Holocaust Studies and Jewish Studies scholars say: reinstate Melanie Goldberg!
Experts in Holocaust and Jewish Studies have signed an open letter calling on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) to reinstate Melanie Goldberg, who was dismissed because of her membership of Friends of Standing Together.
Dear members of the board of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust,
We write to you as experts in Holocaust and Jewish studies urging you to reconsider the termination of Melanie Goldberg due to her engagement in Friends of Standing Together UK.
Standing Together is an established Israeli-Palestinian social movement that works for social justice and peace in Israel for both Jews and Palestinians. They consistently offer nuance and moral clarity. The movement has notably pushed for the release of the hostages and decried the horrors of 7 October, as well as condemned the IDF war on Gaza. Their systematic recognition of violence and injustice independent of sides has shown remarkable moral courage. Accused of “normalising” Arab-Jewish relations, they are targeted for boycott by the BDS movement. Standing Together’s values are thoroughly compatible with those of Holocaust remembrance and education; Goldberg’s association with Standing Together deserves praise and not condemnation.
Second, a key legacy of both Holocaust studies and Jewish studies is learning to discuss and live with various interpretations of its meaning and history. At the heart of Judaism stands heterogeneity and diversity. We urge HMDT to recognize that disagreement is a key part of our democratic culture that grew as a European lesson out of the Holocaust.
On the term “genocide” regarding the war in Gaza: while it may be a difficult fact to accept, in the last two years and two months, scholars of Holocaust and Jewish studies have grappled in a range of ways with how to make sense of the war of destruction. While the accusation of genocide has been made in bad faith, including by some with antisemitic intent, the term has been used with care and often anguish by serious genocide scholars. Early calls by historians such as Raz Segal and Amos Goldberg were followed by numerous further scholars, such as Dov Waxman, during the famine in spring 2025. The New York Times dedicated a lengthy podcast with Philippe Sands to this question in August 2025. Whether the war in Gaza merits the definition of genocide is thus a legitimate question and ought not to be delegitimised and lead to termination of employment.
In the current time of rising antisemitism and racism in general as well as growing populism in the US and a number of European countries, we urgently need an engaged, diverse, and democratic commemoration of the Holocaust that encourages people to learn from the past. This memory needs to be inclusive and reflective, rather than proceed through politicised exclusion.
We urge you to reinstate Melanie Goldberg.
Sincerely,
(All signatures in a personal capacity)
Dr Ben Gidley, Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism and current president, British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies
Dr Anna Hájková, University of Warwick, History and Centre for Global Jewish Studies
Primary signatories:
Dr. Jaime Ashworth, Independent Educator and Researcher
Dr Anne Caldwell, University of Leeds
Professor Bryan Cheyette FEA, University of Reading
Dr Robert Cohen
Professor Peter Davies, University of Edinburgh
Dr Noëmie Duhaut, Lecturer in Modern European Jewish History, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton
Professor David Feldman, Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism
Professor Helen Finch, University of Leeds
Dr Eva Frojmovic, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Leeds
Professor Stephen Frosh, Birkbeck University of London
Professor François Guesnet, University College London
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, University of Edinburgh
Professor Tony Kushner, James Parkes Professor of Jewish/non-Jewish relations, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton
Professor Claire Le Foll, University of Southampton
Dr Brendan McGeever, Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism
Dr Uta Rautenberg
Professor Nick Stargardt, University of Oxford
Dr Marcel Stoetzler, Bangor University
Dr Ruth Sheldon, King’s College London
Dr David Tollerton, University of Exeter
Dr Yair Wallach, SOAS, University of London
Posted 18 December 2025. Please note that this letter has been organised and written independently by the initial signatories.