Today, we can announce that we have launched a private prosecution against David Miller.
Dr Miller was previously an academic at the University of Bristol and is currently a presenter on the Iranian channel Press TV.
The case relates to posts on X, which Dr Miller allegedly published in recent months. Three charges have been brought by Campaign Against Antisemitism alleging that Dr Miller used a public communications network to send messages of a menacing character, contrary to section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
As we are the prosecutors in this case, we are limited in what we can say about it at this stage, but you can read more details about the case here.
Our application for a criminal summons to be issued against Dr Miller was granted by Westminster Magistrates’ Court with a first hearing scheduled for next month.
Warrant issued for Reginald D. Hunter to attend court in separate Campaign Against Antisemitism private prosecution
A warrant has been issued for Reginald D. Hunter to attend court in relation to a private prosecution brought by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Mr Hunter is charged with three offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, relating to posts on X that he allegedly published in September 2024.
The first hearing took place last Friday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, but the professional comedian failed to appear.
A warrant has now been issued for him to attend court on a future date.
This is one of a number of private prosecutions that we are bringing, and there will be more to say on the case in due course.
Jewish world rocked by a second violent ‘Free Palestine’ attack in as many weeks
As Jewish people around the world began bringing in the festival of Shavuot, another horrendous ‘Free Palestine’ attack on Jews took place in Boulder, Colorado.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian immigrant to the United States (some reports suggest that he had been in the country illegally), is alleged to have targeted a demonstration to raise awareness of the hostages in Boulder Colorado with a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails.
He allegedly told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year and that he wanted to kill Zionists and said that he would repeat the attack if he could.
He was reportedly heard yelling “Free Palestine” at the scene.
This is what happens when our societies refuse to comprehend what the ‘Free Palestine’ movement is capable of. When people say that “the only solution is Intifada revolution”, this is what that looks like.
We wish the eight victims a swift recovery, and call for swift justice against those responsible.
Why is Palestine Action still not banned?
One night last week, a Jewish business in Stamford Hill in North London was vandalised with red paint and had its windows smashed.
CCTV footage shows two masked individuals breaking the front window of the building and spraying it with red paint using a fire extinguisher.
Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for this abhorrent act of intimidation.
It is understood that the Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident as racially-aggravated criminal damage.
Palestine Action is a criminal enterprise operating freely in the UK and terrorising the Jewish community. It must be banned and its organisers and activists prosecuted.
We are examining legal and policy options.
If anyone has information about the incident, they should call the police on 101, quoting reference number CAD 1397/29MAY.
The role of the media
These violent attacks – murder, attempted murder, racially-aggravated property damage – are the result of a number of complementary factors, including the failure of the authorities to take decisive action but also the peddling of misinformation by the media.
- After the UN’s humanitarian chief made the unfounded assertion that “14,000 babies” would die in Gaza within 48 hours, the UN retracted the claim. But that was not before all the news outlets amplified the lie. Some eventually retracted, some continued to amplify it. But some of those that retracted still have the unedited stories online. The BBC, for example, still has an unedited and uncaveated segment live on its website pushing the false claim with no indication in the text that the lie has been debunked and withdrawn.
- BBC Arabic, meanwhile, has had to issue an on-air apology after one of its presenters claimed that there was no evidence of Hamas terrorists burning entire families during its barbaric attack in Southern Israel on 7th October 2023. The propagandistic and insulting statement was made during a programme in April in response to an Israeli researcher discussing the massacre on one of its programmes. It is not known if the presenter has faced any disciplinary action or indeed basic training in journalism since the incident.
- Then, this week, the BBC promoted the false story that Israeli forces killed Gazans at a humanitarian distribution centre. After the BBC’s version of events changed several times – including the numbers of alleged fatalities and the methods of killing – eventually BBC Verify decided to do the work of traditional journalism and found the story to be untrue. That was not before footage of the supposed image had been viewed countless times online and the story made headlines in the UK.
The BBC recently reiterated its commitment to a thematic review into its Gaza coverage, including BBC Arabic.
This is not enough. We need a properly independent investigation to uncover what is really going on at our national broadcaster.
Until then, the TV licence fee must be suspended, pending an independent inquiry. Sign the petition now!
The BBC is funded by UK taxpayers through the TV Licence Fee. To stop paying yours now, read our guide at antisemitism.org/canceltvlicence.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to lead the campaign against the ‘Hamas case’
The Home Office has written to thank Campaign Against Antisemitism for our legal submission to the Home Secretary in response to Hamas’ application to be de-proscribed in the UK.
