ACADEMIA

Lars Fischer

Academic

A scholar of Hebrew and Jewish studies and editor of an academic journal on Jewish history based at University College London (UCL), Lars Fischer abruptly resigned from his post in February. Fischer was disgusted by the demand of UCL’s Academic Board that the university’s administration rescind its adoption of the leading definition of antisemitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Acknowledging that his decision might deal a “likely fatal blow to my ability to function as a scholar,” Fischer wrote in a blog post that when he had “embarked on the academic study of antisemitism, it was still taken for granted that one did so in order to combat antisemitism.” He continued: “These days have long gone, and the academy is now full of academics who specialize in explaining why only some forms of antisemitism are harmful and others are not actually forms of antisemitism anyway.” (Photo: Critical Theories of Antisemitism Network)