Let’s not have two different threads discussing the same thing. This is a rare example of a decent debate in the Z Word comments - so let’s ensure our readers benefit from it!

The National Student Union also have passed resolutions against Burma, Indonesia, China and Bielo-Russia. And student-owned/controlled traveling agencies do not sell trips to the former. Israel is waaay down the list of nations for most Norwegians, including the majority of the student populous. In fact, as I mentioned on my Blog, when I was the Leader of the Student welfare council in Trondheim, we, the students, _removed_ an older boycott on Israeli foodstuffs in student owned businesses. As we felt it was something each individual should be allowed to decide for him self.

Your answer was still an evasion, so I will reword: why won’t the specific proponents of these boycotts (and yes, they are pretty much a cohesive movement and group) ever propose targeted boycotts of American academics and universities?

Regardless, Norway’s foreign minister regularly make formal complaints to the US about the use of capital punishment for instance, and the government pension fund have blackballed more US companies, than the rest of the world combined. So your choice of example was wrong.

Hopefully Obama is more open for influence by foreign powers, and will make an effort to change the image the US have acquired under the Bush II “administration”. The Nobel Peace Prize committee seems to think so anyway.

Okay, the U.S. has been roundly condemned by human rights organizations and others for unlawful detentions and violations of the Geneva conventions - why won’t the boycotters seek to boycott the U.S., the world’s leading liberal democracy?

And You seem to forget the wording of the proposal, which by the way was rejected unanimously, just as expected, said to boycott Israeli universities and the staff associated with those, not jewish scientics who works in other parts of the world. And as all boycotts it’s effect would be symbolic. As you said, unless you boycott everyone who deal with Israel the real effect would be minimal. And as the former vice dean said, she was a supporter for a boycott, but would not dream of asking the staff not to have any contact with Israel, just that NTNU should refrain from public connections and ventures with Israeli universities.

Because the boycotters single out Israel for alleged human rights violations. They do not call for boycotts of Sudan, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, or any number of other serious human rights violators. The singling out is hypocritical because it targets the world’s only Jewish state. So if the boycotters really want to be consistent about it, they should also boycott all things Jewish period, since they chosen to single out the world’s only Jewish state for a boycott.

It’s not that simple, E.S. that hypothetical American Jewish doctor who worked in the French university may (I would say probably has) associations with Israeli medical doctors. So you see every Norwegian or even European who wants to honor the boycott of Israeli medicine or other products is going to have to research the background of every Jew in the world to make sure they are not involved with Israel.

This what the Arab boycotters have been doing for years. Not that it has helped their economies any.
Moreover, you may not know this but there is a law in the US that makes it illegal to boycott Israel. I am sure many Norwegian companies who also do business in the US will not want to jeopardize their standing in the US.