CAA sounds alarm over black-shirted paramilitary group in South London led by a man who rails against ‘Zionist bloodlines’
A group of black-shirted activists in South London gathered to march on the first day of August, which marks African Emancipation Day, to call for Britain to pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.
The group, calling itself the Forever Family Force, was formed last month, apparently modelled on the militant Black Panthers, in order to campaign against “racism, inequality and injustice”. The participants appeared in black uniforms with body armour and walkie-talkies and acted out military-style drills.
It is believed that the group is led by Khari McKenzie., a rap artist.
Mr McKenzie has reportedly shared the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Israel was to blame for the racist killing of George Floyd, and recently declared on Instagram that “every Zionist is an Islamophobe” and that “when we’re talking about Zionists, and even talking about if I don’t agree with the people that run the banks, yeah, and by them running the banks the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, if I don’t agree with that, that don’t make me anti-no one. I’m just anti-oppression. If I look in my history book and see there were people with Zionist blood that were heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade, me pointing that out doesn’t make me antisemitic.”
Mr McKenzie also described as “devils” those like Campaign Against Antisemitism and other Jewish activists who had successfully campaigned for the antisemitic grime artist Wiley to be removed from social media platforms, and he called for Wiley to be reinstated, reportedly using hashtags such as #Rothschildbloodline and #whoownsthebanks.
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “There is no justification for using antisemitic tropes to commemorate the horrors of slavery or protest against ongoing racism in society today.
“Forever Family should appreciate that, for ordinary decent people, and the Jewish community in particular, seeing a paramilitary group wearing black shirts and marching through the streets of London led by a man who rails against ‘Zionist bloodlines’ is frighteningly reminiscent of humanity’s darkest hour and does nothing to further the noble cause of fighting racism.“Prejudice cannot be beaten by more prejudice.”