Palestina Diduduki, Stephen Hawking Boikot Konferensi Israel
Occupation of Palestinian, Stephen Hawking to Boycott Israel Conference
Editor : Heru S Winarno
Translator : Parulian Manalu
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Jerusalem (B2B) - Fisikawan Inggris terkenal Stephen Hawking telah memutuskan untuk menarik diri dari konferensi yang diselenggarakan oleh Presiden Israel Shimon Peres pada Juni, kata panitia penyelenggara, Rabu.
"Hawking bergabung dengan boikot akademik Israel dan membatalkan kehadiran dalam Konferensi Presiden Israel yang bertema `Menghadapi Masa Depan 2013, di bawah kepemimpinan Presiden Peres`," kata mereka dalam sebuah pernyataan.
Komite Inggris untuk Universitas Palestina, yang mendukung boikot akademis Israel dan menentang pendudukan Israel atas wilayah Palestina, mengatakan Hawking telah "menolak undangan itu."
"Ini adalah keputusan independennya untuk menghormati boikot, berdasarkan pengetahuannya tentang Palestina, dan atas saran bulat kontak akademisnya sendiri di sana," kata komite itu di lamannya.
Ketua Konferensi Israel Maimon mengecam keputusan Hawking.
"Boikot akademis terhadap Israel dalam pandangan kami keterlaluan dan tidak tepat, terutama bagi seseorang yang semangat kebebasannya terletak pada misi manusia dan akademisnya," katanya dalam sebuah pernyataan.
Konferensi pada 18-20 Juni itu akan dihadiri oleh para diplomat, politisi dan akademisi. Sementara itu pembicara yang hadir antara lain mantan Perdana Menteri Inggris Tony Blair, mantan Presiden Amerika Serikat Bill Clinton dan penyanyi Amerika Serikat Barbra Streisand.
Jerusalem - Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking has pulled out of a June conference hosted by Israel´s Shimon Peres, joining an academic boycott of the Jewish state, event organisers said on Wednesday.
"Hawking joined the academic boycott of Israel and pulled out of the Israeli Presidential Conference: Facing Tomorrow 2013, under the auspices of President Peres," they said in a statement.
The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, which supports the academic boycott of Israel and opposes its occupation of Palestinian territories, said Hawking had decided to observe the boycott and as a result had "declined his invitation."
"This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there," it said on its website.
Conference chairman Israel Maimon slammed Hawking´s decision.
"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," he said in a statement.
The June 18-20 conference will host diplomats, politicians and academics, and its speakers include former British prime minister Tony Blair, ex-US president Bill Clinton and American songstress Barbra Streisand.
