London – 19 February 2024
We are horrified to hear that Lord Austin has received death threats over a tweet criticising Hamas. Lord Austin has been an anti-racism campaigner for his entire career and had the courage to stand up against the antisemitism within his own party. It is abundantly clear that Lord Austin was calling out the extremism of the ideology of Hamas, which has a genocidal charter and is an internationally-proscribed terror organisation. There is nothing controversial about that; indeed, this should be something that anyone of good conscience would agree with.
The attempt to suppress Lord Austin's voice is chilling. As an educational charity that upholds values of peace and coexistence, we stand with Lord Austin in challenging extreme views and urge all those who believe in the value of a free and democratic society to do the same.
About StandWithUs UK:
StandWithUs is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organisation that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism. Founded in 2010, StandWithUs UK has become a recognised support system and leading resource for students on UK campuses. We empower and energise students and communities with leadership training and educational programmes on both school and university campuses. StandWithUs informs through social media, printed materials, digital platforms, film and newsletters. The StandWithUs flagship Emerson Fellowship programme seeks to raise students into future leaders, equipped to stand strong in the face of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. We believe in the right of the Jewish People to self-determination in their historic homeland of Israel. We educate the facts in an unbiased and holistic manner, with an open mind, reflecting on views from all sides of the political, social and humanitarian spectrum whilst promoting peace. StandWithUs UK believe the current discourse surrounding Israel on campus all too often crosses the line between legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and the dangerous, mainstream, antisemitic rhetoric which stands contrary to the IHRA definition of antisemitism. We work to educate on that distinction, encourage civil discourse on legitimate criticism of Israel, and to fight antisemitism wherever it emerges.
