VZCZCXRO4576
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHNY #0705/01 3141357
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101357Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7961
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OSLO 000705 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL SCUL IS NO
SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY TO VOTE ON BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI 
ACADEMICS 
 
REF: DANIELS-SELINGER (OSLO/EUR) E-MAILS NOV 6-10 2009 
 
OSLO 00000705  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The board of Norway's University of Science and 
Technology in Trondheim (NTNU) will vote November 12 to 
decide whether to establish an academic boycott of Israel. 
Norwegian Minister for Research and Higher Education Tora 
Aasland (Socialist Left Party, SV), in an interview with 
leading newspaper Aftenposten November 9, stated that she is 
against the boycott proposal and that her statement reflects 
official government policy. The boycott, she said, would go 
against both academic freedom and the legal right of 
academics and researchers to choose their subjects and 
research methods.  As the responsible minister, Aasland will 
be called to answer questions on the issue during a 
parliamentary question hour on Wednesday, November 11, 
according to media comments by opposition Christian 
Democratic Party (KrF) MP Hans Olav Syversen, who opposes the 
boycott. Syversen points out that Norwegian universities are 
state-owned, and asks in his media comments, "Are the 
universities' boards free to make decisions about attitudes 
on Norwegian foreign policy?" 
 
¶2.  (SBU) PolEcon Counselor called MFA Coordinator for North 
America Morten Aasland (no known relation to Minister 
Aasland) November 9 to seek MFA's views on the boycott vote. 
Aasland appreciated the Embassy's interest and the chance to 
comment. He said the academic boycott being proposed by 
"certain students and researchers at NTNU" is entirely 
contrary to Norwegian government policy of freedom of 
academics to choose their own connections, which is grounded 
in Norwegian law. Minister Aasland's comments earlier in the 
day were "precise and correct," he said.  He added that 
Foreign Minister Stoere shared Minister Tora Aasland's views 
and had strong opinions against the boycott proposal, but 
felt somewhat constrained in addressing the issue publicly as 
it falls directly under Minister Aasland's responsibilities 
and hits on the delicate subject of the independence of 
academic institutions in Norway. The MFA feels certain the 
boycott will not muster the votes to be adopted, Morten 
Aasland added. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Separately, the DCM had contacted Israeli DCM Aviad 
Ivri November 6 to ascertain the Israeli Mission's responses 
and actions to date on the threatened boycott.  Ivri 
responded November 10. He said the boycott proposal had been 
preceded by a series of six anti-Israel lectures at NTNU, 
which began in September 2009.  The series, entitled 
"Israel-Palestine conflict: what is research-based 
knowledge?" had been supported by NTNU's Rector Torbjoern 
Digernes.  The Israeli Embassy in Oslo wrote a letter to 
Digernes, raising objections about the series, to which the 
rector chose to respond in blog postings.  These postings 
generated a worldwide debate "which the rector lost," 
according to Ivri.  He added, "This all happened before we 
discovered the coming vote (at NTNU on the proposed 
boycott)."  Ivri said another blogosphere debate over the 
boycott has since taken place, which, he said, "the 
university again lost." 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Israelis raised the issue with the Norwegian 
Foreign Ministry (we understand this included an approach to 
the head of the Middle East section, Jorn Gjelstad), and 
briefed two Norwegian newspaper editors, which Ivri said 
"resulted in wonderful articles over the weekend" opposing 
the boycott. Embassy Oslo notes that NTNU rector Digernes has 
now come out clearly and publicly condemning the proposed 
boycott being considered by the NTNU Board, both in an 
interview November 3 with local Norwegian newspaper Adressa 
and in comments carried Sunday November 9 as part of a full 
page article condemning the boycott, written by 
Culture/Debate editor of Aftenposten Knut Olav Aamas. 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to Ivri, 28 professors and assistant 
professors, led by NTNU Professor Bjoern Alsberg, have signed 
a petition (a translated version of which can be found on the 
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East website, www.spme.net) 
opposing the boycott, while 34 NTNU professors signed a 
petition requesting the boycott.  According to media here, as 
of November 9, Alsberg's petition against the boycott has 
garnered wide-spread support and possibly several thousand 
signatures, including from 13 Nobel laureates. An editorial 
in large circulation Norwegian newspaper VG November 9 
blasted the academic boycott proposal as "An Academic 
Scandal." One excerpt from that editorial follows: "Thoughts 
are free. When thoughts and opinions meet, that moves the 
world forward. If there's one place in the world where 
opinions and ideas do meet, it's Israel. Academics are often 
among those who go against the grain of official Israeli 
policies. Many Israeli academics call for dialogue rather 
 
OSLO 00000705  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
than confrontation to resolve conflicts in teh Middle East. 
This makes it all the more absurd to boycott Israel's 
thinkers." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Embassy Oslo continues to follow these developments 
closely and stands ready to engage further if Washington 
signals any additional USG concerns we could usefully relay 
to the GON. 
WHITE