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David Miller speaks at pro-Palestine rally in Castle Park
Just days after an employment tribunal found that David Miller was unfairly dismissed from the University of Bristol due to his anti-Zionist views, the sociology professor was sharing those views at a pro-Palestine rally in Castle Park.
Miller spoke from the bandstand in the park following the conclusion of the seventh march through the city organised by Bristol Palestine Alliance.
Saturday’s march was aiming to draw attention to an Israeli strategy branded as “educide”, with the Times Higher Education reporting that academia in Gaza “has been destroyed” as Palestinian scholars mourn the “deliberate targeting” of universities.
is needed now More than ever
Miller said: “The best slogan today seems to me to be the one about decolonise. The solution to Palestine is not just a ceasefire; it’s the decolonisation of the occupation of the whole of Palestine.”
He added: “The Zionist movement is the root of me being sacked and the root of the attack on freedom of speech and academic freedom in this country, and we should be opposing the Zionist movement on those grounds alone…
“Millions and millions of people across the world see the genocide (in Gaza), see that Zionism is a genocidal ideology for the first time. That cannot be put back in its box.
“Which means that Zionism’s days are numbered. My view all the way through this is that we do not accommodate, we do not apologise, we do not negotiate with Zionists. What we do is we fight them.
“We have to destroy and dismantle Zionism. It is fundamentally a racist ideology.”
Miller has previously been roundly condemned for claiming that Jews are overrepresented in positions of power and do not face discrimination.
Writing in the Jewish Chornicle, David Hirsh, academic director and CEO of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, also said that the recent employment tribunal ruling “risks protecting antisemites”.
A University of Bristol spokesperson told Bristol24/7 that the university “acknowledges the judgment of the employment tribunal but is disappointed with its findings”.
The Bristol Palestine Alliance march makes its way through College Green – photo: Rob Browne
Miller was just one of a number of speakers in Castle Park after a march that had started on College Green.
He will be speaking in Bristol again on Sunday at an event organised by the Bristol Palestine Alliance entitled ‘Genocide in Gaza: Zionism, Islamaphobia and the weaponisation of anti-semitism’.
Other speakers at the event – whose location has not been revealed – will include rapper and journalist Lowkey; co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori; and energy engineer and political analyst, Batool Al-Subeiti.
Saturday’s march was the seventh organised by Bristol Palestine Alliance – photo: Rob Browne
Main photo: Rob Browne
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