Israeli organisers reacted furiously after it was announced that Professor Hawking, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and former Cambridge University mathematics professor, cancelled plans to take part in next month’s Facing Tomorrow conference, hosted by Shimon Peres, Israel’s president.
Cambridge University initially confirmed a statement issued by British Committee for the Universities of Palestine saying that Professor Hawking had decided to “respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts”.
But it was later retracted by a university spokesman, who said the professor had not confirmed the statement, and that ill health was behind the decision.
“Professor Hawking will not be attending the conference in Israel in June for health reasons. His doctors have advised against him flying,” Reuters reported the spokesman writing in an email.
Professor Hawking, 71, who is wheelchair bound, had been fiercely criticised following initial reports that he was boycotting the event. A spate of abusive messages on Facebook mocked his physical disability.
Israel Maimon, the conference chairman, called the decision “outrageous and wrong” and added: “The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission.”
Professor Hawking had been scheduled to be a key speaker at the event, which will officially mark Mr Peres’ 90th birthday and will be attended by international luminaries, including Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, the former leader of the Soviet Union.
He has visited Israel several times in the past but has become increasingly critical of its policies towards the Palestinians, particularly the 2008-2009 invasion of Gaza.