Oxford prof referred to disciplinary panel

Oxford University today announced that they would refer Andrew Wilkie, a professor of molecular genetics, to a disciplinary panel that could recommend warnings, dismissal, or removal from office for Wilkie's refusal to consider an Israeli student's application because of his nationality. Wilkie "will not be taking part in the selection of any members of staff or students" during the panel's deliberations, the university said.The Oxford professor caused a stir in the worldwide science community last week after he told 26-year-old Amit Duvshani via e-mail that he objected to Israeli treatment of Palestinians and would not take as a student anybody who'd served in the Israeli army. Army service is compulsory in Israel. "Based on the information that was collected during this process, and in the light of all the circumstances, particularly the importance attached by the University to fair processes of selection, the Vice-Chancellor, Sir Colin Lucas, has taken the view that this matter should be referred for consideration by the University's disciplinary panel for academic staff, known as the Visitatorial Board," Oxford said in a statement.Oxford does not have the power to discipline members of its staff other than by "the observance of due process under its statutes," the university said, and any decision of the Visitatorial Board can be appealed to the university's Appeal Court, which is currently made up of two High Court judges. Wilkie has 28 days from the time he is notified that the case is being referred to the Board to respond to the charges.Wilkie's e-mail is the latest in a string of sporadic actions that are part of an unofficial boycott of Israeli scientists. Last spring the head of the Journal of Translation dismissed two of its reviewers because they were Israeli, and a Swedish researcher initially rejected a request for reagents from an Israeli scientist."The University of Oxford is appalled that any member of its staff should have responded to an inquiry from a potential graduate student in the terms in which Professor Wilkie emailed Amit Duvshani on 23 June," today's statement read. "A thorough investigation began as soon as the University became aware of this correspondence."In a previous statement, issued June 27th, the university said it recognized the right for Oxford faculty to hold "strongly-felt personal opinions" but that it would not condone discriminatory conduct. It also posted an apology from Wilkie stating, "I recognise and apologise for any distress caused by my e-mail of 23 June and the wholly inappropriate expression of my personal opinions in that document. I was not speaking on behalf of Oxford University or any of its constituent parts." Wilkie replied to a request for an interview for this article with an email saying he could not comment.Duvshani, who recently completed a Master's degree at Tel Aviv University and was applying for a graduate student position, said he wished Wilkie no harm. "My motive is not to see him sacked," Duvshani told The Scientist.The boycott originated as an April 2002 letter published in The Guardian from several prominent scientists calling for European agencies to cease funding Israeli scientists. The agencies rejected the boycott, but several universities in France subsequently passed resolutions calling for a severing of ties to Israeli institutions. Similar motions in the UK have largely failed, and in May the UK's largest teachers' union voted against the boycott. The boycott has gained scant support from US scientists, and several of the original letter's authors later distanced themselves from it.The International Council for Science (ICSU), an umbrella organization for scientific academies from nearly 100 nations, condemned Wilkie's actions. "Wilkie misses the mark when he penalizes a student who has nothing to do with the misdeeds of the government," said Peter Schindler, executive secretary of the ICSU's Standing Committee on Freedom in the Conduct of Science.The boycott has left some Israeli students unsure whether their applications for positions abroad are rejected on merit or because of their nationality. In Duvshani's case, the e-mail application to Wilkie was one of several he sent to scientists in Europe. To most of these e-mails, he said, he received no reply.

Oxford prof referred to disciplinary panel

Andrew Wilkie had refused to consider Israeli student for a position in his lab

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