Today, the Government has announced a new definition of “Extremism”.

The new definition, announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, updates the previous definition “to respond to increased extremist threat since the 7th October terror attacks in Israel,” provides “new engagement principles to ensure that Government does not legitimise extremist groups,” and “follows the Prime Minister’s commitment to stamp out extremism to ensure we keep our citizens safe and our country secure.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today’s announcement is a very belated admission by the Government that it has engaged with and even funded extremists over the years, and that it will no longer do so. That is welcome, but that is as far as this announcement goes. It proposes no sanction whatsoever for extremists caught by the new definition other than a loss of state support that they should never have had in the first place, and far too many extremists will not be caught under this definition at all.

“It is particularly ironic that the definition draws on the work of Sir Mark Rowley, who has become one of the country’s foremost enablers of extremism by his refusal to use his existing powers in relation to the weekly marches that are threatening the fabric of our society. Ultimately, today’s move by the Government amounts to yet more words at a time when firm action is already decades late.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has spoken to Jewish members who have resigned from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), one of the largest trade unions for journalists in Britain, in recent months owing to its alleged anti-Israel bias.

We are aware of at least six Jewish members who have handed in their NUJ cards since 7th October. Those who spoke to us have told us that there is an anti-Israel bias in the Union, leading to a culture that leaves its Jewish members feeling ostracised. 

Jewish former NUJ members have told us that the environment at the Union is influenced by rhetoric in official e-mails from the Union to its members, the nature of events held by the Union, and comments from other members.

In an e-mail sent to members on 20th November, the Union urged members to donate to a campaign to help journalists in Gaza, fronted by Nasser Abu Bakr, President of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. This came to the dismay of Rebecca (the names of those who spoke to us have been changed to protect their anonymity), a Jewish former NUJ member, owing to the fact that Mr Abu Bakr was fired by the French press agency Agence France-Presse due to a conflict of interest arising from his work as an activist for the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah Party. The Party has reportedly bragged about taking part in the 7th October terrorist atrocities, but there is no indication that Mr Abu Bakr backed the atrocities.  

Mr Abu Bakr is also reported to have made comparisons between the Nazis to the State of Israel. In an interview, he said: “We asked Arab media people to intensify their effort to expose the Nazi and racist crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and to bring back the Palestinian cause to the center [sic] of the Arab media’s attention.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Rebecca told us that when she replied to the e-mail enquiring as to what help was being offered to journalists in Israel, the Union replied in a way that she felt was one-sided. 

“I don’t think they care enough to look at the whole picture,” she told us.

Rebecca, who had been a Union member for three decades before resigning in January, said that she felt the NUJ had become “overly political”. She had tried to speak with the NUJ about how concerns were making her feel about her membership, but told us that the Union had not responded to her for two months.

“At best, they don’t respect or consider their Jewish members, whether that’s deliberate antisemitism or ingrained, I don’t know. What I do think is they wouldn’t dare do that if I was perceived to be a minority due to my gender or colour or sex…maybe it’s an unconscious bias,” she said.

Rebecca added that she doesn’t “feel safe being in a Union which takes no interest in the concerns of Jewish journalists.”

A near-unanimous 97% of British Jews feel personally connected to events happening in Israel, according to our polling.

Another Jewish former member, Lucy’s testimony, seemed to echo those of Rebecca’s. 

Lucy told us that the “whole Union became too politicised,” which has made Jewish journalists feel “unwelcome”.

“They’ve created a divide. It’s like them versus us,” she said. Asked who she meant by “us”, she clarified: “The Jewish journalists.”

“There was not one concern for any journalist inside Israel under constant rocket attack with terrorists on the loose,” she said. “They’ve clearly taken a side…they ostracised Jewish journalists.”

Numerous posts from the private NUJ Facebook group, in which only Union members are allowed to post, accuse Israel of committing genocide. The group is supposedly moderated by admins. However, one comment by journalist Tony Gosling which, at the time of writing has been allowed to remain, referred to “the coming WWIII being cooked up between China and the Anglo-Zionist Empire”.  

