Stephen Hawking’s decision to heed the call of Palestinian academics to refuse to lend legitimacy to Israel and its complicit institutions until Palestinian self-determination is realized is having a tremendous impact among Palestinians, especially in the academic community. The principled, direct, and unambiguous decision communicated by Hawkins to the organizers of the high-profile, public relations Israeli conference at which the president of the state is to be honored in June is unprecedented for a global scholar of his stature, and is deeply appreciated by Palestinians.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) is deeply disturbed by the decision of the International Society for Political Psychology (ISPP) to hold its conference at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel, from July 8-11, 2013 [1].

Sisters and brothers of South Africa, dear to our hearts,

Fraternal greetings from Palestine,

May 15, 2013 marks the 65th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, which resulted in the catastrophic expulsion of the over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948, and creation of the first batch of Palestinian Refugees.

Palestinian Prisoners Day was last week marked with actions in 11 countries protesting the complicity of British-Danish security company G4S in Israel’s prison system. The company provides equipment and services to prisons at which Palestinian political prisoners, including child prisoners, are illegally detained and subjected to torture.

 The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) salutes the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) in the United States for its principled support for the cause of justice in Palestine by adopting, at its annual meeting in Seattle on 20 April 2013, a resolution supporting the boycott of Israeli academic institutions and in solidarity with the world-wide movement responding to this call from Palestinian civil society.