The Trustees of Duncan Place Community Centre, in Edinburgh, are looking into how the centre hosted an event calling for a ‘Zionist Free Zone’ in the Leith area, breaching its charitable objects, and falling foul of the law.

The event was held at the Community Centre on 4 July 2024, and advertised an event described as ‘How to pressure Leith businesses into boycotting Israeli products – cutting local links of complicity. Resist Zionism in Leith – Escalate for Gaza’.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to the trustees of Duncan Place, which is a charity regulated by the Scottish charity regulator, the OSCR, pointing out that by hosting the anti-Zionism event it had breached the Equality Act 2010 as well as its charitable objects.

The event breached the Equality Act 2010 since Duncan Place, as a service provider, discriminated against people who are Jewish or who hold a philosophical belief, namely Zionism, by subjecting them to a detriment in hosting the event.  The event, described as a ‘Zionist free zone’, explicitly excluded Jewish people and Zionists, contrary to section 29(2) of the Equality Act 2010;

Duncan Place also harassed people who are Jewish or Zionist, by hosting the event.  The event explicitly called for ‘various forms of actions’, and action that was ‘not passive’.  The event was a planning session to ‘Resist Zionism in Leith’, ‘escalate for Gaza’ and ‘pressure Leith businesses into boycotting ‘Israeli’ products – cutting local links of complicity’.  The event had the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of people who are Jewish and/or Zionist and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them, contrary to section 29(3) of the Equality Act 2010.

Duncan Place was set up to benefit the community, but by hosting the anti-Zionist event, it did not do so. It discriminated and harassed members of the community who are Jewish or who hold the philosophical belief of Zionism. It explicitly excluded members of the community and could not therefore be said to benefit the community.

Duncan Place is supposed to offer its services to people without distinction on political, religious and racial grounds.  But hosting the anti-Zionist event drew a distinction – and explicitly excluded people.

Duncan Place is supposed to improve the conditions of life for its community. However, the exclusion of people on political, religious and racial grounds does not improve the conditions of life for a community.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented: ‘We hope that this charity apologises for having hosted this event, for having discriminated against Jews and Zionists, and created a hostile environment for them, and for the egregious breaches of its charitable objects.’

Update 3 September 2024:  The Trustees of Duncan Place Community Centre responded to UKLFI saying they were not responsible for the event which was organised by the Edinburgh branch of Industrial Workers of the World, and were not aware of their campaign for a Zionist Free Leith. They say that when they saw their flier they asked them to remove it.