In 2019, Mr Gosling’s radio programme was reported to Ofcom for antisemitic conspiracy theories, although the complaint was not upheld. Mr Gosling has also appeared as a guest on PressTV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012.

Concerningly, Mr Gosling reportedly “spent a year on the National Executive of the NUJ and eight years as Secretary, then Vice-Chair of the Bristol branch of the [NUJ] until the 2009 AGM when he resigned from the Bristol executive”. Between 2021 and 2023, he was elected to sit on NUJ’s Appeals Tribunal and Professional Training Committee.

Susanna, another Jewish former member, told us how she had raised concerns to senior officials at the Union about the social media activity of Donnacha DeLong, a former NUJ President. Mr DeLong has made numerous tweets referring to “Zionist scumbags” and “Zionist racists”. 

Upon reporting one of Mr Delong’s posts to the senior official, in which Mr DeLong wrote “F*** Zionism,” the official responded that the Union is unable to take responsibility for the “inevitably conflicting positions taken by our members on a wide range of issues” and that they cannot be expected to monitor the social media activity of its members.

Recent polling revealed that only six percent of British Jews do not consider themselves to be Zionists.

Susanna informed the Union that she felt as though it had taken an unbalanced approach to the war between Israel and Hamas, leading to the Union to allow “a very vocal pro-Palestinian — and often veering into antisemitic — element to dominate”.

Susanna had also raised the fact that in November, the NUJ London Freelance branch branch hosted a webinar arranged by the group Jewish Network for Palestine which comprised three speakers; journalist Tim Llewellyn, outspoken activist Ghada Karmi and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, one of the founders of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation.

Mr Llewellyn, who for ten years served as the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, said in 2012 that “pro-Israel Zionists” are “scattered at strategic points throughout the British establishment, throughout British business and among the people whose voices are respected”.

In 2020, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the University of Exeter calling for Dr Karmi to be removed from her position, and to the General Medical Council which regulates doctors, after she published an article in which she suggested that the Israeli embassy played an outsized role in British politics and that the Jewish groups calling out the Labour Party’s anti-Jewish racism at the time were doing Israel’s bidding. 

In 2021, Dr Karmi accused Sir Keir Starmer of using the “label of antisemitism as a weapon”. She further described allegations of antisemitism as a “smear accusation” which was being used as a “weapon” to suspend and expel members of the Labour Party.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was expelled from the Labour Party, apparently in relation to her involvement with the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism-denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”.

However, in the response she received from the senior NUJ official, Susanna was told that as the event was hosted at the NUJ’s London Freelance branch, no action from senior members could be taken due to the branches’ “high degree of autonomy” under the NUJ rule book, and that any complaints should be directed to the branch itself.

A spokesperson for the NUJ said: “The NUJ has been consistent and robust in its denunciation of the atrocities carried out by Hamas on October 7th, and in our call for the release of all hostages. We have also condemned the targeting of women and appalling sexual violence that it is clear took place during those attacks, and the rise in antisemitic attacks that has happened in its aftermath.

“The NUJ strives to be inclusive and opposes all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism and racism. We take any member’s resignation seriously, and in the cases referenced the most senior officers of the union intervened to address the concerns being raised. In a democratic union, with an established branch and workplace structure, events and activities take place that are outwith [sic] of the union’s central operations. However, all members have a duty to uphold the union’s Code of Conduct and abide by our rulebook, and all members have rights in relation to formalising complaints under those rules.

“We have been vocal during this conflict in our appeals for the Israeli government to allow access to international journalists, and for the rights of journalists to be upheld. For now, it is only via the efforts of journalists in Gaza that reporting and coverage is taking place, and this is work that is being carried out under unimaginable privations. Many journalists have been killed or injured during this conflict. Peer to peer solidarity and support, from journalists to journalists, has always been a cornerstone of the NUJ’s international work. Campaigning for all journalists to be able to work freely, without interference, and in safety will always remain an NUJ priority. That is why the NUJ encourages its members throughout the UK and Ireland to support the Safety Fund established by the International Federation of Journalists, which offers a lifeline to journalists in need around the world. In recent months and years that has included support for journalists in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as it has more recently in Palestine.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “When one of the largest trade unions for journalists is endorsing people who have engaged in antisemitism denial and made comparisons between the Nazis and Israel, what message is this sending its Jewish members? The NUJ is in dereliction of its duty to its Jewish members and must urgently explain how it will regain their trust.

