Essex lecturer fired over ‘antisemitic’ and ‘Shoah revisionism’ posts
Dr Maaruf Ali attracted media coverage when he opposed the creation of a Jewish student society
A lecturer at the University of Essex accused of sharing a Shoah revisionism post has been sacked, following an investigation and a tribunal hearing.
Dr Maaruf Ali, computer and electronics lecturer, drew media coverage earlier this year when he opposed the creation of a Jewish student society.
He wrote on a student Facebook page that “the Zionists next want to create a society here at our university.”
The post was among several messages discovered, prompting the university to suspend Dr Ali and launch an investigation into his social media.
Among the posts, one read: “In all of German-occupied Europe, there resided 2,4 million Jews before the war, according to the World Jewish Encyclopedia.
“After the war, 3.8 million Jewish “Holocaust survivors” were receiving pensions from the German government.
“Tragically, the remaining six million were lost.”
Daniel Kosky, from the Union of Jewish Students, said: “It is wholly the correct decision for Dr Ali to be removed from his teaching post following severely antisemitic comments and engaging in Holocaust revisionism on social media.
“Those in positions of responsibility and influence must be held accountable for the environment that they create in lecture halls.
“We welcome this positive step in creating an inclusive campus environment, and we hope to see the University of Essex continue this work into the future.”
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