IRA. Hamas are the democratically elected leaders of the Palestinian people, and cannot be ignored.”
“Israel response to the attacks has been played out of proportion. Almost a 100 Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli. The situation is like that in South Africa before 1990. It cannot continue”, he added.
