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5 February 2024
Scottish PSC sends our congratulations and solidarity to David Miller who has won a landmark case against the University of Bristol. The Tribunal concluded that he was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed and established that anti-Zionist views qualify as a protected belief under the UK Equality Act.
As stated by Zillur Rahman who represented David, this decision comes at a time when Israel continues its genocidal attacks against the Palestinian people and many ‘are facing persecution in their workplaces for speaking out against the crimes of the Israeli state, and the genocide taking place in Gaza’.
David Miller welcomed the decision, saying:
“I am extremely pleased that the Tribunal has concluded that I was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by the University of Bristol. I am also very proud that we have managed to establish that anti-Zionist views qualify as a protected belief under the UK Equality Act. This was the most important reason for taking the case and I hope it will become a touchstone precedent in all the future battles that we face with the racist and genocidal ideology of Zionism and the movement to which it is attached.
The determination that I was sacked for my anti-Zionist views is a huge vindication of my case all the way through this process. The University of Bristol maintained that I was sacked because Zionist students were offended by my various remarks, but it was plain from the evidence of its own witnesses that this was untrue, and it was the anti-Zionist nature of my comments which was the decisive factor.
I also want to note that this verdict is a massive vindication of the approach I have taken throughout this period which is to say that a genocidal and maximalist ideology like Zionism can only be effectively confronted by a maximalist anti-Zionism. Apologies, debate, and defensiveness of the sort illustrated by many on the left, and even in the Palestine Solidarity movement will not work. The Zionist movement cannot be negotiated with. It must be defeated."
Scottish PSC is proud to have stood by David, recognising that while we organise solidarity, we must fight to defend our rights and work to name and expose the ideology that drives Israel’s settler colonial and genocidal programme against the Palestinian people. This decision was only possible because David was prepared to fight back, and it is a victory for him and for all of us.
The victory is won but at a cost – please make a donation!
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
