The United Kingdom-based University and College Union announced Friday that it will not go through with its previously proposed boycott of Israeli academics because such a boycott could be illegal.
A statement on UCU's Web site stated that a ban on academics and universities could infringe upon discrimination legislation.
A resolution passed by the group in May had called for debate on a boycott because of the "complicity of Israeli academia in the occupation" of Palestine.
The decision to nix the boycott comes after nearly 300 university presidents, including Penn's Amy Gutmann, signed a petition condemning the boycott in June.
In a statement released earlier this year, Gutmann, unavailable for further comment, called the proposed boycott "a direct assault on a core principle of academic freedom."
