University of Bristol
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A campaign supporting a UK professor at the University of Bristol, under investigation for nearly six months over allegations he targeted Jewish students with anti-Israel statement, is going after Jewish student groups.

The Support David Miller campaign has charged that Bristol J-Soc (Jewish Society) is guilty of "whitewashing Zionist colonization of Palestine," the Jewish News reported.

The statement by the group was made after it was revealed that Miller will be back to teaching even though an investigation by the university into his conduct has been ongoing for over 150 days.

Miller, a sociology professor, is accused of saying that J-Soc members were “pawns of a racist regime engaged in ethnic cleansing.”

He was also quoted as saying at a February online conference, “It’s a question of how we defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice. How do we make sure Zionism is ended essentially. There’s no other way of saying that.”

The Union of Jewish Students and Bristol JSoc described their reaction to Miller’s return to teaching at Bristol as one of “outrage,” stating that he professor was fostering an “environment of hate.”

The campaign supporting Miller has repeated the academic's allegations, going so far as to accuse the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) of “manufacturing hysteria” over the professor, according to UK media reports.

“Both the UJS and Bristol JSoc exist to whitewash Zionist colonization of Palestine and promote Israeli diplomatic objectives in the UK,” the group told the Jewish News.

They also said, “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.”

Administrators at the university are so far not answering queries about Miller being listed as an instructor for two upcoming courses.

"We cannot jeopardize the integrity and rigour of what is a confidential process by discussing it with the media or third parties," a university spokesperson told the Jewish News.

Upon learning Miller would be back teaching in the fall, the UJS denounced the university for “legitimizing the targeted attacks he made towards Jewish students," the Jewish Chronicle reported.

The two courses are "Understanding terrorism" and "Harms of the powerful."

UJS said the second course was “specifically disavowed by the Jewish community for containing offensive material."

In May 2020, Miller was suspended from the Labour Party, resigning the next month, after he claimed that Labour leader Keir Starmer was "in receipt of money from the Zionist movement."

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)