“We are offering free legal representation to all NUJ members affected by anti-Jewish racism. Anyone affected can contact [email protected].”

On Friday evening, the Prime Minister made a speech responding to the surge in antisemitism and extremism in our country.

His comments were nothing short of a rebuke of the Metropolitan Police Service’s well-honed practice of making excuses for extremism instead of arrests, and putting their frontline officers in impossible situations. He has demanded in no uncertain terms that the weekly anti-Israel marches no longer be merely managed, but actually policed.

In other words: it is time for the police to do their job.

Following this important intervention, we now look to the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to announce concrete solutions to address this dire situation, which leaves the Jewish community in fear for its safety and our democracy in peril.

We welcome the Prime Minister’s call for police to do better when policing protests, and for protesters to think twice about the consequences of their actions, but for months, we have heard protesters and protest organisers tell us that they will continue on their current path and that they feel that they are under no obligation to deviate from it.

The true test of the effectiveness of the Prime Minister’s national address will come when we see what happens at the mass demonstration next Saturday, and in the weeks to come as these marches continue.

While the words were welcome, firm action is long overdue.

Extremists are not simply hijacking protests: they are organising them. The Prime Minister condemned the anti-Jewish genocidal “From the River to the Sea…” slogan projected onto Big Ben, but we have heard march organisers testify to MPs that they actively promote that language.

Yesterday, the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square and the Cenotaph on Whitehall once again required lines of police officers to stand guard over them. This has been necessary countless times since 7th October.

Over the past few weeks we have seen the extremism on our streets penetrate our politics. Now it has entered Parliament. We know, as the Prime Minister does, that nothing is likely to change without firm action from his Government and the authorities.

That action must materialise urgently.

We look forward to learning what measures will be introduced. We have made clear recommendations to the Government and the police.

In recent weeks, our democracy has faced a grave assault by anti-Israel protesters

Anti-Israel protesters have not hesitated in using intimidation to get their message across, brazenly threatening our elected representatives and launching direct attacks on the very foundation of our democratic institutions.

We are offering free legal representation to MPs who have been subjected to antisemitic threats or intimidation, including obtaining court orders to unmask the authors of anonymous comments made online.

Enough is enough.

Inaction against these marches has led to a feeling amongst many extremists and antisemites that they can get away with brazen acts of racism against Jews, and too often they are right.

On Thursday, we reported on an incident that occurred on the London Underground where an identifiably Jewish man noticed a fellow passenger staring aggressively at him. The passenger then proceeded to tell the man: “Your religion kills Muslims.”

British Transport Police is investigating and we are continuing to support the victim.

The incident occurred between Camden Town and Chalk Farm on a Northern Line train to Edgware at approximately 19:45 in carriage number 52585.

If you have information, please contact British Transport Police with crime reference number 2400026154 or e-mail [email protected].

It is shocking to see how this man was treated for daring to be Jewish in public, but perhaps it is not that surprising in these dark times.

Too little too late

On Tuesday, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee released its report on the policing of protests.

Last year, our Chief Executive, Gideon Falter, gave evidence before the Committee, which was included in the report, as well as our written evidence.

The report ​​fails to address the increasingly urgent need to restore the confidence of the British public and ensure the safety of Britain’s Jews.

Staggeringly, it appears that the only concrete recommendation from the Committee for the protests is that the organisers should give more notice to the police, which would not change the actual nature of these marches and therefore solves nothing other than timesheet planning for our overstretched police forces.

After months of intimidatory marches, the report offers no concrete recommendations for the here and now, just a long-term policy discussion about workforce planning and new laws that will take years to agree.

Read our full statement here.

We need action urgently.

Protest-organisers should be made to follow the March Against Antisemitism as an example of good practice.

The police seem to think so too. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, one officer told the presenter that the march was a good example of how a protest can be “done well and respectfully”.

