Hawking wrote to the conference organisers on 3 May to say that he would not be attending so as to "respect the boycott" that some researchers have called for over the past decade. His decision was announced last week on the website of the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, a London-based group calling for academics to cut links to Israeli institutions, and triggered intense media attention. Read more
UK cosmologist Prof Stephen Hawking has withdrawn from a high-profile Israeli conference, in support of an academic boycott of the country. He initially planned to speak at the event in June but pulled out following advice from Palestinian academics. Pro-Palestinian campaigners said the 71-year-old wrote to the organisers on 3 May saying that he had planned to criticise the Israeli government. Read more