Lesley Klaff LLB, MA Socio-Legal Studies
Senior Lecturer in Law
Summary
I teach contract law and tort law and I supervise and examine internal and external PhD students. My field of research is contemporary - that is, post Holocaust - antisemitism. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism and a research fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. I serve as the Jewish Faith Advisor on Sheffield Hallam University's Multi-Faith Chaplaincy and I am currently the academic lead for an annual student study tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in Poland. I am a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Institute for Holocaust Research and Education (IHRE), Minnesota, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law, Washington, D.C. I am also a member of the London-based Intra-Communal Professorial Group (ICPG) on antisemitism in UK academia. In 2018 I was named by The Algemeiner as one of the top 100 people most positively influencing Jewish life, and in 2024 I was shortlisted for the London Centre for Study of Contemporary Antisemitism's Pete Newbon Award for the greatest contribution to the public understanding of antisemitism.
About
I have lectured law at Sheffield Hallam University since 1993 and in that time I have lead modules in the English Legal System, Legal & Social Theory, and LLM Research Methods. I have also acted as the Level 5 Year Tutor, the Level 6 Year Tutor, and as the Dissertation Supervisor. I was also the lead for EDI Law, 2017 - 2020. I was a member of the University IHRA Committee, 2020 - 2021.
I am currently a member of the Contract and Tort module teams and I supervise and examine PhD candidates, including an external candidate at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I act as the Jewish Faith Advisor on the University's Multi-Faith Chaplaincy, in which role I help to organise Sheffield Hallam University's annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration by bringing in speakers. Since 2023, I have lead an annual student study tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps. The tour includes pre-war and post-war Jewish Krakow and Schindler's Factory. The students who participate in the study tour are given talks about the Holocaust, including from Holocaust survivors, prior to the study tour in order to prepare them. This initiative is part of the Helena Kennedy Centre's focus on teaching human rights and it has been very successful.
My field of research is contemporary antisemitism and since 2018 I have been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism, a peer reviewed bi-annual publication, which is widely recognised as the leading journal in the field. I am a research fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (LCSCA), a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Institute for Holocaust Research and Education (IHRE), Minnesota, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law, Washington, D.C. I am also a member of the Intra-Communal Professorial Group (ICPG), which was set up by Anthony Julius to research into the rise in campus anitsemitism following October 7th. I have published on a variety of topics relating to contemporary antisemitism, including Holocaust inversion, campus antisemitism, antisemitism in British politics, the IHRA definition, antisemitism and the laws of war, antisemitism and the Equality Act 2010, and the legal construction of Jewish identity. I also undertake a variety of speaking engagements on contemporary antisemitism, including at the annual Battle of Ideas Festival and at Civic Holocaust Memorial Day events, when invited to give the keynote address on the Holocaust.
In 2018 I was named by The Algemeiner as one of the top 100 people most positively influencing Jewish life, and in 2024 I was shortlisted for the London Centre for Study of Contemporary Antisemitism's Pete Newbon Award for the greatest contribution to the public understanding of antisemitism.
Teaching
Sheffield Institute of Law and Justice
College of Social Sciences and Arts
I co-lead with Dr Jill Lebihan a Sheffield Hallam University campus project to address antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice among students. The project was funded by the Office for Students, 2018 - 2020.
I am currently involved in a project to research and report on hate speech against Jewish and Muslim women online. This project is being conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Nottingham Trent University, Oxford Brookes University, and London Metropolitan University.
Subject area: Contract Law, Tort Law.
Courses taught: LLB Law, LLM and MA Law, and Foundation.
Modules taught:
- English Legal System
- Legal & Social Theory
- Legal Perspectives on Criminal Justice
- Constitutional Law
- Contract Law
- Tort Law
Research
I am currently involved in a project to research, analyse and report on hate speech against Jewish and Muslim women online. This project is being conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Nottingham Trent University, Oxford Brookes University, and London Metropolitan University.
I research on contemporary antisemitism, with particular emphasis on discourse analysis in order to identify the replication of contemporary and traditional antisemitic tropes in criticism of the state of Israel, conceived of as the ‘Jewish collective’, or the ‘Jew among nations’. My work has focused mainly on campus antisemitism, Holocaust inversion (a form of Holocaust distortion whereby Jews/ Zionists/ Israelis are portrayed as Nazis), and antisemitism in British politics. The theme that draws these areas together is the relationship between hostility to Israel and anti-Semitism.
Collaborators:
Dr Jonathan Campbell, Senior Lecturer in Biblical & Jewish Studies, University of Bristol
Dr Karin Stoegner, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Vienna
Dr Nicolas Bechter, University of Vienna
Philip Spencer, Emeritus Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Kingston University
UK Lawyers for Israel, London
Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law, Washington DC
Sponsors:
The Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust
The Knapp Family Foundation, New York
The Community Security Trust, London
BIRTHA, Bristol University
The Board of Deputies of British Jews
The Israeli Embassy, London
The Becker Trust, Jerusalem.
The Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice
Publications
Journal articles
Klaff, L. (2024). The three best chapters on holocaust inversion, recommended by Lesley Klaff. Fathom, 2024 (Winter). https://fathomjournal.org/the-three-best-chapters-on-holocaust-inversion-recommended-by-lesley-klaff/
Steinberg, G.M., & Klaff, L. (2024). Letter: Re: Famine in Gaza. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 120 (3), 749-750. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.06.020
Klaff, L. (2023). What is an English Jew?: The legal construction of Jewish Identity under the UK Equality Act of 2010. Indiana journal of law and social equality, 11 (1), 208-228. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijlse/vol11/iss1/8/
Klaff, L. (2021). Factors influencing the antisemitic environment on UK campuses. Justice magazine, 67, 40-43. https://www.ijl.org/justicem/no67/II/
Klaff, L., & Spitz, D. (2021). Why the 2010 Equality Act does not make the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism redundant. Fathom. https://fathomjournal.org/why-the-2010-equality-act-does-not-make-the-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism-redundant/
Harrison, B., & Klaff, L. (2020). In Defence of the IHRA Definition. Fathom. https://fathomjournal.org/in-defence-of-the-ihra-definition/
Riley, S.P., & Klaff, L. (2019). Israel, 'Disproportionate' Force and the Media: Misconstruing the Laws of War. European Journal of Current Legal Issues, 25 (1). http://webjcli.org/article/view/655
Klaff, L. (2019). Editorial for the EJCLI Volume 25 Issue No. 1. European journal of current legal issues, 25 (1). https://web.archive.org/web/20191030162535/http://webjcli.org/article/view/661
Klaff, L. (2019). An Unfortunate Coincidence: Jews, Jewishness, & English Law, by Didi Herman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011 - Book Review. Antisemitism studies, 3 (1). http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/pages.php?pID=115&CDpath=4
Klaff, L. (2019). Word crimes: reclaiming the language of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Holocaust inversion. Israel studies, 24 (2), 73-90. http://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.24.2.07
Allington, D., & Klaff, L. (2018). Why Alison Chabloz's conviction should be celebrated. The Jewish Chronicle. https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/why-alison-chabloz-s-conviction-should-be-celebrated-1.465666?highlight=lesley+klaff
Klaff, L. (2018). Contemporary antisemitism on the UK university campus: a case study and context. Justice magazine, 59, 18-25. http://intjewishlawyers.org/justice/no59/
Klaff, L., & Gerstenfeld, M. (2017). UK Campus Anti-Semitism and the State of Free Speech. Israel National News. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/20413
Klaff, L. (2016). Why all Labour Members Need to Read Parliament's Antisemitism Report. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-all-labour-members-need-to-read-parliaments-antisemitism-report-67252
Klaff, L. (2016). Jeremy Corbyn : why the British Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews. International Relations and Diplomacy, 4 (7), 427-433. http://doi.org/10.17265/2328-2134/2016.07.001
Klaff, L. (2016). Israeli Apartheid Week in Britain : Why Students' Unions Are Acting Unlawfully. ISGAP Flashpoint, (18), 1-3. http://isgap.org/flashpoint/israeli-apartheid-week-in-britain-why-students-unions-are-acting-unlawfully/
Klaff, L. (2014). Holocaust inversion and contemporary antisemitism. Fathom, 5. http://fathomjournal.org/holocaust-inversion-and-contemporary-antisemitism/
Klaff, L. (2013). Political and legal judgment : misuses of the Holocaust in the UK. Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 5 (1), 45-58. http://www.jsantisemitism.org/
Klaff, L. (2011). Fighting back against campus anti-Semitism (Book review). Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 3 (2), 747-758. http://www.jsantisemitism.org/
Klaff, L. (2010). Antisemitism on campus : a new look at legal interventions. Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 2 (2), 303-321. http://www.jsantisemitism.org/
Klaff, L. (2010). Anti-Semitism vs Anti-Zionism. Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 2 (2), 434-443. http://www.jsantisemitism.org/
Klaff, L. (2010). Demoralization and Contemporary English Antisemitism. Journal for the Study of Antisemitism, 2 (2), 459-467. http://www.jsantisemitism.org/
Klaff, L. (2010). Anti-Zionist expression on the UK campus: free speech or hate speech? Jewish Political Studies Review, 22 (3 & 4), 87-109. http://jcpa.org/article/anti-zionist-expression-on-the-uk-campus-free-speech-or-hate-speech/
Conference papers
Klaff, L. (2015). The Left and Jews in Britain Today. In The Left and Jews in Britain Today, Birkbeck, University of London, 3 November 2015. http://www.pearsinstitute.bbk.ac.uk/events/past-events/2015-events/the-left-and-jews-in-britain-today/
