Anti-Zionist activists have won two important victories recently, though both were a long time coming and were the result of determined struggle.
On 1 October 2021 Bristol University sacked Professor David Miller, claiming he ‘did not meet the standards of behaviour we expect from our staff’. In fact, his sacking resulted from a long campaign by Zionists, including President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl, and the right-wing press.
In 2019 the Community Security Trust (CST), along with Bristol University Jewish Society, complained to the university about Miller. CST is a British charity which claims to provide safety, security and advice to the Jewish community. But it has a track record of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.
The complaint related to Miller’s teaching about ‘Harms of the Powerful’, which included a slide demonstrating the existence of a Zionist network in Britain. However, even the right-wing Daily Telegraph said that ‘there is no suggestion of antisemitism’, and initially Bristol University rejected the complaint.
But a subsequent campaign targeted Miller’s comments on social media and his articles. Bristol University crumbled in the face of this, despite two legal investigations finding he had done nothing unlawful. Miller launched a public defence campaign, gaining 40,000 signatures in support and raising funds to fight his unfair sacking.
In 2024 Miller won a claim for unfair dismissal at a tribunal. His solicitors stated that ‘This judgment establishes for the first time ever that anti-Zionist beliefs are protected in the workplace.’ Bristol University appealed, but in August 2026 an appeal tribunal upheld the previous judgment.
This is a significant victory for workers facing the sack or disciplinary action for supporting Palestine. Hopefully other cases will follow. For example, Dr Tamara Ali is currently suing NHS Education for Scotland and her GP practice after they disciplined her for displaying a small Palestinian flag in her office.
Tony Greenstein
In 2023, long-time Jewish socialist and anti-Zionist Tony Greenstein tweeted about the ‘Gaza ghetto uprising’, followed by an article on his blog. In December counter-terror police raided his home and charged him with inviting support for a terrorist organisation—Hamas. This charge can result in a 14-year prison sentence.
In fact, Greenstein has written many blogs critical of Hamas and was merely supporting the Palestinians’ right to resist occupation. Greenstein stood firm and immediately mounted a public campaign, as Miller had done.
During his trial he refused to be intimidated by Judge Sarah Plaschkes, who interrupted frequently and tried to stop him explaining his beliefs. In one particularly absurd intervention, she said that it was irrelevant that Greenstein didn’t support Hamas (he does not) and that the jury did not need to know the history of the Middle East.
On the last day of the trial Greenstein opted to make his closing statement himself rather than his barrister. He did this because of his observation that, in previous trials of anti-Zionist activists, barristers were threatened and cowed by judges. In one recent example Rajiv Menon KC was charged with contempt for his closing speech by the judge.
This decision allowed Greenstein to make an exemplary speech which covered all the history and politics that the judge had sought to keep from the jury. He was also able to cite ‘jury equity’, a legal principle allowing juries to convict or acquit according to their conscience.
As a result of this and a public gallery full of supporters, the jury acquitted Greenstein, with the foreman of the jury raising his fist.
These cases demonstrate the determination of the British state to persecute anti-Zionists, suppress free speech and stifle resistance in support of Palestine. They also show that the way to fight back is to mobilise and organise mass support instead of relying solely on legalistic methods.
Indeed, this is the reason why David Lammy is so keen to get rid of juries for most trials. It is unclear where Burnham stands on this, so we need to demand his government withdraws the relevant clauses in the Courts and Tribunals Bill. If his ‘reset’ on Israel and Palestine and commitment to the law are to be meaningful, the attack on the right to trial by jury must end.
These lessons must also be taken up by the wider labour movement, as the courts still intervene in disputes such as the Birmingham bin strike, where Unite was fined £260,000 for ‘slow walking’ in front of scab refuse wagons.
Socialists in the unions and the Palestine solidarity movement must drive home the lesson that the bosses’ state opposes all working-class organisation. Activists cannot rely on it or its ‘justice’, but on their own strength. No justice, no peace!
