Edinburgh University could unadopt antisemitism definition after report into its colonial links | University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh thinks whether critics can make an internationally recognized definition of anti -Semitism that critics say that they have prevented the freedom to speak about Israel and Palestine.

Edinburgh, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Britain, thinks that Israel will not be disposed of from companies accused of claiming violations of human rights.

Both issues by university officials Report on the legacy of their historical connections The region has been published. The report is part of a wider investigation of the university’s participation in colonialism and slavery.

It proposes that the university be disposed of from companies allegedly participating in Israel’s military actions in Gaza and West Bank. International Holocaust Commemoration Alliance (IHRA) Definition of anti -Semitismand establish a Center for Palestinian Studies to explore the legacy of the Balfour declaration and to present scholarships to Palestinian students.

The report focuses on the repercussions of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 in favor of the British government in favor of the establishment of a national house for the Jewish people in Palestine ”.

In addition to being the British Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Arthur James Balfour was the University of Edinburgh between 1891-1930 – a ceremony and the role of Ambassador. From 1902 to 1905, he became prime minister.

Balfour has played a “unique role ında in the establishment and maintenance of the imperial and settler-colonial administration in Palestine, and today in one of the colonial professions and apartheid regimes in modern history today.

Sir Peter Mathieson, the director of the university, the definition of IHRA and the investments of the university have already been examined. The definition said that it was “a warm topic” and “controversial”. “There is no vote of view.

This year’s graduation ceremonies hit a series of protests and marches by the graduates, and approximately 200 students organized a protest with 24 ceremonies; Some directly accused Mathieson in the Gaza crisis. Last year, the students occupied the quadruple in Old College, where Mathieson’s office.

The authority added that the university has established a “responsible investment group için to examine the financial assets of the university. It included a review of “investments in companies allegedly supporting Israel”.

A year after the Hamas persecution of 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza, a wider study of the university’s connections to colonialism was added to the legacy of the Balfour declaration.

The authors of the report, Nicola Perugini and both academics in Edinburgh, said Shaira Vadasaria, the decision to include Balfour’s legacy in Guardian to research, said that the campus protests on the gas war was “direct response için to put pressure on the university leadership.

The couple, who taught at the University of Al-Quds, a Palestinian institution at the foot of the occupied East Jerusalem for several years, has been investigating Balfour’s legacy for several years. They participated in the disposal campaigns on campus and last year Perugini asked Mathieson to apologize to the public The director’s Ambassador to Israel met with the United Kingdom.

Balfour’s 67 -word statement said: “The Majesty government’s government will use the best efforts to facilitate the success of a national house for the Jewish people in Palestine and the best efforts to facilitate the success of this object. He cannot be used, ”he said.

During and after the First World War, England and other imperial powers intend to divide the Middle East. Between 1922-1948, England controlled Palestine under the authority of a Nations Society, and at the same time, the forces of Palestine’s Balfour declaration brutally suppressed its resistance to the increasing Jewish migration.

The State of Israel was declared in May 1948 within hours of the end of the mission. The subsequent war continued hundreds of Palestinians, known as the napers or disasters. Many Palestinians still blame Balfour for seeing a perfid and betrayal.

The authors of the report argue that Balfour is clearly advocating racist views, explaining his attitudes towards the Middle East. In Ireland, South Africa and Canada, there was a record of supporting settler colonialism. In 1913, he became an honorary vice president of the British Eugenics Education Association. Some historians also say that there is an anti -Semitic that supports the 1905 Foreigners Law, which seriously restricted Jewish migration to England.

The main university report, this legislation in Russia after the explosion of anti -Jewish hate and religious persecution of Jews to prevent the escape of England to prevent the first modern UK anti -immigration law, he said.

Academics who control the university investigation believe that Balfour’s views can be watched to the racist sciences they say that Edinburgh helps to formulate in the late 18th century and early 19th century.

Although there is no evidence that the university has participated in the preparation of the 1917 Declaration, the authors of the report argues that it is closely compatible with Balfour’s career. Before he became a chancellery, he borrowed £ 12,000 – today he borrowed £ 1.8 million, and in 1925 he wore official university robes when Balfour put the foundation for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Vadasaria said to Guardian: “Balfour, military occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocide in Palestine continued by the imperial and settler-colonial structure of racial dominance signed a statement.”

The report states that the declaration defines Palestinians as “non -Jewish communities, rather than a indigenous person with the right to appoint national self -fate, and refer to civil and religious rights rather than political and national rights. In Nakba, the Palestinians were forced to önemli permanent exiles that continue to the present day ”.

Balfour’s legacy is not a matter of historical damage, ”he says. “Indeed, the damage to the Palestinians today can be seen as an extension of Balfour’s legacy today. Although this violence has begun with Balfour’s declaration, imperialism continues through policies that continue with the orbit of the ownership of Palestinian territory and Palestinian territory.”

In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was given an effective welcome by Guardian. At that time, Editor CP Scott facilitated key entries between leading Zionists and members of the government.

The open language and proposals of the report will also be controversial in a climate of the bitter parts of the war in Gaza, the lack of any reference that led to the Jewish persecution and expropriation that led to the development of Zionism, or the terrible nature of the Hamas persecution committed on 7 October 2023.

. IHRA Definition of Antisemitism According to the report, in 2020, the university was accepted by the university without a broad consultation with students and staff ”. “It violates academic freedom and freedom of expression by framing any criticism of the policies of Israel’s racism as a kind of anti-Semitism of state racism as a kind of anti-Semitism of Israel.

In addition to the definition, IHRA presents what it defines as examples of contemporary anti -Semitism, which critics say it is used to protect Israel from legitimate criticisms. The supporters of the definition say that it is necessary to help protect Jews from hate crimes and abuse.

In 2020, Conservative Government Education Secretary Gavin Williamson threatened to provide funding to UK universities, which did not adopt the definition of IHRA. The majority did that.

The authors say that university officials have adopted a ‘conflict agnostic’ approach, which is a term that denies Nakba and his settlement-colonial world.

This month, one UN Report During his war in Gaza, he emphasized the participation of companies from all over the world to support Israel. He said that the University of Edinburgh is one of the most circulating institutions in England, and that “Israel’s surveillance apparatus and ongoing gas destruction has invested about 25.5 million pounds of Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM.

According to Perugini and Vadasaria’s report, investments have been subjected to the university to the university “crimes against humanity, crimes against humanity and illegal occupation”. The authors told Guardian to risk pushing damage and lead to campus protests.