Why can the same not be said for the weekly anti-Israel protests on our streets?

Britain’s newest MP

On Thursday, the constituents of Rochdale voted in the by-election. After weeks of turmoil in Rochdale leading up to the parliamentary by-election, George Galloway is once again an MP.

Mr Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

He has previously and infamously declared Bradford an “Israel-free zone”. He said of his previous election loss that “the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating”. He described David Baddiel, a Jewish comic who is well-known for not closely associating himself with Israel, as a “vile Israel-fanatic”. He claimed that the institutional antisemitism within the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn was really “a disgraceful campaign of Goebbelsian fiction”, in reference to Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propagandist. He was sacked by TalkRadio despite his protestations, over an incident in which Tottenham Hotspur accused him of “blatant antisemitism” for a remark about keeping “Israeli flags” off the cup.

More recently, he has described the atrocity carried out by Hamas on 7th October as a “concentration camp breakout” and referred to Hamas terrorists as “fighters”.

Now, Mr Galloway has been chosen by the voters of Rochdale. Given his historic rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he might use the platform of the House of Commons.

Is Charlotte Church tone deaf?

Earlier this week, we led the media outrage after singer Charlotte Church led a choir, which included children, singing, “From the River to the Sea…”.

The genocidal chant “From the River to the Sea…” refers to the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, and only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a Palestinian state. It is a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel.

Since 7th October, when Hamas committed their barbaric terrorist acts, we have heard this chant on the streets of Britain during anti-Israel marches, accompanied by all manner of anti-Jewish racism.

Singing “From the River to the Sea…” is not standing up for human rights. At best Charlotte Church has been tone deaf, but at worst she is using the voice for which she is so well known to fan the flames of hatred.

You cannot stoop lower than using your stardom to teach kids to sing extremist lyrics in a village hall.

We are writing to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate how this was allowed to take place on a charity’s premises.

Five years since Hizballah was banned in the UK

Five years ago this week, following a gruelling effort over several years by Campaign Against Antisemitism and our allies, Hizballah was proscribed as a terrorist group in the United Kingdom.

Hizballah is a violent, genocidal and dangerous antisemitic organisation whose leaders have praised the 7th October Hamas terrorist atrocities as “heroic”.

Hizballah is suspected to have been involved in terrorist attacks targeting Jews from Burgas to Buenas Aires, where they bombed a Jewish community centre in 1994, killing 85 people. They continue to make their violent, murderous intentions towards Jews clear to this day.

As people continue to glorify the axis of violence to which they belong on our streets, their legal designation as a terrorist organisation, like their allies Hamas, has never been more important for the safety of Jews in Britain.

Recent arrests

Earlier this year, three Jews were physically attacked by ten men in Leicester Square, which resulted in serious injuries. No bystanders helped and police only showed up after half an hour, after the perpetrators had fled the scene.

One of the suspects involved in the alleged assault has now been arrested.

We are continuing to assist the victims during this time.

There are still more arrests to be made. If anyone has any further information, they should contact the Metropolitan Police.

On Monday evening, protesters were seen walking down Upper Street in Angel, London, chanting, “from London to Gaza, long live the intifada.”

An arrest was made shortly after a member of the public informed the police. We commend the Met for its swift action in this incident.

An individual believed to be involved with a violent attack in December has also been arrested.

The alleged assault was on a group of Jewish people in North West London on the bridge between Chalk Farm and Primrose Hill.

The group of five were putting up posters showing the faces of people taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. One of the members was an identifiably Jewish woman who wore a Star of David.

If you have any further information, please inform the Metropolitan Police.

Whilst the news of these arrests is welcome, prosecutions are few and far between, and the events of this week show serious weaknesses in our democracy. This is extremely alarming. We will continue to expose where our institutions fail to protect us from anti-Jewish hatred. We must demand better.

On Wednesday, as MPs gathered in Parliament to vote, antisemitic genocidal language was projected onto Big Ben, the symbol of our democracy and often of our nation. Inside Parliament, the Speaker of the House of Commons broke with convention over a ceasefire vote, apparently due to threats against MPs.

