Florida Senate - 2014                             (NP)    SR 894
       
       
        
       By Senator Sobel
       
       
       
       
       
       33-01287-14                                            2014894__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution expressing opposition to the academic
    3         boycott of Israeli universities and institutions of
    4         higher learning, and support of academic and political
    5         freedom and collaboration with Israeli universities.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that
    8  is a democracy, and
    9         WHEREAS, Israel is a strong ally of the United States, and
   10  this alliance is based on shared values and interests, and
   11  invaluable cooperation in military technology, cyber security,
   12  medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, bilateral trade and
   13  commerce, as well as educational, research, and cultural
   14  exchanges, and
   15         WHEREAS, about 11 percent of the population of
   16  undergraduate students at Israeli universities is Arab, while
   17  Jews account for less than 1 percent of the population of
   18  undergraduate students at Arab universities, and
   19         WHEREAS, in many parts of the Arab world, women are
   20  actively dissuaded from pursuing education, but, in Israel, they
   21  are encouraged to attend school, and
   22         WHEREAS, some groups have proposed an academic boycott as a
   23  means of isolating Israel in order to force a change in Israel’s
   24  policies toward the Palestinians, and
   25         WHEREAS, the academic boycott of Israeli universities and
   26  institutions of higher learning is antithetical to the
   27  principles of academic freedom and to the free and open exchange
   28  of ideas, and
   29         WHEREAS, academic freedom is under attack by forces that
   30  claim to be progressive but that actually subvert the values
   31  they claim to represent, NOW, THEREFORE,
   32  
   33  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   34  
   35         That the Florida Senate stands with Israeli universities
   36  and institutions of higher learning, and stands against the
   37  biased and hypocritical academic boycott of Israeli
   38  universities, and
   39         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate encourages
   40  and welcomes bipartisan support in recognition of Israel’s right
   41  to academic freedom and collaboration with institutions around
   42  the world.