Debate w/ Jake Wallis Simons & others: Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism
Is denying the Jewish people a homeland tantamount to antisemitism or a legitimate political position in an ultimately political issue?
Welcome to London's new and exclusive debate society where the style is formal but the passion unbridled, as we delve into the current and philosophical issues of our age.
The motion for the next meeting is: This House Believes Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism
Dress code: smart attire
Anti-Zionism and antisemitism sit in a tense, emotionally charged space – now more than ever. Many people argue that anti-Zionism often crosses a line: that denying the Jewish right to self-determination, uniquely among the world’s peoples, echoes older patterns of exclusion and hostility. Others counter that anti-Zionism is a critique of nationalism, state formation, or specific government actions, and does not constitute prejudice against the Jewish people.
This event invites you debate this issue in a civilised manner and in good faith, taking the long historical perspective.
During the Q&A you will be able to question the speakers or make a statement.
Tickets include a free drink at The Tea House Theatre – hot, cold, soft, or alcoholic.
DRESS CODE: Smart attire (shirt and tie expected)
OUR SPEAKERS:
On The Proposition:
Jake Wallis Simons is a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, a broadcaster and a foreign correspondent. His podcast, The Brink, which he presents with the former Parachute Regiment officer Andrew Fox, has been described as ‘the antidote to Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell’.
Dr Simons also writes for publications including The Spectator and the Jewish Chronicle, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, of which he was formerly editor, and his new book, Never Again? How the West betrayed the Jews and itself, was published by Constable in October 2025. He has reported from all over the world for the Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC, presented numerous documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, and appeared regularly on From Our Own Correspondent. He will be proposing the motion.
Harry Saul Markham is a British author and speaker on identity, extremism and liberal democracy. His debut book, The Melted Pot: Diversity, Antisemitism, and the Limits of Tolerance — cancelled by one publisher and later released to acclaim — has drawn endorsements from Sir Stephen Fry, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Steven Pinker, Lawrence Krauss and Andrew Doyle. Mr Markham has written for various publications, grappling with a range of subjects, including free-speech, Islamism, and antisemitism. He frequently gives talks to a variety of audiences, where he delights in disrupting the orthodoxies of our age. He has also been active in campaigning for the Social Democratic Party, and for human-rights around the world. For Mr Markham, the fight against antisemitism is about the future of not only Jews, but for the very future of our shared-humanity. He will be proposing the motion.
On the Opposition:
Peter Hulme Cross served as a London Assembly Member from 2004-2008, and in that period he was a member of the 7th July Resilience Committee which was formed in response to the London Bombings of 2005. 49 of the Committee’s 52 recommendations ahve been implemented. Mr Hulme Cross has travelled extensively across the Middle East and beyond, and spend several periods living and working in Israeli kibbutzim. He is a former Computer Engineer and retired as Administrator to the Vice Chancellor of one of the Colleges at Roehampton University in 2010. Mr Hulme Cross is an extremely experienced and skilled debater, having for many years been involved with The Sylvan Debate Club, founded in 1868, and the world’s oldest (known) free speech society, The Society of Cogers, founded in 1755. He will be opposing the motion.
Stanley Billington is the initiator and co-founder of the Agora. He has a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford, has worked in operations banking, and holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Liverpool. He now works in the field of prosthetic limbs.
Mr Billington is a political activist who has campaigned for several years for animal rights and for a Palestinian state, during public meetings and events, as well as by giving talks at schools and beyond. Mr Billington has been a member of most debating clubs in London and is a highly skilled and accomplished debater. He cites two inspirations for why he began debating: his late father and Christopher Hitchens. It was this love of dialectics, and a desire to change the world through persuasion, that led him to co-found the Agora. He will be opposing the motion.
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Agora Debate Club is a unique debate club in London that allows you to debate on the side you feel most strongly in favour of. Unlike other debate clubs, we do not assign you a side, instead you choose the side and you argue your own case without the need to coordinate your argument with the other debaters on your side.
Votes will be taken before and after debates, and the side with the greatest swing in its favour, is declared the winner.
We adhere to the Chatham House rules, which means that it is strictly forbidden to name any speaker, whether a debater or anyone else, if you share any statements made during the debates outside of the meeting.
Formality and ceremony are central to our debates to engender respect for opponents and audience as well as to provide a framework for true passion.
We aim to meet six times a year for debates on current or philosophical issues.
The name "Agora" comes from the ancient Greek word for the marketplace and town square where debates were held. A debate is an expression of the marketplace of ideas, and as we believe in the free trade of ideas, the name Agora Debate Club perfectly expresses what we are all about.
Our logo has three pillars, each representing one of the basic values the club is based on: Reason, Logic and Free Speech.
Each pillar has two ends, six in all, representing the six gatherings we aim to have per year.
Join us and experience the thrill of rational Enlightenment discourse in the heart of legal London
Is denying the Jewish people a homeland tantamount to antisemitism or a legitimate political position in an ultimately political issue?
