Bristol University in the United Kingdom has launched an investigation into a professor who made comments targeting Jewish students at the university.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the university said: “We can confirm that the university has already initiated an investigation into this matter. The investigation is being carried out in accordance with the university’s internal process and, as we have explained in a previous statement, that process is confidential.”
“The university’s clear and consistently held position is that bullying, harassment and discrimination are never acceptable,” the statement continued. “We remain committed to providing a positive experience for all our students and staff, including by providing a welcoming environment for Jewish students, and to fostering good relations and an inclusive university community.
Sociology professor David Miller has called for “the end” of Zionism and claimed that “it’s fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism, too,” according to the student-run publication The Bristol Tab. He also accused Jewish students of being “directed by the State of Israel” to pursue a “campaign of censorship” that endangers Muslim and Arab students.
On Feb. 18, Miller said the attacks on him are “directed by the State of Israel.”
He previously described the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and Bristol Jewish Society (J-Soc) as “formally members of the Zionist movement” and described the “movement” as “an ‘enemy’ to be ‘targeted.’ ”
(UJS) and (JSoc) issued a joint saying that, as far as they know, Miller has not been suspended pending the outcome of this investigation “and we still do not understand why.”
On Tuesday, the British Parliament responded to a question on its website about the sociology professor: “The government considers Professor Miller’s views to be ill-founded and wholly reprehensible, and wholeheartedly rejects them.”
