The London School of Economics has admitted it discriminated against a professor based on his opposition to Israel’s state ideology Zionism.

In November last year, the LSE’s British Politics and Policy blog rejected an article by James Hughes, who has taught at the university since 1994.

The piece referred to the strong connections between the Conservatives, then Britain’s ruling party, and the pro-Israel lobby. The pressure group Conservative Friends of Israel was supported by most lawmakers in the party, it noted.

“The expansion of that lobby has been nurtured by Israel over recent years,” Hughes stated. “This explains the almost unanimous pro-Israel positioning of the current Conservative government and its mirroring of the policy of the Israeli state itself by fusing criticism of the Israeli state with anti-Semitism, and attempts to ban anti-Israeli political expression.”

After the article was censored by the LSE, it was published by The Electronic Intifada.

As the editor handling its publication, I contacted the LSE seeking an explanation for why the piece had been rejected.

A spokesperson replied at that time by alleging that Hughes’ piece “did not meet the blog’s editorial guidelines.”

The LSE has now sent The Electronic Intifada a fresh statement retracting that accusation. The LSE accepted that the comments provided in November last “could have been viewed as misleading.”

The retraction follows a grievance procedure initiated by Hughes.

LSE admits discriminating against professor opposing Zionism