Welcome to London's new and exclusive debate society where the style is formal but the passion unbridled, as we delve into the current and philosophical issues of our age.
The motion for the next meeting is: This House Believes Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism
Dress code: smart attire
Anti-Zionism and antisemitism sit in a tense, emotionally charged space – now more than ever. Many people argue that anti-Zionism often crosses a line: that denying the Jewish right to self-determination, uniquely among the world’s peoples, echoes older patterns of exclusion and hostility. Others counter that anti-Zionism is a critique of nationalism, state formation, or specific government actions, and does not constitute prejudice against the Jewish people.
This event invites you debate this issue in a civilised manner and in good faith, taking the long historical perspective.
During the Q&A you will be able to question the speakers or make a statement.
Tickets include a free drink at The Tea House Theatre – hot, cold, soft, or alcoholic.
DRESS CODE: Smart attire (shirt and tie expected)
OUR SPEAKERS:
On The Proposition:
Jake Wallis Simons is a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, a broadcaster and a foreign correspondent. His podcast, The Brink, which he presents with the former Parachute Regiment officer Andrew Fox, has been described as ‘the antidote to Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell’.
Dr Simons also writes for publications including The Spectator and the Jewish Chronicle, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, of which he was formerly editor, and his new book, Never Again? How the West betrayed the Jews and itself, was published by Constable in October 2025. He has reported from all over the world for the Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC, presented numerous documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, and appeared regularly on From Our Own Correspondent. He will be proposing the motion.
Harry Saul Markham is a British author and speaker on identity, extremism and liberal democracy. His debut book, The Melted Pot: Diversity, Antisemitism, and the Limits of Tolerance — cancelled by one publisher and later released to acclaim — has drawn endorsements from Sir Stephen Fry, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Steven Pinker, Lawrence Krauss and Andrew Doyle. Mr Markham has written for various publications, grappling with a range of subjects, including free-speech, Islamism, and antisemitism. He frequently gives talks to a variety of audiences, where he delights in disrupting the orthodoxies of our age. He has also been active in campaigning for the Social Democratic Party, and for human-rights around the world. For Mr Markham, the fight against antisemitism is about the future of not only Jews, but for the very future of our shared-humanity. He will be proposing the motion.
On the Opposition:
Peter Hulme Cross served as a London Assembly Member from 2004-2008, and in that period he was a member of the 7th July Resilience Committee which was formed in response to the London Bombings of 2005. 49 of the Committee’s 52 recommendations ahve been implemented. Mr Hulme Cross has travelled extensively across the Middle East and beyond, and spend several periods living and working in Israeli kibbutzim. He is a former Computer Engineer and retired as Administrator to the Vice Chancellor of one of the Colleges at Roehampton University in 2010. Mr Hulme Cross is an extremely experienced and skilled debater, having for many years been involved with The Sylvan Debate Club, founded in 1868, and the world’s oldest (known) free speech society, The Society of Cogers, founded in 1755. He will be opposing the motion.
Stanley Billington is the initiator and co-founder of the Agora. He has a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford, has worked in operations banking, and holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Liverpool. He now works in the field of prosthetic limbs.
Mr Billington is a political activist who has campaigned for several years for animal rights and for a Palestinian state, during public meetings and events, as well as by giving talks at schools and beyond. Mr Billington has been a member of most debating clubs in London and is a highly skilled and accomplished debater. He cites two inspirations for why he began debating: his late father and Christopher Hitchens. It was this love of dialectics, and a desire to change the world through persuasion, that led him to co-found the Agora. He will be opposing the motion.
********
Agora Debate Club is a unique debate club in London that allows you to debate on the side you feel most strongly in favour of. Unlike other debate clubs, we do not assign you a side, instead you choose the side and you argue your own case without the need to coordinate your argument with the other debaters on your side.
Votes will be taken before and after debates, and the side with the greatest swing in its favour, is declared the winner.
We adhere to the Chatham House rules, which means that it is strictly forbidden to name any speaker, whether a debater or anyone else, if you share any statements made during the debates outside of the meeting.
Formality and ceremony are central to our debates to engender respect for opponents and audience as well as to provide a framework for true passion.
We aim to meet six times a year for debates on current or philosophical issues.
The name "Agora" comes from the ancient Greek word for the marketplace and town square where debates were held. A debate is an expression of the marketplace of ideas, and as we believe in the free trade of ideas, the name Agora Debate Club perfectly expresses what we are all about.
Our logo has three pillars, each representing one of the basic values the club is based on: Reason, Logic and Free Speech.
Each pillar has two ends, six in all, representing the six gatherings we aim to have per year.
Join us and experience the thrill of rational Enlightenment discourse in the heart of legal London
Lineup
Jake Wallis Simons
Harry Saul Markham
Peter Hulme Cross
Stan Billington
Good to know
Highlights
- 2 hours 45 minutes
- In person
Refund Policy
Location
Tea House Theatre
139 Vauxhall Walk
London SE11 5HL
How do you want to get there?
