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Israelis furious over Stephen Hawking’s conference pullout over Palestinian boycott call
Globe and Mail ^ | 05/08/2013 | Patrick Martin

Posted on 05/08/2013 10:14:26 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

British physicist Stephen Hawking has announced he is withdrawing from a leading Israeli conference in deference to a Palestinian call to boycott this and other Israeli events.

The decision by Prof. Hawking, who was to have been a key speaker at the Israeli Presidential Conference next month in Jerusalem, has infuriated conference organizers and delivered one of the biggest names yet to the ranks of the growing international campaign to boycott Israel.

It also has drawn the enormous attention of Israelis themselves. By the end of the day Wednesday in Israel, items related to Prof. Hawking’s announcement were the number one, three and six of the most widely read pieces on the Haaretz newspaper’s website.

The annual Presidential Conference, now in its fifth year, is hosted by Shimon Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to its website, the conference brings together “world leaders, international scholars, activists, poets and scientists, artists and clergy, entrepreneurs, economists and industrialists, as well as representatives of the next generation of leaders” in order to discuss issues of geopolitics, economics, environment, culture and more. This year’s conference also is a celebration of Mr. Peres’s 90th birthday.

In his letter to conference organizers, Prof. Hawking stated he had reconsidered his earlier agreement to participate in the event. “I have received a number of e-mails from Palestinian academics,” he wrote. “They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”

(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: boycott; israel; stephenhawking; unitedkingdom; waronterror
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1 posted on 05/08/2013 10:14:26 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

He’s another big lib. Every so often all he seems to do is open his computer mouth to deny the existence of God or some other crap. It’s like shut up and not move.


2 posted on 05/08/2013 10:16:11 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (Someday our schools will teach the difference between "lose" and "loose")
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To: SeekAndFind

Hawking is overrated, and apparently wrong. No big deal.


3 posted on 05/08/2013 10:17:24 AM PDT by RinaseaofDs
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To: SeekAndFind

Freaking big deal. Anyway, he’s more dead than alive.


4 posted on 05/08/2013 10:18:51 AM PDT by Marguerite ( When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

I totally agree and love the way you said it. LOL


5 posted on 05/08/2013 10:19:02 AM PDT by gattaca ("Empty heads are fond of long titles" Old German Proverb.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”

As if anybody asked for his opinion. Pffft.


6 posted on 05/08/2013 10:20:47 AM PDT by Marguerite ( When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm even better)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda
Crippled college professors get all the girls.

7 posted on 05/08/2013 10:22:19 AM PDT by TSgt (More Scott Roeders and fewer Tillers and Gosnells)
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To: FReepers

Click The Pic To Donate

Support FR, Donate Monthly If You Can

8 posted on 05/08/2013 10:22:30 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (My faith and politics cannot be separated)
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To: SeekAndFind

Israel is constantly innovative, can never rest on its laurels, is singularly charitable, agile, responsive, dynamic, diverse in its thinking, self-questioning, never self-righteous, always seeking peace and justice, never sucking up to Hollywood or the cause-du-jour, believing, steadfast, worshipful, beautiful, and will be so for a long time to come.

Unlike the guy who wrote that one book which was famous and deemed “very possibly correct” for a little while.


9 posted on 05/08/2013 10:25:11 AM PDT by golux
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To: SeekAndFind

One of these days he’s going to meet the Creator of the Universe who will explain everything in minute detail. Then He will ask Hawking to explain himself in just as much minute detail..........


10 posted on 05/08/2013 10:27:42 AM PDT by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? Google your own name......Want to have fun? Google your friend's names........)
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To: SeekAndFind

There seems to be this little club of celebrity scientists that have taken upon themselves to stop researching and instead spend more time partying with socialists and Hollywood types. Some examples:

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Bill Nye

And now even Hawking.

I guess when you are a media property, why bother with real science work?


11 posted on 05/08/2013 10:28:17 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: SeekAndFind

His disease has attacked his grey matter.


12 posted on 05/08/2013 10:29:39 AM PDT by svcw (If you are dead when your heart stops, why aren't you alive when it starts.)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: VanDeKoik

you forgot chief scientist al gore..........


14 posted on 05/08/2013 10:31:45 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Sacajaweau

I ALMOST put him there, but he couldn’t tell his head from his rear enough to be a scientist.


15 posted on 05/08/2013 10:38:38 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: RinaseaofDs
The only reason Hawking is so highly esteemed, IMO, is precisely because he's an atheist.

The left honors him profusely just so they can say how brilliant he is and then proclaim that there must be no God because even “the brilliant” Stephen Hawkings says so and if you disagree, well, then you must be a moron because, you see, Hawking is so gosh darn brilliant. Trust us, we said he's brilliant... and he even won a Nobel prize so that proves what he is saying must be true.

Pffft...

16 posted on 05/08/2013 10:40:20 AM PDT by Obadiah (High speed, low drag.)
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To: VanDeKoik
I remember when Al first got the Climate job. Hillary herself said "this is a way to get young voters interested".

And they did it....infiltrated the schools.

It's the same MO as this healthy food cr**....Infiltrate the schools.

And the gun cr**....This "0" tolerance...is all about infiltrating the schools.

But abortion?? Outright killing of innocents with the blessing and funding of government?? Who cares about them??

17 posted on 05/08/2013 10:44:32 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: SeekAndFind

Is the guy famous for anything other than being an evoloser??


19 posted on 05/08/2013 10:45:48 AM PDT by varmintman
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To: SeekAndFind

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”


20 posted on 05/08/2013 10:47:34 AM PDT by faithhopecharity (()
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