International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Academic Censorship and the Politics of Settler Colonial Erasure

In fall 2021, I received an email from a high-ranking administrator of a European university where I was told that I was allowed to deliver a planned book talk, as long as I did not say anything that would breach the country’s anti-terrorism legislation. The administrator noted that, in an earlier communication to the university, I had agreed that my presentation “would keep to the argument presented in the book.” I was also reminded that the “university has adopted the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] working definition of antisemitism.” This email came after a complaint from the university’s student-led Jewish Society regarding the title and content of my lecture. The Jewish Society had expressed its concerns to the hosting department and claimed that my lecture would lead to negative repercussions for Jewish students. Following this complaint, I was asked to provide additional information about the content of my talk, such as the main points of my presentation and/or presentation slides. I was told that this information would be used to reassure the students and resolve the matter.