Supporters of Bristol professor David Miller have doubled down on his earlier attacks on Jewish student groups.

Contacted by the JC to respond to the news that Prof Miller is to teach two modules in the coming academic year, one of which has previously been condemned by the Union of Jewish Students for containing “offensive” material, the ‘Support David Miller Campaign’ accused the UJS and Bristol JSoc of existing to “whitewash Zionist colonisation of Palestine” and “manufacturing hysteria”.

A spokesman for the campaign told the JC: “The UJS and Bristol JSoc have been manufacturing hysteria around Professor Miller’s work for over two years. This is due to his teaching about the role of parts of the Zionist movement in promoting Islamophobia and his expertise on the subject. Both the UJS and Bristol JSoc exist to whitewash Zionist colonisation of Palestine and promote Israeli diplomatic objectives in the UK. No serious observer should take the claims of ‘discomfort’ made by these pro-Israel campaigners at face value, and they should not be allowed to dictate policy to British universities.”

In response, the UJS and Bristol JSoc said: “Statements like this are precisely the sort of thing that we are having to deal with and we really do expect the University to step up to protect Jewish students from this sort of continued attack and harassment.” 

Today the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism wrote to Bristol Vice Chancellor Hugh Brady, attacking the university’s “institutional failure… to tackle anti-Jewish racism”. 

The group of MPs said in their letter to Prof Brady that it “beggars belief” that an official investigation into “racist” comments made by Prof Miller remains uncompleted.