UK tribunal confirms professor’s anti-Zionism is legally protected belief

David Miller has told Al Jazeera the ruling is a victory that will encourage others to speak out against Zionism.British professor David Miller was unlawfully fired by the University of Bristol because of his criticism of Zionism, an employment tribunal has ruled, confirming that anti-Zionism is a legally protected belief in the United Kingdom.In its ruling published on Tuesday, the Employment Appeal Tribunal said Miller had been dismissed by the university in October 2021 because of comments in which he “expressed protected philosophical beliefs”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UK Court upholds ban on Palestine-action" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="73" data-entity-type="organization">Palestine Action as ‘terrorist’ grouplist 2 of 3Will Andy Burnham mark a shift in the UK’s Gaza policy?list 3 of 3Pro-Palestine protesters rally for ‘Filton 25’ activists at UK courtend of list“The decision to dismiss the claimant and the refusal of his appeal against that dismissal were each found to be unlawful acts of direct discrimination,” the tribunal said. “The dismissal was held to be unfair, and wrongful.”Miller told Al Jazeera the ruling was a victory for all those in Britain who are opposed to Zionism, a nationalist ideology that contends that Jewish people have the right to self-determination in historic Palestine, which Zionists view as their ancestral homeland.“It will be very, very difficult for any employer, not just in terms of universities, but any employer in the UK, anyone who’s in any kind of employment-like relationship with individuals to suspend them, to sack them, to target them because they’ve got anti-Zionist views,” Miller said.Miller, who had worked as a professor of political sociology at Bristol since 2018, challenged the university at an employment tribunal after he was sacked, claiming unfair dismissal, breach of contract and discrimination or victimisation on grounds of religion or belief.The Wills Memorial Building, part of the University of Bristol, pictured on May 16, 2019 [File: Geoff Caddick/AFP]‘Political pawns’