Today, the Prime Minister described the intimidation as “toxic for our society and our politics”.

Ben Jamal, Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, encouraged thousands of protestors to “ramp up pressure on MPs” and flood into Parliament “so that they would have to lock the doors of Parliament itself”.

Then, on Saturday, they shut down Tower Bridge.

When will this count as sufficient “disruption to the life of the community” for Sir Mark Rowley to invoke his powers to ban this?

These scenes come just after Mike Freer, an MP for one of the most heavily-Jewish constituencies, decided to quit politics due, in no small part, to antisemitism and violence directed at him and his office.

We are offering free legal representation to MPs who have been subjected to antisemitic threats or intimidation, including obtaining court orders to unmask the authors of anonymous comments made online.

If our laws are now being made through the medium of threat and violence, our democracy itself is under attack, and those responsible for safeguarding it are in dereliction of their duty.

We have been raising the issue on television, radio, newspapers and social media, making clear our views on this important national debate. The events of this week must serve as a wake-up call.

Wiley Stripped of MBE

The Honours Forfeiture Committee has announced that is that it has stripped the antisemitic grime rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, known as Wiley, of his MBE, following calls to do so by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

In 2020, we wrote to the Honours Forfeiture Committee, which confirmed that, on our recommendation, it had opened a case against the artist, with a view to stripping Wiley of his honour, which he received in 2018. The case was opened following his antisemitic tirade in 2020.

It has taken nearly four years of perserverance and we have worked tirelessly to ensure that Wiley faces the full consequences of his unhinged antisemitic tirade.

Antisemitism has no place in the arts, and antisemites should not hold honours. We commend the Honours Forfeiture Committee for using its powers to hold Wiley to account. In doing so, it is declaring that anti-Jewish racists cannot be role models in our society.

This decision sets a precedent, which we hope will encourage more stringent scrutiny of individuals who are awarded our nation’s highest honours.

We continue to pursue legal action in relation to Wiley.

Home office contractor defaces Jewish birth certificate

A father received a copy of his six-month-old baby girl’s birth certificate back from the Home Office with his place of birth scribbled out and the paper torn. His place of birth was Israel, the world’s only Jewish state.

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, swiftly responded to our call for an investigation, confirming that he has directed the Home Office to investigate and apologising on behalf of the Department.

It is understood that a major Home Office contractor, Sopra Steria, has suspended a number of staff members and is conducting an investigation.

This incident represents gross misconduct, and the company must remove the individuals responsible.

Throughout this ordeal, we have been supporting the family. The last thing any parent should have to worry about is their child’s birth certificate being vandalised just because their parent’s place of birth is the Jewish state.

Solicitor struck off and doctor who appeared on The Apprentice suspended

Farrukh Najeeb Husain, an immigration and employment solicitor, has been struck off.

A number of Mr Husain’s tweets were found to be antisemitic and offensive by a tribunal, following a case brought by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SRA claimed that Mr Husain’s conduct online was “offensive” and, in some cases, antisemitic. Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, gave expert witness testimony to assist the SRA in its case.

Meanwhile, Asif Munaf, a doctor who appeared on the current series of “The Apprentice” on the BBC has been suspended by the General Medical Council, following a complaint by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

His online rhetoric has included “slimy Zionist PR machine”, “odiously ogre-like Zionists”, “weaponising the Holocaust” and more.

These days, it seems that some people need reminding that supporting terrorist groups is a crime

Many of our supporters will be familiar with our digital vans, which we have previously used to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages held by Hamas.

This week, we decided to remind those who needed reminding that expressing support for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which are proscribed terrorist organisations, is illegal under UK law.

After months of seeing expressions of support for these groups at weekly anti-Israel protests, we thought that we should make the message as plain and simple as possible. When we drove past one of these protests outside the Houses of Parliament, our van was attacked. It seems that not everyone was happy to be reminded.

Extreme advice

This week, there have been red faces at both the Met and the Ministry of Justice over taking advice from people with extreme views.

