David Miller worked at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom until his employment was terminated in 2021.
Before he was fired from his role as professor of political sociology, Miller had used his position within the prestigious higher education establishment to spread hatred toward Jews and the State of Israel.
Among the many disturbing remarks Miller made during his time at Bristol included his claim that Israel is a “violent, racist, foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing,” while suggesting any students who took issue with his view were “political pawns” of the Jewish state in a comment that echoed the antisemitic dual loyalty trope.
He also accused the Union of Jewish Students, which represents thousands of Jewish students across the UK, of being “a threat to the safety of Arab and Muslim students.”
After he was fired, Miller apparently saw no further need to cloak his anti-Jewish hatred behind a facade of so-called “anti-Zionism” and words like “Zionist” or “Israeli” in his vile online screeds were soon replaced with what we knew he had meant all along — Jew.
For example, last year, Miller tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” and claimed they wield disproportionate control in public life, arguing Jews are “overrepresented in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”
However, in what looks to be a precedent-setting judgment, Miller has won an employment tribunal against his former employer on the grounds he was unfairly dismissed and had experienced discrimination based on his anti-Zionist beliefs.
In a 108-page ruling, regional employment judge Rohan Pirani concluded Miller’s “anti-Zionist beliefs qualified as a philosophical belief and a protected characteristic” under the 2010 Equality Act.
David Miller is fundraising off the back of his claim that he’s not anti Jewish but anti Zionist which is, apparently, a whole different thing.
But does the evidence stack up? 🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/x68QdmBVZV pic.twitter.com/LmwA7pXoxl
— Harry’s Place (@hurryupharry) February 2, 2024
It’s a judgment that is as equally depressing as it is baffling.
As Dave Rich, Head of Policy at the Community Security Trust, observed: “According to the Employment Tribunal, Bristol University’s defence against Miller’s claim accepted that ‘nothing the claimant said or did was antisemitic.’ There may be legal reasons for this that I don’t fully understand, but analytically it is preposterous. The way that Miller’s anti-Zionism is directed at diaspora Jewish communities, and the language and arguments he deploys, are inseparable from the core ideas and patterns of thought of antisemitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes.”
The truth is, simply printing Miller’s own words is enough to prove his antisemitism. One need not read between the lines when it comes to Miller’s undisguised contempt for Jews.
Seemingly aware of this fact, The Guardian opted to omit many of Miller’s past comments in a recent piece about his victory at the employment tribunal, instead paraphrasing some of his other offensive remarks.
The piece, by Caroline Davies and Harriet Sherwood, states:
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.”
It also notes that Miller later described Israel as “the enemy of world peace.”
Likewise, the Telegraph reported that Miller had “successfully claimed discrimination based on his philosophical belief that Zionism is inherently racist, imperialist and colonial,” adding that he had “sparked anger among Jewish students in 2019 when a slideshow for one of his lectures described parts of the ‘Zionist movement’ as one of the ‘five pillars’ of Islamophobia.
A piece on the BBC News website similarly states that Miller “experienced discrimination when he was sacked from his university for comments he made about Israel.”
You may see a lot of things about David Miller in the next few days. Celebrating him. Pathetically attempting to rehabilitating him.
So a reminder – this is who Miller is. This is what he believes. If you see people praising or promoting him – this is the man they’re simping for pic.twitter.com/kmdIinWwrJ
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) February 5, 2024
But Miller’s comments went beyond mere criticism of Israel or supposed “anti-Zionism” — they were unquestionably antisemitic.
An Iranian Stooge
Lastly, entirely absent from every single story about Miller’s tribunal was any mention of the fact that since his sacking, Miller has been accepting money from the Iranian regime through his work for the state-owned Press TV, including fronting a program alongside former British parliamentarian Chris Williamson, who was expelled from the Labour Party for antisemitism.
Miller and Williamson’s show “Palestine Declassified,” which once targeted HonestReporting in a dedicated program, repeatedly promotes antisemitic narratives, such as claiming “Zionists” control world events; that they have a “stranglehold” over the media and control UK institutions, and that they are “grooming young people.”
In excising the depths of Miller’s anti-Jewish hate from their reports, the media is helping rehabilitate the image of a man who once professed his belief that “every single Zionist organisation, the world over, needs to be ended. Every. Single. One.”
David Miller is an antisemite. The media shouldn’t pretend otherwise.
Liked this article? Follow HonestReporting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see even more posts and videos debunking news bias and smears, as well as other content explaining what’s really going on in Israel and the region.
