Ismail Higgins

VICTORY AT THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL The Employment Tribunal has released its judgment in my landmark legal case against @BristolUni, concluding that I was wrongfully dismissed in October 2021 and discriminated against because of my anti-Zionist beliefs. This is not just a victory for me, but also a victory for pro-Palestine campaigners across Britain. Over many years, anti-Zionists have faced harassment and censorship in Britain due to the efforts of the Israel lobby. Many people have faced disciplinary procedures and lost their jobs for manifesting their anti-Zionist beliefs. Before I took my case, it was unclear whether a belief in the idea that Zionism is a racist, imperialist, and colonial ideology could be protected under the Equality Act 2010 as a philosophical belief. I’m proud to say that, with this case, we have proven that anti-Zionist beliefs, of the sort that I articulated, should be protected. I hope this case will become a touchstone precedent in all the future battles that we face with the racist and genocidal ideology of Zionism and the movement to which it is attached. The determination that I was sacked for my anti-Zionist beliefs is a vindication of the case I made all the way through this process. The University of Bristol maintained that I was sacked because Zionist students were offended by my various remarks. However, it was plain from the evidence provided by the university’s own witnesses, that I was sacked because of the anti-Zionist nature of my comments. This verdict is also a vindication of the approach I have taken throughout this period, which is to say that a genocidal and maximalist Zionism can only be effectively confronted by a maximalist anti-Zionism. The self-justifying and defensive approach of the sort illustrated by many on the left and even in the Palestine Solidarity movement will not work. The Zionist movement cannot be negotiated with. It must be defeated. I thank the Tribunal, Judge Pirani, and the two panellists Ms Kaye and Mr Launder for the professional way that proceedings were conducted and for giving me a fair hearing in spite of many external pressures. I also thank my legal team @ZillRah7 of @RahmanLowe and Zac Sammour of @11KBW for their strong commitment, from the outset, to defending the right to be anti-Zionist. I am also truly grateful to every single person who has donated to this case through the @Fighting_Fund. Without your support, there is no way I could have seen this through to the end. This is just as much your victory as it is mine. Now we need to spread the campaign to #DismantleZionism all around the world - wherever the Zionist movement raises its ugly head.