Greta Thunberg, Tracey Emin and Gary Lineker are among more than 245 signatories to an open letter defending Misan Harriman, the chair of the Southbank Centre's board of governors. The letter describes recent media coverage of Harriman as a 'dishonest smear campaign' aimed at silencing him.
Harriman faced criticism after sharing a social media post about the Golders Green attack, which questioned the amount of coverage given to the Muslim victim, Ishmail Hussein. Critics, including Labour MP David Taylor, said the repost risked minimising the antisemitic nature of the attack.
He also faced backlash for quoting Susan Sontag in a video about Reform UK's local election results, with some accusing him of comparing the results to the Holocaust. Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Educational Trust criticised the comparison, while Reform MP Robert Jenrick called for Harriman's removal from his position.
The open letter argues that the criticism is an attempt to 'traduce and marginalise' Harriman and to deter others from speaking out. Signatories include Jewish cultural figures such as Benjamin Moser and Morgan Spector, who said that 'trying to silence responsible critics of Israel by smearing them as antisemitic does not protect Britain's Jewish community'.
A separate letter from parliamentarians, including peers Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MPs John McDonnell and Naz Shah, has been sent to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. They express concern over attempts to 'mischaracterise' and 'silence' Harriman, warning against a 'rising tendency to pressure institutions and public bodies to distance themselves from individuals who engage in legitimate public discourse'.
