An employment tribunal ruled today in favour of a university professor who was dismissed on grounds of antisemitism. I follow the said professor on Twitter and know people who know him. And, i can't make up my mind about him. He uses words and language that I would definitely not use, even though I agree with what him on many points. He says that Jews are over-represented in positions of influence, and are not systematically discriminated against in the ways Muslims are, although he does acknowledge that anti-semitic hate crimes do occur. Many people would find these reasonable positions, even if they would never express these opinions themselves out of fear of being labelled as anti-semites. Yes, after his dismissal, the professor has made statements that teeter on the boundary of anti-semitism. At the same time, the standards for establishing antim-semitism and Islamophobia are very different. Blatant Islamophobia in the mainstream press seldom invites sanction, while one has to walk on tenterhooks if criticizing Israel. So, I can't make up mind on this professor. Is he problematic or does he simply have the courage to call a spade a spade? Is the reason some people in the Palestine solidarity movement find his comments discomfitting that they lack his moral clarity and courage?
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