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Analysis

Jewish Chronicle: We need democratic spirit and political will, by Alan Johnson

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A sickening anti-Israel student “activism” is spreading across our universities – it is virulent, demonising and increasingly violent, as we saw at King’s College in London. Bicom is challenging the demonisers wherever we can.

But the activism is only the expression of a deeper problem. Some academics are educating their students to think of Zionism as a kind of Nazism. They tell the students that Zionism is a form of racism, “a quite evil philosophy” in the words of Exeter University’s Ilan Pappé.

The first way to challenge the anti-Israel myth is to critique it. At this week’s event we had another sharp but civil exchange of views with Pappé, this time about the treatment of Israel in academic debate at UK universities.

We made the case that the academy was being weaponised. Ilan has declared: “I want to devote my energies to delegitimising the state of Israel.”

To read the article in full go to the Jewish Chronicle.