University of Edinburgh excludes Palestinian staff, scholars at IHRA meet

Senior lecturer in international relations at University of Edinburgh, Nicola Perugini took to Twitter on Wednesday and spoke about the details of the marginalization of Palestinian voices at the Scottish University.

The University of Edinburgh has excluded Palestinian staff and scholars of Palestine from a task group set up to discuss the repercussions of the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism,

Senior lecturer in international relations at University of Edinburgh, Nicola Perugini took to Twitter on Wednesday and spoke about the details of the marginalization of Palestinian voices at the Scottish University.

“The IHRA definition of antisemitism is weaponised to silence critical conversations on Palestine,” Nicola Perugini tweeted.

“Guess who my university has excluded from the “task and finish group” that will discuss the vicious repercussions of the definition? Palestinian staff and scholars of Palestine,” Nicola adds.

Perugini also expressed concern about the adoption of the IHRA definition by British universities without consultation.

He further continues, “The majority of UK Universities adopted the definition without consultation with their staff and under the pressure of Gavin Williamson Tory Sec for Education, who in 2020 blackmailed them and threatened to cut state funding if they did not adopt. Democracy? Uni autonomy?.”

According to Nicola, Williamson, who had recently resigned from government office for the third time, had “blackmailed” universities “and threatened to cut state funding if they did not adopt” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

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