Why Notts. Prof Sent Israel to Coventry

It comes to a pretty pass when a respected British professor of “mental health recovery and social inclusion” fronts the apparent deliberate exclusion of an intended host country from academic discourse simply because he is frightened of the bullies from the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

But this, as alleged by Haaretz.com, was the response of Nottingham University’s Prof Mike Slade, who as chairman of the European Network for Mental Health Service Evaluation – ‘ENMESH’ - has notified colleagues of his unilateral decision not to hold the biennial 2021 conference in Jerusalem as had been decided at their most recent meeting, only last month.

Mine must have been among scores of hot protest letters received earlier today by Prof Slade, who in response has claimed the decision was neither unilateral nor political but because “the inadequate resources to handle the type of campaign to which some conferences held in Israel are subject, it was reluctantly concluded that it was not at present possible to host the ENMESH conference in Israel.

“The decision was a practical decision, not a political or permanent decision, and it is hoped that it will be possible to hold a future ENMESH conference in Israel. The decision also had nothing to do with individuals; members of the board, including the chair, regularly work with and publish with Israeli colleagues, many of whom are also valued members of the ENMESH network. ENMESH intends to improve future governance and decision-making processes so this situation does not arise in the future”.

I must advise Prof Slade that I find his response on behalf of ENMESH most disingenuous, particularly as the 2nd International Public Mental Health Conference, of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) Section on Public Mental Health, was held in Jerusalem, Israel, June 19-21, 2019.

I am infamously stupid so I am sure that Prof Slade and BDS personnel will argue that I have neither the moral justification nor indeed the basic native intelligence to understand what has happened here.

I await further reaction, both from ENMESH and the organisers of Palestine Expo 2019 that took place at Olympia, London by awkward coincidece only this past weekend.

© Natalie Wood (08 July 2019)