Letter to the Editor
Posted 11/5/2003

Wilkie Update

Your readers may recall an article of mine that appeared
in the August 15 issue of The Jewish Press entitled
"Academics Against Israel." Part of the article dealt with
Andrew Wilkie, a professor at Oxford University in England,
who rejected the application to attend Oxford of an Israeli
simply because he was an Israeli. At the time the article
appeared Wilkie`s case had been referred to a panel that was
to make recommendations about how to deal with him. The
panel has now completed its deliberations, and on October
27 Oxford issued the following statement:

"The Vice-Chancellor has accepted the recommendation
of the Visitatorial Board that Professor Wilkie should be
suspended from his academic duties within the University,
without pay, for two months. Suspension is the most serious
penalty that the University can impose, short of dismissal
or removal from office. The decision follows an investigation
by the Board of matters surrounding an e-mail which
Professor Wilkie sent in response to an enquiry from an
Israeli student regarding the possibility of graduate study
in his research group. The Board has made other
recommendations, including that Professor Wilkie is
required to undergo further equal opportunities training.

"This ruling reflects that there can be no place for any
form of discrimination within the University of Oxford other
than on the grounds of merit. Professor Wilkie fully accepts
the gravity of the situation and is determined to make full
use of training to ensure that his actions and those of his
staff reflect best practice in future. He particularly wishes
to make it clear that he greatly values the diverse
backgrounds of the staff and students with whom he works
and looks forward to applications from able candidates,
whatever their background."

However, this is not the only thing that has happened to
Professor Wilkie as a result of his discriminatory actions
against Israelis. In response to Oxford’s official statement,
the Oxford University Student Union released its own state-

ment arguing that the sanctions imposed on Mr. Wilkie were
insufficient. Furthermore, Oxford`s Pembroke College issued
the following statement on October 27:

"Pembroke College announces that, in the light of the
ruling by the University of Oxford announced today,
Professor Wilkie offered his resignation as a Fellow of the
College and as a member of its Governing Body. This has
been accepted by the Governing Body of the College.
Professor Wilkie`s resignation takes immediate effect."

Thus it seems that Professor Wilkie has now been
"rewarded," at least to some extent, for his discrimination
against Israelis. Let us hope that this incident and what has
happened to Professor Wilkie will serve as a warning to
others of a similar ilk.

(Prof.) Yitzchok Levine
Department of
Mathematical Sciences
Stevens Institute
of Technology
Hoboken, NJ