People, including a young woman holding a sign that reads: 'Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism,' chant slogans and carry Palestinian flags as they arrive at Potsdamer Platz during a 'Freedom for Palestine' protest march that drew thousands of participants on November 04, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. [Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
People, including a young woman holding a sign that reads: ‘Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism,’ chant slogans and carry Palestinian flags as they arrive at Potsdamer Platz during a ‘Freedom for Palestine’ protest march that drew thousands of participants on November 04, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. [Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
Nine organisations who had previously engaged in good faith in Goldsmiths’ inquiry into anti-Semitism have published a statement publicly withdrawing their participation from the inquiry, which has been ongoing since May 2023.
The groups include the Goldsmiths’ Students Union, Goldsmiths UCU Executive, and the Goldsmiths research group Forensic Architecture, as well as civil society groups including the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), and legal organisations including the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC).
Their public statement cites ‘incoherent and contradictory statements’ from the college and the chair of the inquiry, and a “lack of transparency” over “who and what is being investigated” that has led to a widespread loss of confidence in the Inquiry from students, staff and civil society. One example they say is the inquiry’s refusal to confirm what definition of anti-Semitism it is applying to inform its work.
The signatories say that the inquiry has failed to meaningfully engage with the political context of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the legitimate question of how unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism are used to silence Palestinian voices and those who stand with them. They say the two-year process “marginalises Palestinians and adopts an approach which discriminates against them, and appears to target those who criticise Israeli policies and Zionism.”
Goldsmiths has recently apologised and paid damages to a lecturer who was wrongly suspended after complaints that constituted part of this inquiry.
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The inquiry, which is investigating the period 1 September 2018 to18 May 2023, has not indicated when it is due to complete.
Ed Nedjari, Goldsmiths Student Union chief executive, said: “It is crucial to address the rise of anti-Semitism; however, these efforts must not violate the rights of other marginalised groups, such as Palestinians, nor hinder the free expression of those who criticise Zionism and Israeli state policies, particularly against a backdrop of an ongoing genocide in Gaza and an expansion of settler colonialism in the West Bank.”
“The growing list of concerns, including the lack of transparency and questionable decisions made by the inquiry, has eroded any remaining confidence in its fairness and impartiality, ultimately leading to our decision to withdraw our support and participation.”
He added: “We cannot risk complicity in restricting the freedoms of our members.”
Chair of the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom, Dr Lewis Turner, expressed confirm over the lack of clarity: “It is particularly concerning that the Inquiry has refused to confirm whether it will use the widely-discredited IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and its examples, which have been shown, in our September 2023 report with the European Legal Support Centre, to clearly undermine freedom of expression and academic freedom in universities.”
According to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), British universities collectively invest almost £430 million ($556 million) in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law.
PSC Director Ben Jamal added: “Instead of targeting those speaking out against these grave violations of international law and undermining academic freedom, universities should be working to divest their money from apartheid and genocide.”
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