The arbitrator, retired judge Jacob Bezalel, in his decision of 17 June, held that the AJA (represented by Advocate Louis Garb of Jerusalem) was correct in its contention that the municipality had breached its agreements with the Association by allowing the Hartman Institute to establish a school for girls on the premises.

The arbitrator held that the presence of the Hartman School for Girls on the Evelina campus must cease and that the school should only bear the name of Evelina de Rothschild.

Neil Miron, President of the AJA, stated that the Association wished to cooperate with the municipality in order to attempt to restore the Evelina School, bearer of a proud history of 144 years, to its former glory.

The BBC Radio 4 programme Sunday, Religious News & Current Affairs with Roger Bolton, marked the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The programme featured a report by Trevor Barnes and discussion with Lord Richard Harris, former Anglican Bishop of Oxford, and Massoud Shadjareh, Chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

The report referred to the role of Rene Cassin, the representative of the Consultative Council of Jewish Organisations at the United Nations, in drafting the Declaration and features comments from Clemens Nathan, Cassin’s successor and also an Executive Member of the Anglo-Jewish Association.

To download and listen to the report and discussion click here.

(The download is an mp3 file of 9Mb - in some browsers you may need to right click the link and select “Save Target As” before opening it.)

The Anglo-Jewish Association condemns the University and College Union’s (UCU) decision to consider reactivating a boycott of Israeli academics at the forthcoming conference in Manchester in May.

AJA President Neil Miron said, “As the primary charity assisting Jewish students to attend university and higher education, the AJA believes that the pursuit of a boycott of Israeli academia would do great harm, and would do nothing to further education or open dialogue. It is wholly inappropriate that the UCU devote time and resources to this issue, which serves a tiny vocal minority, with a political agenda.”

As we wrote at the time of the initial attempt to single out Israeli academics, the UCU’s focus should be on pursuing academic excellence and working towards achieving an inclusive and pluralist society, not wasting time on retrograde policies. Nothing has happened to change our view that the Union should concentrate its energies on discussing and voting on issues that affect their wider membership such as pay, working conditions and the impact of fees on students who cannot afford to attend universities.”

Notes to Editors:

The AJA was founded in 1871 and provides financial support to Jewish students attending University and higher education in Great Britain.

The AJA is one of the largest grant making organisations directly supporting Jewish students in the UK, dispersing in the order of £100,000 annually.

The AJA is represented on the board of the Claims Conference and the Memorial Foundation.

The Anglo-Jewish Association welcomes the University and College Union’s (UCU) decision not to pursue a boycott of Israeli academics.

AJA President Michael Hilsenrath said, “Whilst it is regrettable that a tiny minority of UCU members tried to implement this perverse policy, we are delighted that common sense has prevailed. We were also greatly heartened by the strong condemnatory response to the proposed boycott from many organisations both within and outside the academic community. UCU’s focus should be on pursuing academic excellence and working towards achieving an inclusive and pluralist society, not wasting time on retrograde policies.”

Notes to Editors:

The AJA was founded in 1871 and provides financial support to Jewish students attending University and higher education in Great Britain.

The AJA is one of the largest grant making organisations directly supporting Jewish students in the UK, dispersing in the order of £100,000 annually.

The AJA is represented on the board of the Claims Conference and the Memorial Foundation.