Over the last week, Professor David Miller, of the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, has been under sustained attack.

Since February 2019, there have been repeated attempts to have him removed from his post. This began after he delivered a lecture to his students on Islamophobia, a subject in which he is regarded as one of the foremost European academic experts. As a result of this lecture, there have been attempts, including by external political groups, to exert pressure on the University to have him sacked. These attacks escalated recently after he made comments based on his research about Israel, Zionism and racism in an off-campus public meeting.

One does not have to agree with all or any of David Miller’s views to recognise that this is attack on academic freedom, a principle that is central to both the University of Bristol’s values and to British law governing education. On the back of the weaponisation of anti-Semitism in the Labour party, this is part of a wider trend on campus, where critics of Zionism are labelled racists and staff or students supporting the Palestinian struggle or opposed to Israel’s crimes are attacked for their views. It gained a new impetus following the problematic adoption, by some institutions, of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism, which dangerously conflates it with criticism of Israel.

There is growing local, national and international support for David Miller and against the attempts to remove him. An international open letter defending Miller has been signed by over 250 educators and researchers including Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler. Fifty academics from diverse disciplines at the University of Bristol (including nineteen Professors) have signed another letter in his defence and for academic freedom, which was sent to their Vice-Chancellor on Wednesday.

Join us for this online meeting in defence of academic freedom and David Miller.

Speakers

Dr. Justin Schlosberg (Senior Lecturer in Film, Media and Cultural Studies, Birkbeck and Director of Truth Defence)

Dr. Tom Mills (Author and Lecturer in Sociology and Policy, Aston University)

Professor Tariq Modood (Director of Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship)

Dr. Lindsey German (writer and campaigner)

Professor Harriet Bradley (Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Bristol)

Defend Academic Freedom, Defend David Miller