Israel has condemned a "repulsive" vote by Britain's main university lecturers' union to boycott colleges and academics unless they publicly oppose government policy in the Palestinian territories. Education Minister Yuli Tamir said Monday that the decision by members of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) at their annual conference in Blackpool, northern England, would only serve to undermine academic independence. "The decision to boycott the academic institutions is deplorable and repulsive," said Tamir in a statement. "Whoever applies this boycott will harm academia's independence and turn it into a tool in the hands of political forces," she added. The NATFHE vote was also criticised by the British government as a counterproductive move. "We believe that such academic boycotts are counterproductive and retrograde," said junior foreign minister Lord David Triesman in a statement issued by the British embassy in Tel Aviv.