British Education Minister Bill Rammell said Wednesday that he is “disappointed” by the decision of the British academician union (UCU) to call on its members to consider an academic boycott of Israel. “The decision does not further the Middle East peace process,” Rammell said.

158 of 265 union members voted for the resolution. They said the boycott would be in protest of Israel’s treatment of Arabs in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Despite the vote, UCU secretary-general Sally Hunt said that she does not believe that the boycott has majority support from the 120,000 lecturers represented by the union. All branches have a responsibility to consult their members on the issue, she said, and a boycott must pass “key tests” before implementation.