An exceptional Prism interview with Professor David Miller who won his case over his sacking for categorising Zionism as murderous, and he branded automatically anti-Semitic. Miller is right about Israel’s far-right making any sort of political criticism of Isreali policy as anti-Semitic. The sad thing is how swiftly countries accepted the IHRA guidlines, Scotland included. Israel has some of the strongest lobbiest working on their behalf, and when they run major global corporations employing thousands of people, with politicians in government representing their interests, the little guy does not stand a chance of not being smeared or losing their job. And if Jewish, one becomes a ‘self-hating’ Jew.
The sociology professor was sacked by the University of Bristol after being accused of antisemitic comments has won a “landmark” decision that he was discriminated against because of his anti-Zionist beliefs. An employment tribunal ruled that Prof David Miller was unfairly dismissed, and that his “anti-Zionist beliefs qualified as a philosophical belief and as a protected characteristic pursuant to section 10 Equality Act 2010”.
Rahman Lowe, the legal firm that represented Miller, hailed it as “a landmark decision”. It said: “This judgment establishes for the first time ever that anti-Zionist beliefs are protected in the workplace.”
Of course, the Jewish lobby was outraged, their right to shut up, to censor any humanist overturned, more accuratly predicting doom and gloom for Jewish people and Jewishs tudents. The Union of Jewish Students said the judgment “may set a dangerous precedent about what can be lawfully said on campus about Jewish students and the societies at the centre of their social life. This will ultimately make Jewish students less safe.”
Miller initially caused controversy in 2019 when in a lecture he cited Zionism as one of five sources of Islamophobia, and showed a diagram linking Jewish charities to Zionist lobbying. Complaints that this resembled the antisemitic trope that Jews wield secretive influence on political affairs were dismissed by the university on academic freedom grounds.
Since then, comments by Miller in online lectures describing Israel as “the enemy of world peace” and a description of the Jewish Society as an “Israel lobby group” that had “manufactured hysteria” about his teaching further inflamed tensions.
Miller’s case contended that he was subject to an organised campaign by groups and individuals opposed to his anti-Zionist views, which was aimed at securing his dismissal. The university subjected him to “discriminatory and unfair misconduct proceedings which culminated eventually in his summary dismissal”. At the time, the university said that although legal counsel had found that Miller’s alleged comments “did not constitute unlawful speech”, a disciplinary hearing had concluded that he “did not meet the standards of behaviour we expect from our staff”. In the 108-page judgment delivered, the Bristol employment tribunal ruled Miller had experienced discrimination based on his philosophical belief and had succeeded in his claim for wrongful dismissal. He is seeking “maximum compensation”.
Zillur Rahman, Miller’s lawyer, said the case “marks a pivotal moment in the history of our country for those who believe in upholding the rights of Palestinians”. The Miller tribunal has played out on university campuses in particular, in the UK, US and elsewhere, centring on freedom of speech, the definition of anti-semitism and whether anti-Zionism equates with being anti-Jewish. Today, we can assert with confidence and law, to condemn Zionism as a murderous expansionist entity – a fact, as is Zionism is supported by the US – has no bearing on the Jewish people. It should be seen as the same as MI5 and MI6 attacked by English voters condeming their security services for killing innocents in an excuse for halting terrorism in the UK.
NOTES
Professor David Miller (born 1964) is a Scottish sociologist whose research and publications focus on Islamophobia and propaganda. Miller was Professor of Sociology at the University of Strathclyde (2004–2011) and the University of Bath (2011–2018) and was Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bristol (2018–2021). He is the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit company Public Interest Investigations (PII). Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in biological science from the University of Glasgow. He undertook doctoral research with the Glasgow Media Group. Miller began his academic career as a lecturer and then reader in film and media studies at the University of Stirling, before switching to sociology. From 2004 to 2011, he was Professor of Sociology at the University of Strathclyde. He became Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath in 2011 and the University of Bristol in 2018.
Publications:
- Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy: Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy (Pluto Press, 2007)
- A Century of Spin: How Public Relations are the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power (Pluto Press, 2008)
- What is Islamophobia?: Racism, Social Movements and the State, David Miller (Pluto Press, 2017)
- Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief, Greg Philo, Mike Berry, Justin Schlosberg, Antony Lerman, David Miller (Pluto Press, 2019)
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Grouse Beater 
I didn’t know he was Scottish. Another great piece. I think the Scottish Jewish historian David Daiches said that Scotland arguably was one of the few European countries where antisemitism never existed. I think one of the few times Scotland showed any form of antisemitism was rioting in the streets when Irgun hung the two sergeants and tied up their booby trapped bodies in the olive grove. (one of whom it was later discovered was probably Jewish). And, potentially, the Oscar Slater matter. Everyone has heard of the Moorov doctrine and Moorov’s habit of sexual impropriety to his female workstaff. What was never an issue at his trial, despite European antisemitism being rife at the time, was Moorov’s Jewishness. I got a wiff of the lobby years ago. I wrote a letter to the comments section of the Herald or Scotsman when i was a student in Glasgow the 1990s about the Palestinians and Israelis. You had to provide your address which they would print back then. It was a nothing piece i wrote but the next thing the Israeli consulate press officer wrote in to the paper in response saying i was harbouring a number of misconceptions about Israel etc. I never sent in another letter after that.
That letter helped open a can of worms.
Excellent analysis by Prof Miller. He is right about the colonial ‘expansionism’ we see here. As postcolonial theory tells us, ‘colonialism is like a cancer, it only seeks to grow’ (Memmi), and also that ‘colonialism is one variety of fascism’, much as we see.
Miller is also right about ‘settler occupation’, which is part of our legacy here too, and what occurs after decolonization, with much of the settler community returning to the ‘mother country’ (Fanon; Memmi). Question then is, where is the mother country of Israeli’s? In most cases this is likely to be USA and UK, as it was for so many other former colonizers. Scots need to be aware of how we are affected by this, as we have been similarly affected in every British/Anglo decolonization globally, and still are.
His linkage to the existence of privileged communities in Ireland is also interesting as part of the colonial legacy, and this is also of course relevant for Scotland and Wales, perhaps more especially for Scots in the event of Irish reunification/decolonization.
The ‘intrinsic racism’ aspect is also relevant for us as we reflect that ‘racism is a consubstantial part of colonialism’ (Memmi), it is always there and indeed is a fundamental element in the ongoing colonial oppression of Scots.
Note also his statement that ‘colonialism ends by the elimination of the natives’, as has occurred in many instances globally. A colonized people ultimately perish (Fanon), and ‘cultural assimilation’ is also part of that process.
Theory is very important here to better understanding our ‘condition’, as Prof Miller confirms:
Click to access THEORETICAL+CASE+FOR+SCOTTISH+INDEPENDENCE.pdf