Eighty-six percent of key British business, cultural and political leaders oppose an academic boycott of Israel, according to a poll published on Wednesday.

Nearly 1,000 leaders who help shape the mood of Britain were questioned in the poll conducted by the Populus network for the Stop the Boycott campaign, which is led by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre and the Fair Play Campaign Group.

Only 14% of respondents support a boycott, while 84% of those from academia and NGOs believe it "flies in the face of academic freedom." In addition, 80% think that it is an "unreasonable" way to express disapproval with Israel's relationship with the Palestinians and 70% think a boycott would be bad for Britain.

The Populus network brought together senior opinion makers from business; government, including civil servants and political advisers; media professionals including journalists, commentators and public relations specialists; and officials from NGOs including trade unions and think tanks...

The Academic Ethicist

By LAWRENCE DOUGLAS and ALEXANDER GEORGE

Dear Academic Ethicist,

I am what you might call a "rising star" in the field of architectural history. Last year my book, Abstract Concrete, received the Rauschenberg Prize for best book on postcontemporary architecture. I was delighted — until I learned that the award was sponsored by the Hebrew University's School of Architecture, in Jerusalem. Needless to say, I immediately turned down the prize and the invitation to an award banquet at the university. Not only was I concerned that by accepting I would be imperiling relations with my colleagues and friends in the European architectural scene, but I was also worried that I might be sacrificing my chances of being published in Critical Inquiry and the London Review of Books. Compounding my ethical dilemma, I feared that by attending the dinner, I would be expressing moral support for, and deriving personal nutritional gain from, expansionist Zionist politics. To my shock, a couple of colleagues claimed I was behaving in an anti-Semitic fashion. Have I done anything wrong?

— Just Baffled

Dear JB,

We believe you have behaved in an entirely appropriate fashion. The charge of anti-Semitism strikes us as so much hogwash. After all, there's a world of difference between attacking the Jewish people and attacking the state that serves as their global haven and guardian.

As part of the international community of scholars committed to the free exchange of ideas, you need to know when to say, "Enough is enough!" If you suspect that hobnobbing over hummus is a form of silencing and oppression, then it is your duty to cut such conversation off at the knees.

As you will no doubt receive more invitations and prizes, we believe it is critical that you have a moral compass that will steer you clear of ruinous moral compromise. As a general matter, we encourage scholarly exchange with universities in the Asian Pacific, except for those in China, which has a dismal history of human-rights abuses; or in Indonesia, implicated in genocidal activity in East Timor; or in Russia, up to its neck in war crimes in Chechnya; or in Thailand, which refuses to deal with its child-prostitution industry; or in India or Pakistan, both of which are acting badly over Kashmir; or in Japan, which continues to treat ethnic minorities as second-rate citizens and still hasn't faced up to its behavior during World War II; or in Nepal, which has taken a nasty turn to the despotic; or certainly all those universities in Australia, which remains tainted by its genocidal treatment of the Aborigines.

Europe is generally safe, though we counsel against working with colleagues in French universities, given the economic and social marginalization of minorities in France; or those in Dutch universities, in light of what we've learned about the much-vaunted "tolerance" of the Dutch in recent years; or in any universities in Britain, whose immigration policies border on the racist. Spain also is off limits, given its oppression of the Basques and the shadow of the Franco years; ditto for Portugal on account of its recent shameful past in Angola and Mozambique. Belgium remains a human-rights toxic-waste dump since the days of King Leopold. Poland — puh-leeze. Iceland has begun hunting whales again. Switzerland has yet to come clean about its secret cozying up to the Nazis. Serbia — next! Germany, we don't even have to go there. And recent reports about Liech-tenstein's autocratic prince trouble us.

So our recommendation: Stay at home. But just steer clear of D.C.

Lawrence Douglas is a professor of law, jurisprudence, and social thought at Amherst College; his novel, The Catastrophist (Harcourt), just appeared in paperback. Alexander George is a professor of philosophy at Amherst; his book, What Would Socrates Say? (Clarkson Potter), will appear later this summer.