To the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. I am a British born Jew. In 1936 as anti-Semitism released all its venom in Europe, my grandfather was at Cable St, when in the name of freedom of speech and expression, the police tried to disperse the demonstrators against Mosley’s ‘Black-shirts’ to allow the fascists to march. With hindsight, I think we both know … Continue reading An open letter to Eric Pickles

THERE IS A STATEMENT ABOUT THIS LIST YOU SHOULD READ FIRST BY CLICKING THIS LINK You could not write this script. A statement in support of Southampton, signed by academics in the name of ‘free speech’. They claim “to the best of our knowledge, the conference invitations in this case are based on qualification to speak on the topic rather than on political positions held.” … Continue reading The list of ‘indignant’ academics – A list of BDS activists

First off, let’s dispose of the freedom of speech defence. On August 27 2014, Professor Mark Auslender, from Ben-Gurion University Israel, was scheduled to speak at the Mountbatten Building, Highfield Campus at the University of Southampton. It appears that due to quickly organised and small opposition, the talk was cancelled. The reason it was cancelled – he was Israeli, and some people felt this was … Continue reading Open letter 2 -University of Southampton, hypocrisy, anti-Semitism and free speech

I write in connection to the upcoming conference under the auspices of the Southampton Law School titled “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism” to be held over the weekend of 17-19th April. I have no doubt given the subject matter you have received ample communication on the subject. Indeed, I am sure you were warned in advance by those that … Continue reading An open letter to the University of Southampton