Anthony Robert Julius (born 16 July 1956) is a British solicitor advocate and academic, known for his actions on behalf of Diana, Princess of Wales, Deborah Lipstadt and Heather Mills. He is Deputy Chairman for the London law firm Mishcon de Reya.
Julius is known for his opposition to new antisemitism, the alleged expression of antisemitic prejudice couched in terms of certain kinds of discursive assaults on Israel, and gives frequent talks on the subject all over the world to raise awareness. He is a founding member of both Engage and the Euston Manifesto. In 2011 he became chairman of the board of The Jewish Chronicle.
Life
The son of a London menswear retailer, who died young from a brain tumour, Julius was educated at the City of London School. Julius studied English literature at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating in 1977 with a first class degree, and completed a Ph.D. in English literature at University College London under the novelist and academic Dan Jacobson. He joined the Bloomsbury law firm Mishcon de Reya in 1981, becoming a partner in 1984. Currently he is Deputy Chairman to that firm. He married Judith Bernie in 1979 and had four children with her.
In 1999, following his divorce, he married Dina Rabinovitch and had one child with her. Rabinovitch died in 2007 of breast cancer. He married Katarina Lester in 2009 who already had two children. They had a son together in 2011.
Activities
Julius is a commercial litigator. He is a specialist in the fields of defamation, international trade disputes, and media law. He has been a solicitor advocate since at least 2001 [1], which allows him to act as a barrister insofar as he can now appear in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
He was selected by Diana, Princess of Wales, as her legal representative in her divorce from Prince Charles.
He represented Deborah Lipstadt, successfully defending her in Irving v Penguin Books and Lipstadt, with Richard Rampton QC, against a libel suit brought against her by Holocaust denier David Irving. Lipstadt and her publishers were vindicated by the Judge's ruling in April 2000.
In 2005 Julius made Arcadia Books pulp the book Empress Bianca on behalf of his client Lily Safra.
Julius is an Advisory Editor at Fathom: For a deeper understanding of Israel and the region.
He has been a part-time lecturer at the Law Faculty of University College London. He is Chairman of the London Consortium and a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck, University of London.
He has written a number of books on various topics, including his PhD thesis in which he charged T.S. Eliot with anti-semitism.
He is Vice-President of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and was one of the charity's founders and its first Chairman.
Julius has promised to defend individuals and institutions affected by the most recent proposed academic boycott of Israeli universities. Writing in the Guardian, in an article co-authored with historian Simon Schama, Julius compared the academic boycott to policies adopted by Nazi Germany, noting "This is not the first boycott call directed at Jews. On 1 April 1933, a week after he came to power, Hitler ordered a boycott of Jewish shops, banks, offices and department stores." He considers the proposition unfair for singling out Israel as "uniquely evil" among nations, and said he would be delighted to act to protect those who, for example, face contractual difficulties as a result of any boycott.
In 2008, Julius was critical of a signed statement by Independent Jewish Voices, a liberal group, for Israel to lift its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip. Julius said "It is by no means unarguable that Israel is right to treat Gaza as an enemy territory. It is hard to see on what basis Israel's actions can be seen as a violation and only one or two of the signatories could grapple with issues involved."
Selected publications
- T.S. Eliot, Anti-Semitism and Literary Form (1st edition Cambridge University Press 1995, 2nd edition Thames & Hudson 2003), based on his PhD thesis
- Idolising Pictures (Thames & Hudson 2000).
- Transgressions: The Offences of Art (Thames & Hudson 2002).
- "Art Crimes", in Law and Literature (Oxford University Press 1999) and in Dear Images: Art, Copyright and Culture (Ridinghouse 2003).
- Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England (Oxford University Press 2010). ISBN 978-0-19-929705-4.
References
- ^ For example, see Kuruvila, Matthai Chakko. "Bay Area debate flares over 'new anti-Semitism'", San Francisco Chronicle, 27 January 2007.
- ^ Gilad Atzmon, "Anthony Julius and a journey to the dark Zionist world," (4 October 2009). Retrieved 17.01.2015.
- ^ Anthony Julius to chair JC board, Jewish Chronicle, 20 January 2011
- ^ http://www.mishcon.com/people/anthony_julius
- ^ Rachel Cooke (2010-02-07). "Anthony Julius on Diana, Dina and the new antisemitism". The Observer. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-09.Â
- ^ Mail Online (22 July 2005). "Pulped Fiction: World's richest widow at war with royal novelist.". Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2011.Â
- ^ John Berger is wrong, Simon Schama and Anthony Julius, The Guardian, 22 December 2006
- ^ Diana lawyer vows to fight Israeli academic boycott, The Guardian, 7 June 2007
- ^ British Jewish group sparks outrage with Gaza blockade criticism, Haaretz, 2 February 2008
- ^ Jack Grove "Tribunal slams academic for bringing anti-Semitism case," (27 March 2013). Retrieved 17.01.2015.
Further reading
- "The hollow man" Guardian review of Julius's book on Eliot
- Appointment as chair of the London Consortium.
- "Engage"
- "The Euston Manifesto"
- "'Finding Our Voice' Conference"
