Nothing, of course. Chances are they haven’t even heard of him, for they’ve been too busy grasping grandiose concepts from His Eminence Al-Qardawi. Meantime, Stephen Hawking has been wasting time pondering black holes and quantum physics, let alone that the wheelchair-bound physicist cannot move and has to speak through a computer with a voice reminiscent of the omniscient oracle of Socrates.

For those pushing him to visit Israel to gain a better perception of how matters actually stand, Hawking has already visited Israel several times. And for those calling on him to give up his Israeli-designed Intel chip, the answer is simple: Should we cease using the airplane because it is an American invention, while we are against the US invasion of Iraq? The matter to Hawking is connected to a set of consistent values. Israel is a nuclear state, and he is a firm believer that a nuclear war in which humans destroy themselves and the universe around them is no longer unforeseen. His stand implies that science, morality and politics should go hand in hand, and this is at the core of the matter.

Hawking’s decision to absence himself from the high-profile scientific conference scheduled for June in Israel was not only in response to the appeals of Naom Chomsky and the other 19 academics, Palestinian in particular, but it was also in response to the inner voice inside him.

Doubtlessly, Hawking hasn’t heard of Al-Qardawi’s celebration of al-Bouti’s murder, nor has he solicited the rich or instigated violence. All he did was distance his name from the heinous crimes committed by Shimon Peres, the host of the conference, against the children of Qana and Gaza.

So has his voice echoed to Bishara and Meshaal in Doha? And will Al-Qardawi speak of faith to him? Perhaps Hawking can then quote Prophet Mohammad: “It is better to teach knowledge one hour in the night than to pray all night.”

Stephen Hawking, the atheist believer, spoke to them and to us alike. Let us not turn a deaf ear.

“I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. However, I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.“ Stephen Hawking

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