The Met has had to cut ties with Mohammed Kozbar, a member of an advisory body which helps to “shape police policy” over a year after an official extremism report found that he had described the founder of Hamas as “the master of the martyrs of resistance”.

We are enquiring quite how it took the Met so long to act, and what input the individual had on police policy, especially since the surge in antisemitic crime in the UK since 7th October.

Over at the Ministry of Justice, it turns out that for “World Hijab Day”, they invited Shreen Mahmood to speak. Her social media posts included saying that “Jews need to get in the queue behind Muslims” when a Jewish man complained about antisemitism, and reposting another account which had said n the wake of 7th October that Palestinians had “every right to defend” themselves, well before Israel had responded militarily to the mass rapes, murders and hostage-taking.

When exposed, she explained that Palestinians have the right to “struggle…by all available means” and that she would not want to “upset my valued brothers and sisters from the Jewish community”.

The Ministry of Justice plays an integral part of ensuring that the rule of law is maintained in our democracy, so why is it hosting someone who posted such views? We are writing to the Ministry to demand an investigation into how this was allowed to happen.

The events of this week have been extremely concerning for the health of our democracy. They must be a wake up call for us all. We will continue to do everything we can to draw attention to the threats that the Jewish community – and our country – is facing.

The Honours Forfeiture Committee has announced today that it is stripping the antisemitic grime rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, known as Wiley, of his MBE, following calls to do so by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

In July 2020, Wiley went on an antisemitic tirade on social media, in which he compared Jews to the Ku Klux Klan; called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews; and claimed that Jews had him and were “snakes”.

Consequently, Wiley was banned from X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube after using the platforms to incite racial hatred against Jews, following tireless pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which included projecting antisemitic tweets on X’s London headquarters and joining a 48-hour walkout on the platform. 

Despite our efforts, Wiley evaded immediate legal consequences by being out of the UK. Nonetheless, CAA initiated legal proceedings, filing a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, where Wiley was residing.

Campaign Against Antisemitism also wrote to the Ivors Academy calling for Wiley’s 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s advocacy extended to venues scheduled to host Wiley, leading to multiple cancellations of his performances, including Village Underground, which swiftly dropped him from their event.

Following sustained pressure, the Honours Forfeiture Committee, acting on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s recommendation, commenced an investigation into Wiley’s conduct, with a view to stripping Wiley of his honour, which he received in 2018. The case was opened following his antisemitic tirade in 2020.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today’s decision marks the culmination of nearly four years of dogged perseverance. We have worked tirelessly to ensure that Wiley faces ruinous consequences for his unhinged antisemitic tirade, for which he has shown no remorse.

“Antisemitism has no place in the arts, and is unbecoming of anyone holding an honour. We commend the Honours Forfeiture Committee for using its powers to hold Wiley to account. In doing so, it is declaring that anti-Jewish racists cannot be role models in our society.

“Due to technical reasons, including legal action that we are pursuing against Wiley, the forfeiture was delayed. We are grateful to the Honours Forfeiture Committee for its work on this matter.”

The Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has today struck off solicitor Farrukh Najeeb Husain after finding a number of his social media posts to be antisemitic and offensive.

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) investigated Mr Husain, an immigration and employment solicitor, following complaints regarding his conduct on X, which was reported to the regulator by Bevan Brittan, a law firm that employed him at the time.

The SRA claimed that Mr Hussain’s conduct online was “offensive” and, in some cases, antisemitic. Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, gave expert witness testimony to assist the SRA in its case.

Mr Husain represented himself over the course of the hearings, which began in September last year.

The tweets in question were directed at Simon Myerson KC, a barrister, and Hugo Rifkind, a journalist. Among the tweets were characterisations of Mr Rifkind as a “Zionist pig”, references to Mr Rifkind’s “eastern European kin” and the claim that Mr Myerson “wreaks of white privilege”.

Throughout the case, Mr Husain made several accusations against the SRA and Capsticks, a law firm that was representing the SRA at the tribunal. He claimed that the SRA was “weaponising new antisemitism” and subverting the International Definition of Antisemitism, and even accused the regulator of being “in bed” with Campaign Against Antisemitism. He also claimed that the solicitor acting on behalf of the SRA was an “imperialist” and asserted that she “bang[ed] on about the Holocaust because [she] wants to hide [her] country’s own crimes,” apparently referring to her British heritage.

