Name David Hirsh Education City University London | Organizations founded Engage | |
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Books Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism: Cosmopolitan Reflections | ||
engage says no to boycotting israel david hirsh part1
David Hirsh (born 29 September 1967) is a Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and the founder of Engage, a campaign against academic boycotts of Israel.
Contents
- engage says no to boycotting israel david hirsh part1
- David hirsh digital media demo reel
- Opposition to boycotts of Israel
- References
Hirsh, who grew up in Highgate, London, is a graduate of City University, London. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy and Social Theory and a PhD from University of Warwick. He wrote his dissertation on Crimes Against Humanity and International Law.
Hirsh won the Philip Abrams Prize for the best first book in sociology from the British Sociological Association in 2004 for his book Law Against Genocide: Cosmopolitan trials. The book, an argument concerning the significance of "cosmopolitan law", also contains a full account of the trial of Anthony Sawoniuk in Britain in 1999 for crimes committed as part of the Holocaust in Belarus in 1942.
As a student of contemporary antisemitism, Hirsh is known for coining the term "Livingstone Formulation", after its effective use by the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In Hirsh's formulation, when an individual like Livingstone, with alleged antisemitic attitudes is confronted with this allegation, he immediately reverses the charge, accusing his accuser of "playing the antisemitic card" to stifle debate.
Hirsh is the founding editor of the Engage website, a resource for those working to understand and to oppose contemporary antisemitism. Along with several other Engage editors, he was a leading activist in the National Organisation of Labour Students during the 1980s.
In 2017 Hirsh's book Contemporary Left Antisemitism was published by Routledge. It brought together much of his previous writing and thinking on the relationship between hostility to Israel and antisemitism. The book presents narrative and case study of left antisemitism and it also offers analysis of how it may be understood.
David hirsh digital media demo reel
Opposition to boycotts of Israel
Hirsh has taken a leading role in opposing the proposed boycott of Israeli universities by British academics. Hirsh told The Guardian, "It may not have anti-semitic motivations, but if you organise an academic boycott of Israeli Jewish academics but no-one else in the world, that is an anti-semitic policy."
In a heated argument with Tom Hickey of the University of Brighton at a debate in 2010, who is a leader in the campaign to boycott Israel, Hirsh claimed (after professor Mary Davis of London Metropolitan University stated she had been subject to intimidation due to her opposition to boycotts of Israel):
Tom Hickey subsequently denounced Hirsh, arguing that Hirsh's claims were in fact "a traducement of the truth and it's a straightforward lie and the author knows it. There has been no intimidation – the union and the chief executive would not allow it." Hirsh responded by stating: