“Misusing the term antisemitism for pro-Israel political purposes deprives it of its charge and its critical role in naming those who hate Jews because they are Jews.”
This was part of a letter to the Guardian in October signed by, among more than 130 others, Oxford historian Professor Avi Shlaim. He heads the panel at this meeting organised by the campaign group Free Speech on Israel.
Speakers also include Israeli academic Neve Gordon who has received death threats in response to his criticisms of Israeli actions. He writes of an “increasingly violent attitude to any dissent within Israel.”
We invite lawmakers, journalists and members of the public to hear eminent Jewish speakers from academia and the arts reflect on the implications for freedom of speech of current attempts to redefine antisemitism.