David Miller a British sociologist and former professor at the University of Bristol before being driven from his position in 2021 due to Zionist pressure. Photo: Rob Browne/Bristol 24/7.
The court determined that Miller’s comments, including calls for an ‘end’ to Zionism and labeling it a ‘racist ideology,’ are protected by law
The UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) declared on 3 August that anti-Zionism qualifies as a “protected philosophical belief” under the Equality Act 2010, Professor David Miller announced via social media, marking a significant win for anti-genocide advocates.
“It is coherent to describe as ‘racist’ an ideology that promotes the establishment of a state for only one race of people in a territory that formerly contained a large number of people of a different race,” the court said in its ruling.
“Such an ideology, which supports the migration of members of the first group into the territory with the support of an imperial power to dislodge an indigenous population, could also coherently be described as colonial and imperialistic,” the ruling goes on to state.
“This is a public humiliation for the genocidal Zionist regime, whose assets in Britain bullied the University into sacking me and then dragged them into this futile appeal,” Miller declared on Tuesday.
“Thanks to everyone who believed in me and supported me. This is a victory for the whole anti-Zionist movement,” he added.
The EAT’s decision confirms that the University of Bristol unlawfully discriminated against Miller by dismissing him due to his comments expressing anti-Zionist beliefs, upholding the earlier employment tribunal’s ruling.
A 2024 court ruling determined that Miller’s dismissal over his anti-Zionist beliefs amounted to “unlawful direct discrimination” by the university.
Miller served as a political sociology professor at the University of Bristol from September 2018 until October 2021. He was dismissed for “gross misconduct” due to comments he made on three different occasions in February 2021.
Some of his comments reportedly included: “the enemy we face here is Zionism and the imperial policies of the Israeli state”; asking that “Zionism is ended”; stating “Zionism is racism”; claiming that Israel is the cause of antisemitism; arguing that Zionism intentionally promotes Islamophobia; and asserting that “Jewish student groups [that support Israel] are a threat to the safety of Arab and Muslim students.”
The EAT concurred with the 2024 conclusion that Miller’s beliefs are eligible for legal protection. It also agreed that Miller’s statements from February 2021 reflected those beliefs.