Klaff, L. (2015). Using section 26 Equality Act 2010 to combat institutional antisemitism: a critical race perspective on Fraser v University and College Union. In Bristol-Sheffield Hallam University Colloquium on Contemporary Antisemitism, Bristol University, 15 September 2015 - 18 September 2015. https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/law-and-criminology/news/anti-semitism-colloquium
Book chapters
Klaff, L. (2023). The legal construction of Jewish identity as a ‘protected characteristic’ through an examination of Fraser v UCU (2013), Parker v Sheffield Hallam University (2016), and the report of the EHRC into Antisemitism in the Labour Party 2020. In Hirsh, D. (Ed.) The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream. London: Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/The-Rebirth-of-Antisemitism-in-the-21st-Century-From-the-Academic-Boycott/Hirsh/p/book/9781032116624
Klaff, L. (2023). A new form of the oldest hatred: mapping antisemitism today. In Johnson, A. (Ed.) Mapping the New Left Antisemitism: The Fathom Essays. (pp. 13-27). London: Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322320
Harrison, B., & Klaff, L. (2021). The IHRA definition and its critics. In Rosenfeld, A.H. (Ed.) Contending with Antisemitism in a Rapidly Changing Political Climate. (pp. 9-43). Indiana University Press: https://iupress.org/9780253058126/contending-with-antisemitism-in-a-rapidly-changing-political-climate/
Klaff, L. (2021). The Intersection of Antisemitism and Misogyny. In Zempi, I., & Smith, J. (Eds.) Misogyny as Hate Crime. London: Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003023722
Klaff, L. (2019). Using section 26 Equality Act to combat institutional antisemitism: a critical race perspective on Fraser v University and College Union. In Campbell, J.G., & Klaff, L.D. (Eds.) Unity and Disunity in Contemporary Antisemitism: The Bristol-Sheffield Hallam Colloquium on Contemporary Antisemitism. (pp. 103-125). Brookline, MA: Academic Studies Press: https://www.academicstudiespress.com/antisemitismstudies/unity-and-diversity-in-contemporary-antisemitism
Klaff, L. (2019). Fraser v University and College Union: Anti-Zionism, antisemitism and racializing discourse. In Rosenfeld, A.H. (Ed.) Anti-Zionism and antisemitism : the dynamics of delegitimization. United States: Indiana University Press: https://www.iupress.indiana.edu/
Klaff, L. (2016). Holocaust inversion in British politics : the case of David Ward. In Wistrich, R.S. (Ed.) Anti-Judaism, Antisemitism, and Delegitimizing Israel. (pp. 185-196). University of Nebraska Press: http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Anti-Judaism-Antisemitism-and-Delegitimizing-Isr,677309.aspx
Books
Campbell, J.G., & Klaff, L. (Eds.). (2019). Unity and diversity in contemporary antisemitism: the Bristol–Sheffield Hallam colloquium on contemporary antisemitism. Brookline, MA: Academic Studies Press. https://www.academicstudiespress.com/antisemitismstudies/unity-and-diversity-in-contemporary-antisemitism
Presentations
Klaff, L.D. (2017). Robert Wistrich and Holocaust Inversion: the British context. Presented at: The Robert S. Wistrich Memorial Lecture 2017, Berlin, 2017
Other publications
Klaff, L., & Harrison, B. (2020). Why Facebook must adopt IHRA. The Jewish Chronicle: https://www.thejc.com/comment/opinion/why-facebook-must-adopt-ihra-1.507619
Klaff, L. (2016). Regulator raps university that sided with Jew-baiting PalSoc. David Hirsh: https://engageonline.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/regulator-raps-university-that-sided-with-jew-baiting-palsoc-lesley-klaff/
Other activities
I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism and a research fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. I am a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Institute for Holocaust Research and Education (IHRE), Minnesota, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law, Washington, D.C. I am also a member of the London-based Intra-Communal Professorial Group (ICPG) on antisemitism in UK academia. I participate in the annual European Sociological Association conference on Racism, Antisemitism and Ethnic Relations, and in the annual Law vs Antisemitism Conference.
Postgraduate supervision
I supervise PhD candidates in Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Post-War Justice, and Antisemitism
Media
I appeared on the Eurosport Channel in January 2014 discussing footballer Niclas Anelka’s use of the antisemitic quenelle gesture and I appeared in the documentary, ‘Whitewashed: Antisemitism in the Labour Party’, launched in June 2017, discussing antisemitism in the Labour Party and the Chakrabarti Report. I have been interviewed for, quoted in, and had my work written about in The Jewish Chronicle (antisemitism in the BBC), Tower Magazine (campus antisemitism), Algemeiner (Jewish voting patterns in the General Election, 2017), JForum (France) (campus antisemitism), Audiatur online (Germany) (campus antisemitism), Arutz Sheva, Israel National News (campus antisemitism) and the Tundra Tabloids. I have also written for The Conversation, on left antisemitism and the select committee’s 2016 report on antisemitism in the UK, and for The Jerusalem Post on campus antisemitism.
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