A retired professor is being investigated by police after he suggested online that someone should “blow up the venue” of a Jewish political conference in the UK – a post he now claims was made as a “joke”.
Harriet Bradley, 70, made the comment in response to another user on X who captioned the list of speakers at next month’s Jewish Labor Conference saying: “If you want to know where you can find every racist, nonce and s–house in Britain, now you know,” according to the Times of London.
“Someone blew the place up!” Bradley wrote when he shared the message on Tuesday in a now-deleted post.
The Jewish Labor Movement, which organized the conference immediately wrote to the University of Bristol – where Bradley holds an emeritus position – urging it to “send a strong message about the lack of tolerance” it has for “hateful, highly dangerous and inflammatory behaviour. .
“Professor Bradley has decided to encourage those who want to perpetuate acts of violence against Jews, by targeting our conference,” he said.
“This is wrong, very irresponsible and behavior you wouldn’t expect from a first-year student, let alone a professor emeritus.”
Avon and Somerset Police have since confirmed they are investigating Bradley’s statement and have “recorded it as an incident of malicious communication,” the BBC reported.
Harriet Bradley, 70, is being investigated for suggesting online that someone should “blow up the place” of a Jewish political conference in the UK. Harriet Bradley/Facebook
Both the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England have also stripped Bradley of his honorary “professor emeritus” title.
“We are deeply disappointed by the mixed comments on social media from former long-retired employees, and we are taking appropriate action,” Bristol university officials said in a statement.
“We can confirm that we have revoked the Emeritus and Honorary Status of retired Professor Harriet Bradley with immediate effect.”
A spokesperson for the University of the West of England also told the BBC: “Harriet Bradley’s permanent employment at UWE Bristol ended in 2018.
“Following his recent offensive statements on social media, we can confirm that his honorary title of Professor Emeritus has been removed with immediate effect.”
“Someone blew the place up!” Bradley wrote on Tuesday in a now-deleted post that he insisted was a joke.
But Bradley insists the comment was just a joke.
“It was a statement made as a joke, but I can see now that it was a terrible mistake in a terrible sense,” he said in a statement, claiming he posted the perceived threat “in a moment of anger” over the war in Israel.
He later claimed he was of Jewish heritage and had “great respect for the Jewish people and their terrible historical suffering.
“I regret what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces are doing what they are doing in Gaza, killing and maiming thousands of children and babies.”
But this is not the first time Bradley has come under fire for antisemitic posts.
The Jewish Labor Movement called on the University of Bristol to take action following his statement.
In 2019, he was suspended from his post as a Labor councilor after he captioned a photo: “The right kind of Jew, that is a Left voter,” the Times reported.
He was later reinstated, but voluntarily relinquished his position in 2020 for health reasons.
Bradley was later expelled from the party in 2021.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
