LONDON (AFP) — British academics were warned Friday that a planned boycott of Israeli universities over the occupation of the Palestinian territories would be illegal.
The University and College Union (UCU) triggered protests by the British and Israeli governments and US lawmakers when members voted in May to back such a boycott.
The vote divided the Union's members and leadership, and on Friday its lawyers warned of the implications.
"It would be beyond the Union's powers and unlawful for the Union, directly or indirectly, to call for, or to implement, a boycott... of any kind of Israeli universities and other academic institutions," said the legal advice.
"The use of union funds directly or indirectly to further such a boycott would also be unlawful," it added.
The advice also said that "to ensure that the Union acts lawfully, meetings should not be used to ascertain the level of support for such a boycott."
In May, the UCU leadership said "Israel's 40-year occupation has seriously damaged the fabric of Palestinian society through annexation, illegal settlement, collective punishment and restriction of movement."
The initiative called for British academics to stop writing for journals published by Israeli universities and refuse travel to Israel for conferences.
The Union said the new legal advice brings an end to the planned series of local debates around Britain on the merits of a boycott.
The UCU's general secretary Sally Hunt, who has opposed the boycott, said: "Our first priority has always been to keep the Union, and its members, safe during what has been a very difficult time.
"I hope this decision will allow all to move forwards and focus on what is our primary objective -- the representation of our members.
"I believe if we do this we may also, where possible, play a positive role in supporting Palestinian and Israeli educators and in promoting a just peace in the Middle East," he said.
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