Whilst the Home Office is prevented from commenting on the application itself for legal reasons, the response noted that “National security is the Government’s first priority, and we are committed to tackling extremism and terrorism in all its forms. The barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023 was the most appalling attack in Israel’s history and the worst loss of Jewish life since the Second World War.”
The Home Office went on to say that “The UK retains a no-contact policy with Hamas and strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. Everyone in this country has the right to feel safe and we already have some of the strongest laws in the world to protect our citizens from hatred and terrorism. I want to reassure you and Campaign Against Antisemitism that this Government will do whatever is required to keep communities in the UK safe and protect our national security.”
There is absolutely no way that we will permit the proscription of Hamas to be overturned on our watch, and we are quite confident that the Home Secretary will reach the same conclusion given the appalling brutality of Hamas, its ongoing attempts to perpetrate terrorism, its foundational commitment to the murder of Jews, and the startlingly poor quality and maximalist position of its application for de-proscription.
If Hamas persists in its legal claim, we will pursue the matter at every stage in court.
On the other side of the case, one of Hamas’ lawyers, Franck Magennis, referred to Zionism as a “crisis” in an interview and extolled Ansar Allah (the Houthis) as having “shamed the rest of the world” in its “willingness to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians…taking real material sacrifices to militarily confront the Zionist entity.”
Ansar Allah is a terror group backed by Iran with a long history of violent attacks in a number of different countries, including firing drones and missiles at Jewish civilians. Despite widespread condemnation, they also persist in recruitment of child soldiers. The group’s slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews.”
This is a disgrace to the legal profession.
We are waiting to hear from the Bar Standards Board regarding Mr Magennis’ (un)fitness to practice law in England.
Would you like to help Campaign Against Antisemitism?
Next week, we will be asking our supporters and the wider community for your help to Fund The Fight in our annual crowdfunder.
If you would like to be a Team Leader in this campaign, which will be run through Charity Extra, or you would like further information, please contact us at [email protected].
Team Leaders receive all the resources that they need in order to tell their family and friends about the work that Campaign Against Antisemitism does and how we use the donations that our supporters contribute.
We can only continue the fight against antisemitism with your help.
Explosive claim about alleged British funding of Hamas
The explosive claim last week that British taxpayer money not only may be going to Hamas but could actually be one of its main sources of funding should be prompting emergency meetings at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Handing money to third parties, including UN agencies and established charitable organisations, is no substitute for extensive due diligence and tight safeguards.
We all know that Hamas steals and diverts aid, whether in the form of money or food. So how can our Government be so irresponsible as to reportedly provide monies that ultimately go to Hamas ministries and organs?
In this case, it appears that the FCDO provided funding to UNICEF knowing that would go to a Hamas Ministry in Gaza for disbursement.
Civil servants are right to worry about the reputational risk to the British Government around such policies, because clearly this is extremely damaging.
The problem is that they apparently didn’t properly consider the other risks, including potentially to life and limb.
From one banned group to another?
We welcome reports that ministers are to get anti-terror-style powers to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The proposal, which has been recommended by the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation and, if implemented, would fulfil a Labour pre-election promise, would introduce a fourteen-year prison sentence for anyone helping or benefiting from a banned state intelligence agency such as the IRGC.
A new criminal offence of inviting support for state agencies such as the IRGC or displaying their flags or insignia in public, would also be introduced, essentially replicating existing offences for proscribed terrorist organisations under the Terrorism Act.
For now, these are only proposals and they come from an independent advisor to the Government, so it remains to be seen whether the Home Office and FCDO will accept them.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for the proscription of the IRGC, including recently in a submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and our representative polling shows that 93% of British Jews believe that the Government should proscribe the IRGC.
Antisemitism in the Middle East is not a new phenomenon
This week, we commemorate the Farhud.
In June 1941, the Farhud tore through Baghdad — a brutal pogrom where Jews were beaten, raped, and murdered in the streets.
Jack Hikmet was born in its aftermath. Growing up as a Jew in Iraq, his life was marked by fear, violence, and uncertainty. Listen to his story here.
The violent ‘Free Palestine’ attack in Colorado underscores just how urgent our fight against antisemitism is.
Our private prosecutions, complaints to regulators, scrutiny of the media, advocacy for victims, support for students are just a sample of our work, which is more vital than ever.
We will continue to do everything that we can – from the courtroom to Parliament and from the television studio to the classroom – to defend the Jewish community.
