Hastings and Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign invites you to an important discussion on propaganda, censorship and the Israel lobby titled: Why Can't We Talk about Palestine?
Palestine solidarity groups have come under fierce attack from the Israel lobby. This campaign has been so effective that it has led to Palestinian solidarity activists getting sacked from their jobs, to the cancellation of meetings and the expulsion from political parties. If this is not bad enough, probably the most serious result of this campaign is self-censorship, the fear of speaking up.
To be able to fight back against this powerful lobby, we need to fully understand it. So we are pleased to host Professor David Miller, widely regarded as the pre-eminent expert on the Israel lobby and the network it is part of.
Professor David Miller has been Professor of Sociology at both Strathclyde University and Bath University, and more recently Professor of Political Sociology at Bristol University. His research and publications focus on Islamophobia and propaganda. He is the co-founder and co-director of Public Interest Investigations, which runs two projects, Spinwatch and Powerbase. These two organisations have carried out research into corporate lobby groups and government public relations groups which show how they use their undue power to undermine democracy. They have made investigations into areas such as climate, fracking, health service reform, the pharmaceutical industry, armaments, water, Islamophobia and the Israel lobby.
No one will be surprised to hear that the lobby has been gunning for Professor Miller and has tried its best to shut him up. In 2021 they succeeded - Bristol University gave into the pressure from groups such as the Zionist Federation, the Community Security Trust and the Board of Deputies and sacked him. The usual allegations were fired at him, such as anti-Semitism. Yet two independent investigations completely ruled this out.
In response to his sacking, a Change.org petition was set up, gaining more than 40,000 signatures in his support. Public figures such as Professor Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Professor Ilan Pappé, Ronnie Kasrils, Ken Loach and Alexei Sayle have demanded his reinstatement. Professor Miller has never given in and is fighting his dismissal with a pending industrial tribunal. The Support David Miller website is here.
Palestine solidarity groups have come under fierce attack from the Israel lobby. This campaign has been so effective that it has led to Palestinian solidarity activists getting sacked from their jobs, to the cancellation of meetings and the expulsion from political parties. If this is not bad enough, probably the most serious result of this campaign is self-censorship, the fear of speaking up.
To be able to fight back against this powerful lobby, we need to fully understand it. So we are pleased to host Professor David Miller, widely regarded as the pre-eminent expert on the Israel lobby and the network it is part of.Professor David Miller has been Professor of Sociology at both Strathclyde University and Bath University, and more recently Professor of Political Sociology at Bristol University. His research and publications focus on Islamophobia and propaganda. He is the co-founder and co-director of Public Interest Investigations, which runs two projects, Spinwatch and Powerbase. These two organisations have carried out research into corporate lobby groups and government public relations groups which show how they use their undue power to undermine democracy. They have made investigations into areas such as climate, fracking, health service reform, the pharmaceutical industry, armaments, water, Islamophobia and the Israel lobby.
No one will be surprised to hear that the lobby has been gunning for Professor Miller and has tried its best to shut him up. In 2021 they succeeded - Bristol University gave into the pressure from groups such as the Zionist Federation, the Community Security Trust and the Board of Deputies and sacked him. The usual allegations were fired at him, such as anti-Semitism. Yet two independent investigations completely ruled this out.
In response to his sacking, a Change.org petition was set up, gaining more than 40,000 signatures in his support. Public figures such as Professor Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Professor Ilan Pappé, Ronnie Kasrils, Ken Loach and Alexei Sayle have demanded his reinstatement. Professor Miller has never given in and is fighting his dismissal with a pending industrial tribunal. The Support David Miller website is here.
