A professor successfully claimed for unfair and wrongful dismissal this week because his views on Zionism were held to be a philosophical belief. In such politically fraught discussions, how should HR deal with employees’ conflicting views?
This week, a sociology professor won a discrimination claim against the University of Bristol over his Zionist beliefs.
The case of Professor David Miller found that he had been unfairly and wrongfully dismissed, and ruled that his position that Zionism is inherently racist, imperialist and colonial constituted a philosophical belief and is therefore could be considered a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
The tribunal judge ruled that Professor Miller was discriminated against and had been unfairly dismissed in its 108-page judgment delivered 5 February 2024.
Belief discrimination
Rahman Lowe, the legal firm representing Professor Miller, regarded the ruling as a landmark one, pointing out that this is the first time ever that anti-Zionist beliefs were shown to be protected in the workplace.
Professor Miller said he was “very proud” to establish this, adding that he hoped it would 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 International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently said it considers there to be a risk of genocide in Gaza, confirming concerns voiced by numerous bodies that this was the case.
This ICJ judgment, as well as the settler violence in the occupied West Bank, has led to an increase in public opinion against the actions of the state of Israel.
Globally there have been pro-Palestinian marches in every major city of the world, in response to the harrowing scenes being live streamed on social media platforms. The protests are being carried out by people of all faiths, including orthodox Jews who are also opposed to this asymmetrical war, wanting to see all the hostages being released.
Politics in the workplace
It could be argued work should be focused on work only and politics should stay out of this arena but the world we live in means everyone is connected by events taking place elsewhere in the world and most professionals will have a social media platform of some form or another.
For example, there has been a high profile fallout from being pro Palestine for supermodel Bella Hadid, who in an interview for GQ confirmed that she has lost several jobs for supporting the Palestinian movement over time.
Dutch professional footballer Anwar El Ghazi had his contract terminated, and is now taking legal action against his team Mainz for wrongful dismissal.
Hollywood stars caught up in this include Susan Sarandon, who was dropped by her talent agency after attending a pro-Palestine rally, and Scream star Melissa Barrera, who sent out a series of social media posts on the issue.
Blurred lines
I would argue that the line between being anti-Zionist and being antisemitic has been blurred, with politicians and media pundits conflating the two as if Zionism and Judaism are one and the same, that criticism of the Israeli state or being pro-Palestine is an attack on the Jewish faith thereby stifling any dissenting views.
This confusion has led to employers being cautious or even taking punitive action about any criticism of the state of Israel.
The balance to get it right is a difficult one, wherein freedom of speech needs to be safeguarded to speak out against atrocities whether in Ukraine or Gaza without giving way to hate speech.
The balance to get it right is a difficult one, wherein freedom of speech needs to be safeguarded to speak out against atrocities, whether in Ukraine or Gaza without giving way to hate speech.
Speaking up and being labelled antisemitic can be a career ending allegation. HR departments may have previously regarded any such comments as being discriminatory against Jews, so this ruling is very helpful.
Being pro-Palestinian does not mean being antisemitic or hatred for Jews. Palestinians and more widely Arabs by their genealogy are the literal cousins of Jews as they are the direct descendants of Abraham so both are semitic people.
Being pro-Palestinian can mean many things but usually is understood to simply mean supporting their right to freedom from occupation, sanctity of their lives and livelihoods and return to their land.
At the same time, being anti-Zionist means being critical of a political ideology that was founded by a non-religious secular Jew on the premise of occupation and supremacy and empowered by certain nations at the expense of the Palestinian people.
Faith versus ideology
Judaism is not a political ideology – it is very much a faith. Its followers believe in one god, life after death, a day of judgement, heaven and hell. They believe in prophets including Abraham, David and Solomon. In this regard Judaism is very much aligned with the Islamic faith both in monotheistic beliefs and many practices.
Sadly, antisemitism is on the rise as a direct consequence of Zionism being used interchangeably with Judaism despite being very different from each other and the far right rhetoric espoused by politicians and media alike. Antisemitism is discriminatory and a hate crime targeting a minority group that has suffered persecution across Western Europe for generations.
History tells us that with any war, pretty much everyone loses something but for now this ruling will help to guide HR practitioners and employment lawyers.
Be fair and robust
Too often, issues can be left to fester or handled badly because the terminology is too difficult, and the issues seen as too complex.
Neither approach is helpful. If unsure if a red line has been crossed, like any case of discrimination, ensure a fair and robust investigation has been carried out by someone who understands the nuanced language and context.
If HR professionals would like to learn more about the differences, there are some informative Jewish historians such as Norman Finkelstein, Ilan Pappe and Noam Chomsky, who have written and spoken extensively on the topic. Rabbis such as Rabbi Beck can explain the difference between Zionism and Judaism – just conduct a web search.
If the competency is not available within HR, one option might be to source external support from an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) specialist.
The key thing to clarify, as this this ruling makes clear, is whether someone is expressing anti-Zionist views around the ongoing occupation and war in Gaza, or is voicing hateful stereotypes.
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