Technion fires back
The executive director of the Technion Society of Australia’s NSW division has responded to the petition calling for the University of Sydney to end its relationship with the the Technion in Israel.
The following is the statement released by the TSA.
The proponents of the BDS boycott of the Technion at Sydney University (Friday 11/1/13) once again demonstrate their predilection for biased, emotional rhetoric when calling for Sydney University to break its ties with the Technion.
Thankfully, the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Michael Spence, his leadership team and indeed the vast majority of his staff are more concerned with academic excellence, scientific endeavour for the benefit of humanity as a whole and most importantly the facts.
To say that the Technion is “uniquely and directly implicated in war crimes” is as ludicrous as saying that Sydney University or University of NSW are equally implicated. Most of the world’s leading universities are actively engaged in supporting research that assists in self defence, homeland security and the battle with terrorism.
“The Technion’s contribution to humanity, recognised throughout the world, is manifestly evident,” said Technion Society of Australia Executive Director, Ken Lander.
“We urge all people not to simply comment to friends but to demonstrate their support for the Technion and the principled stance taken by leading universities throughout Australia by joining the Technion Society of Australia. This is a tangible way of saying as individuals that we recognise the tremendous contribution of the Technion,” he said.
“Take research into cancer and degenerative diseases. The discovery of the ubiquiton process in human cells by Nobel Laureates, Distinguished Professors Aaron Ciechanover and Avraham Hershko today underpins much of the progress being made in finding targeted cures for these diseases.
“The bionic nose developed by a young Technion Professor, Hossam Haick (an Israeli Arab) will revolutionise the non-invasive diagnosis of cancer and other disease in the next few years.
The high tech world of internet and electronic data transmission rests on the algorithm developed by Technion Distinguished Professors Ziv and Lempel and made freely available to the world.
“The list just goes on. The awarding of a third Nobel prize in 2011 to Distinguished Professor Dan Shechtman for the discovery of quasicrystals and the naming by the City of New York of the Technion as the winner of an international competition of the world’s top universities re-affirm the Technion’s continuing contribution beyond its own campus,” Mr Lander said.
Unfortunately a great number of very left leaning academics have an anti Israel bias which they want to pass on to students.
It seems that some of the students at the University of Western Sydney have already become innoculated.
When they want to use their ever present mobile phone, seek cures for cancer they better turn to the Palestinians for technical and medical support and advice, I wrote a similar communication to Marickville Council – but they still use mobile phones , computers and seek medical technology founded in Israel.
A classical example of don’t do what I do but do as I say.
Harry Rich