Article by David Hirsh

David Hirsh was invited, in his capacity as academic director of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, to the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism organized by the Israeli Ministry of the Diaspora. In this text, he explains why he chose not to participate in this initiative which, by giving pride of place to the extreme right, discredits the fight against antisemitism and endangers Jews in the diaspora.

According to Bristol University Professor David Miller, ‘Britain is in the grip of an assault on its public sphere by the state of Israel and its advocates’. His outburst has led to outraged calls for his removal but also fulsome messages of support from the academic left. David Hirsh, author of ‘Contemporary Left Antisemitism’, explores the wider meanings and deeper roots of the controversy.