During her cross-examination of Mr Husain, he said: “Mr Myerson is a fascist.”

Mr Husain extended his accusations also towards Mr Silverman during cross-examination and said: “It is you who are engaging in the antisemitic trope that there is a collection of Jews who are self-haters, who have turned against their nation and who are spouting conspiracy theories.”

Mr Silverman then asked the defendant if he was calling him an antisemite, to which Mr Husain responded: “Yes.”

Mr Husain also baselessly and conspiratorially accused Campaign Against Antisemitism of being set up and funded by a former Israeli diplomat.

Throughout the proceedings, Mr Husain was repeatedly reminded by the chairperson to conduct himself in an appropriate manner. In one instance, the tribunal panel addressed the defendant directly and accused him of “bordering on being abusive to Mr Silverman at times.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is the right sanction. Farrukh Najeeb Husain’s rhetoric online was vile, and there was no evidence of any regard or remorse for the hurt and disgust that he caused. The SRA was right to bring this case to restore confidence in the legal profession, and we were pleased to be able to contribute expert opinion at the hearing in order to inform the panel and bring about this week’s decision and today’s sanction. The SDT has shown that there is no place for antisemitism in English law.”

A solicitor’s tweets were found to be antisemitic and offensive today by a tribunal.

The Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has found a number of social media posts by the solicitor Farrukh Najeeb Husain to be antisemitic and offensive.

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) investigated Mr Husain, an immigration and employment solicitor, following complaints regarding his conduct on X, which was reported to the regulator by Bevan Brittan, a law firm that employed him at the time.

The SRA claimed that Mr Hussain’s conduct online was “offensive” and, in some cases, antisemitic. Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, gave expert witness testimony to assist the SRA in its case.

Mr Husain represented himself over the course of the hearings, which began in September last year.

The tweets in question were directed at Simon Myerson KC, a barrister, and Hugo Rifkind, a journalist. Among the tweets were characterisations of Mr Rifkind as a “Zionist pig”, references to Mr Rifkind’s “eastern European kin” and the claim that Mr Myerson “wreaks of white privilege”.

Throughout the case, Mr Husain made several accusations against the SRA and Capsticks, a law firm that was representing the SRA at the tribunal. He claimed that the SRA was “weaponising new antisemitism” and subverting the International Definition of Antisemitism, and even accused the regulator of being “in bed” with Campaign Against Antisemitism. He also claimed that the barrister acting on behalf of the SRA was an “imperialist” and asserted that she “bang[ed] on about the Holocaust because [she] wants to hide [her] country’s own crimes,” apparently referring to her British heritage.

During her cross-examination of Mr Husain, he said: “Mr Myerson is a fascist.”

Mr Husain extended his accusations also towards Mr Silverman during cross-examination and said: “It is you who are engaging in the antisemitic trope that there is a collection of Jews who are self-haters, who have turned against their nation and who are spouting conspiracy theories.”

Mr Silverman then asked the defendant if he was calling him an antisemite, to which Mr Husain responded: “Yes.”

Mr Husain also baselessly and conspiratorially accused Campaign Against Antisemitism of being set up and funded by a former Israeli diplomat.

Throughout the proceedings, Mr Husain was repeatedly reminded by the chairperson to conduct himself in an appropriate manner. In one instance, the tribunal panel addressed the defendant directly and accused him of “bordering on being abusive to Mr Silverman at times.”

The SDT is expected to issue a more substantial judgment in due course, with any sanctions or penalties expected to be announced by the tribunal on Friday.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We welcome this judgment. Farrukh Najeeb Husain’s rhetoric online was vile, and there was no evidence of any regard or remorse for the hurt and disgust that he caused. The SRA was right to bring this case to restore confidence in the legal profession, and we were pleased to be able to contribute expert opinion at the hearing in order to inform the panel and bring about today’s decision. We expect the SDT to apply the appropriate penalties on Mr Husain to show that there is no place for antisemitism in English law.”

