Lecturer Refers To 'jewish conspiracies'
This email is going to the Minister for Universities, as well as Bristol University, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Lord John Mann and several others.
Contact details at end of email:
Dear Ms Donelan,
We are a mixed-faith organisation which challenges antisemitism.
We are appalled by recent extremism and racism at Bristol University. Specifically, blatantly anti Jewish views regularly expressed by lecturer David Miller.
He has referred to ”Jewish conspiracies”, which we are sure you recognise as an age-old antisemitic trope, intended to provoke hatred and antipathy towards Jews.
His lectures regularly cite lies and libels against Jews and Israel as “facts”, and he has even referred to the University's Jewish Society as “political pawns [used] by a violent, racist foreign regime”! This again, is 'classic' antisemitism and has no place in Britain and certainly no place on a University campus.
Despite many Jewish students alerting the University that they now feel unsafe, and the petition https://www.change.org/p/university-of-bristol-get-david-miller-off-bristol-uni-campus?fbclid=IwAR0OOt-dqHBh_saao1mUyyefwi3xUlfha3Vk9rzmRqCr49u60-AnoeqZ-RM
which in only a few days, has already achieved several thousand signatures, Bristol University is refusing to take action and is, in fact, allowing David Miller to continue spreading antisemitism and inciting hate under the guise of “educating”.
He has the added respectability of conducting these activities under the auspices and with the apparent approval and implicit endorsement of Bristol University, currently ranked as one of the UK’s “top 10 universities”.
To those of us acutely aware of the recent increase in antisemitic incidents here in the UK, this simply beggars belief. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism wrote to Bristol Vice Chancellor Hugh Brady, challenging the university’s “institutional failure… to tackle anti-Jewish racism”.
The Chair of the Committee, Robert Halfon MP, went so far as to suggest in Parliament that “Bristol University Senior Management Should Resign [over this failure to act]”.
Despite all of the above, and more, Bristol University has done nothing to stop this open racism towards Jews and Jewish students.
The University owes a clear legal Duty of Care to ensure safety, as well as a statutory obligation to provide an education that is honest, unbiased, historically truthful, balanced and objective – in short, “fit for purpose”, as opposed to indoctrination based on the personal prejudices and opinions, historical revisionism, and irrational beliefs of this lecturer – none of which are protected rights under the doctrine of “Academic Freedom in Higher Education”.
We therefore call for David Miller's immediate suspension and an expedited investigation, pending permanent dismissal from Bristol University. We further call for stronger government measures to prevent David Miller, and those like him, from (re-)entering the UK publicly funded education system in the future.
It would not be acceptable for any other religious group or minority to experience this type of racism. Can you envisage the outrage if it were Muslim, black, or Asian students being spoken to and about in this way?
We expect action and for a clear message to be sent out: that Britain does NOT allow, enable and encourage hatred of its Jewish community.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely
Tabatha Caplan
Act Now Against Antisemitism
www.actnowagainstantisemitism.org
CONTACT DETAILS
michelle.donelan.mp@parliament.uk
halfon4harlow@roberthalfon.com
boris.johnson.mp@parliament.uk
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