“Sir, – As one of the students who attended the protest outside Israeli ambassador Ze’ev Boker’s planned talk in Trinity College Dublin in 2017, I am outraged to read that the provost, Prof Patrick Prendergast, has claimed that there was a ‘very real danger of violence’ at that event …” (more)
[Conor Reddy, Irish Times, 16 November]
“There were angry scenes as pro-Palestinian protesters confronted the UK’s Israeli ambassador at Queen’s University in Belfast. A protester was restrained as several attempted to follow Mark Regev’s car as he left the historic institution following a visit to speak to students …” (more)
[Belfast Telegraph, 16 October]
“Students at Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union (QUBSU) are protesting against a visit to the university by Israeli ambassador Mark Regev. Students blocked the entrance to a room in the Law School where Regev was due to speak …” (more)
[Aisling Marren and Donal MacNamee, University Times, 16 October]
“Queen’s University have rejected calls to withdraw an invitation to the Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom to speak at an event on Tuesday. The Queen’s Student Union President Connor Veighey and People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll have both called for the invitation to Mark Regev to be rescinded …” (more)
[Gareth Cross, Belfast Telegraph, 16 October]
“Provost Patrick Prendergast’s carefully crafted speech to graduates in Jerusalem this week almost certainly won him favour in the room. But back at home, it was met with outrage. Evidently feeling obliged to bring up the ‘sensitive’ topic of the anti-Israel protests that took place on campus almost 18 months ago, Prendergast apologised for the ‘regrettable’ actions …” (more)
[University Times, 19 August]
“Funny, polite and fiercely unapologetic, Steven Salaita raged in defence of academic freedom and against the actions of Israel in Palestine in a much-hyped talk in Trinity this evening. The talk, which discussed the topic ‘Freedom to Boycott: Boycott, Divest, Sanctions and the Modern University’, centered around issues of freedom of speech in academia through the lense of Salaita’s experiences …” (more)
[Eleanor O’Mahony, University Times, 11 September]
“Sir, – In reference to the Trinity College conference on the academic boycott of Israel, Jeremy O’Friel asks whether ‘it will be following this with a series of conferences on similar boycotts of China, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and the other hundred-odd countries whose human rights violations exceed those in Israel’ (September 9th) …” (more)
[Raymond Deane, Irish Times, 12 September]
“An academic who became a test case for academic freedom in the US said he had no regrets for sending anti-Israel tweets. Dr Steven Salaita, a Palestinian-American, sued the University of Illinois when they withdrew an offer for a position as associate professor following a number of tweets that he sent following the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2014 …” (more)
[Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 11 September]
“Trinity College will hold a conference on the Freedom of Speech and Higher Education: The case of the Academic boycott of Israel this Monday and Tuesday. The conference will take place in the Synge and Robert Emmet lecture theatres. The conference will be interdisciplinary, and will include law, the arts, social science and humanities. It will involve academics from Ireland and abroad with practical experience of the issues around freedom in higher education …” (more)
[Sarah Meehan, Trinity News, 10 September]
“A chara, – I note that Trinity College Dublin is to host a conference on the academic boycott of Israel (News, September 7th). I can only assume that it will be following this with a series of conferences on similar boycotts of China, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe …” (more)
[Jeremy O’Friel, Irish Times, 9 September]
“An academic who had an offer of a post withdrawn after a series of tweets protesting at the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2014 is to speak at a conference in Trinity College Dublin next week …” (more)
[Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 7 September]
“Sir, – The Irish Federation of University Teachers wishes to draw attention to a ‘code of ethics’ being considered by the government in Israel for its academic institutions. It represents a threat not only to academic freedom but to Israel’s standing as a democracy …” (more)
[Mike Jennings, Irish Times, 29 June]
“A conference on free speech and the Israel-Palestine conflict will be held in Trinity this September. The once-peripheral issue has dominated recent discussion in College after the cancelled visit of the Israeli ambassador, which was branded an ‘unacceptable attack on free speech’ …” (more)
[Róisín Power, University Times, 4 May]
“Academic freedom includes the liberty of individuals to express freely opinions about the institution or system in which they work, to fulfil their functions without discrimination or fear of repression by the state or any other actor, to participate in professional or representative academic bodies, and to enjoy all the internationally recognized human rights applicable to other individuals in the same jurisdiction …” (more)
[Academics for Palestine, 6 April]
“The organisers of an academic conference on Israel and international law have said they are delighted that the event will go ahead at two venues in Cork city at the end of this month. The staging of the conference was in doubt after University College Cork objected to it, citing a number of concerns, including ones based on security …” (more)
[RTÉ News, 7 March]
“Sir, – Conor McCarthy (February 27th) criticises Israel’s embassy and Trinity’s provost for the stance they have taken in regards to free speech. At the same time, Students for Justice in Palestine claims it organised the protest because there would have been no balance if Ze’ev Boker, Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, had been allowed to address members of SoFIA (the Society for International Relations) as the sole speaker ‘with no opposing views being put forward’ …” (more)
[David M Abrahamson, Irish Times, 1 March]
“Sir, – The members of Academics for Palestine have read with incredulity ‘Trinity condemns “unacceptable attack” on free speech’ (February 21st). The declarations of Israeli ambassador Ze’ev Boker, whose speech at Trinity College Dublin was cancelled after a student protest, and those of Trinity provost Patrick Prendergast, are a striking reversal of reality …” (more)
[Conor McCarthy, Irish Times, 27 February]
“Trinity College Dublin has condemned a protest that led to the cancellation of an event with the Israeli ambassador to Ireland as an ‘unacceptable attack on free speech’. Ze’ev Boker was due to speak on Monday at a talk organised by the Society for International Affairs (SOFIA) …” (more)
[Colin Gleeson, Irish Times, 21 February]
“… I don’t have time to write a considered post about this right now, but I could not let it pass unremarked, so I will content myself for the time being with noting: oh no, not again.” (more)
[Eoin O’Dell, cearta.ie, 21 February]
“An event at Trinity College Dublin involving the Israeli ambassador Ze’ev Boker has been cancelled following a protest. Mr Boker was due to speak at a talk organised by the Society for International Affairs (Sofia) …” (more)
[Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 21 February]
