We are writing to ask you for financial support to help defend a case against us.

 This all started on Twitter over two years ago, when James Wilson, a non-practising solicitor, threatened to sue the two of us, plus the late Dr Peter Newbon, for libel, harassment, breach of data rights, and invasion of privacy.

 Edward began to fight antisemitism when he saw tropes starting to appear regularly on his timeline. James recently exposed an attempt by the notorious Rev Stephen Sizer to send church money to an organisation linked to Hamas, and fought off a claim by Sizer’s lawyers. 

 Wilson has form for threatening to sue campaigners against antisemitism and writing to their employers. He is also known to have somehow traced the address of a Twitter user who displeased him - an address which had not been made public - and then turned up on their doorstep.

 He is suing us because of nine tweets, with a grand total of two “likes” and zero retweets, eight of which were deleted within 24 hours, posted during a debate on the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which he rejects. The nine tweets included screenshots of a 2018 Facebook post, which featured a photo of Wilson that had been taken by a woman who described him as a ”weirdo". She claimed Wilson had harassed her outside a school, because she had left her engine running whilst dropping off her daughter. This person is willing to give evidence on our behalf, as are others who claim to have been harassed by him.

 As well as suing the two of us, Wilson was also suing Pete Newbon as part of the same action. As many will know, Dr Newbon is tragically no longer with us.

 Mark Lewis has a history of successfully fighting cases on behalf of campaigners against antisemitism. He has generously acted without charge for two years, alongside favours from other lawyers. They should not, however, have to fight such battles alone. They - and we - need your help. It is unlikely that Wilson will have any money to pay our costs, once the case is over. This is why we have decided to crowdfund. The money raised will be used to defend the case. Any surplus will be used to fight similar cases.

 To date, there has been a Trial of a Preliminary Issue in the libel claim. Wilson claimed that the words beneath the Facebook post meant that he was a paedophile. The court rejected that and held instead that they were actually an expression of opinion that Wilson is a weirdo whose actions amount to harassment. The case continues to establish - among other things - whether it was reasonable to hold that opinion of him, and also whether he suffered serious harm, or an invasion of his privacy, or a breach of his data protection rights.

 We recently applied for strike-out or summary judgment in our favour, so that we would not be forced to go to a full High Court trial. The application was made to a High Court Judge but was passed down to a Master, who said that there has to be a full trial on most points, meaning that we could not just bring this to a quick finish. We cannot be forced into submission.

 Meanwhile, although the nine tweets which started the matter off attracted minimal likes or retweets, Wilson himself has twice written on Skwawkbox, bringing the case to the attention of a much wider audience. 

 This case is very important. If Wilson’s claim is not defeated, he and others will be emboldened to target campaigners against antisemitism with legal action. Within the last few weeks, indeed, Wilson has reported another individual to his employer. It's the way he rolls. When that employer rejected Wilson’s complaint, he threatened to report the employer to the regulator for that sector..

 One of us is now sadly silent. Those remaining must today come together and fight.

 This is not just for us, but for everyone who is threatened with this type of case.

We are immensely grateful to all who have donated thus far - large or small. However, there is a long way to go. Last night, for the umpteenth time, Wilson threatened Mark Lewis with a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority on spurious grounds.

 Wilson needs stopping. We know these are difficult times, but this is a man who targets our employment. If we don’t stop him, someone else will be his next victim.