To contact Campaign Against Antisemitism in relation to providing expert opinion or training, please e-mail [email protected].

Since last weekend, we have been assisting Jewish guests who were reportedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London after comedian Paul Currie allegedly led his audience in targeted chanting.

According to a statement provided to us by one Jewish attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, the incident occurred last Saturday during the one-hour “Shtoom” show, attended by over 100 people.

Towards the end of the performance, Mr Currie introduced two props – a Ukrainian flag and a Palestinian Authority flag – and urged everyone to stand and applaud, apparently in support of the causes with which those flags have become associated, creating discomfort among some attendees in relation to the Palestinian Authority flag.

“When we all sat down again, [Mr Currie] looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’,” recounted the attendee. “The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag.’”

According to the attendee, the comedian then yelled at the young man: “Get out of my show. Get the f*** out of here. F*** off, get the f*** out of here.” This instantaneously escalated into the audience shouting “Get out” and “Free Palestine” until the young man left.

We publicised the story and worked with the victims to secure national media coverage of the incident. We are also dealing with the theatre, which has engaged with us positively and swiftly and issued an apology. It has banned Mr Currie, who has also reportedly been dropped by two Australian venues so far as well.

Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024. We are working with the victims and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any further information is asked to contact us in confidence on +44 (0)330 822 0321 (option 2) or at [email protected].

In Rochdale, Labour gets it wrong before getting it right

The Labour Party’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali, was revealed to have suggested that Israel may have enabled the 7th October Hamas massacre in order to justify an incursion into Gaza. He was recorded making the remarks in a meeting in late October 2023.

But even as it became clear that this man, who had effectively propagated a blood libel, does not belong in a major political party, let alone in Parliament, the Labour Party, incredibly, continued to back his candidacy after a quick apology, wheeling out numerous figures to defend him.

It was then revealed that, at the same meeting, he blamed Labour’s suspension of Andy McDonald MP on “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters”. Labour then dropped its support for him.

It then emerged that Graham Jones, a former Labour MP who is also seeking a return to the Commons, was also recorded at the same meeting apparently making reference to “f***ing Israel” and saying (wrongly) that it is illegal for British Jews to join fighting against Hamas terrorists and that those who do so “should be locked up”. Labour immediately suspended him.

Sir Keir Starmer blotted an otherwise fairly admirable copy book by delaying the withdrawal of support from Mr Ali. Rather than appearing as a principled decision, it ended up looking as expedient as the failed attempt to defend him in the first place. However, in the case of Mr Jones, Labour did the right thing, and did it swiftly.

Now, Labour must reveal which other MPs, candidates and councillors were at that same October meeting and why they said nothing about the remarks that were made, and indeed if more such remarks were made. Labour must continue to put a line in the sand and declare that it will not tolerate extremist views. It is the least that we should be able to expect from all our political parties.

Throughout the week, as more and more revelations emerged, we led the media commentary, appearing in every major newspaper and on all the major radio and television broadcasters.

The Conservatives this week expelled the Mayor of Salisbury following reportedly “offensive and inappropriate comments” about Jewish people.

It is disappointing to see so many of these cases in our politics, but we commend parties for acting swiftly when they arise.

Police ask man hide Jewishness in Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, we are working with a Jewish man who was urged by police to hide his Star of David due to the proximity of an anti-Israel protest, to avoid “triggering” the protesters. The police officer was clearly worried that he and his colleagues were heavily outnumbered and that these protesters could pose a threat to Jews, but his response was effectively to stop a passing Jewish man and ask him to hide his identity before continuing on his way.

Watch the video, and ask yourself whose rights are actually being protected here, those of law-abiding people or those of mobs of extremists who might be “triggered” by people being Jewish in public?

The police have apologised to the individual, but an apology somewhat misses the point. If the officer believed that there was a potential threat to this Jewish individual, he should have focused on the threat.

What if arrests are made, but the courts fail us?

Our Demonstration and Events Monitoring Unit collected evidence from a protest outside Downing Street this week, in which antisemitic signs were on display.

The police acted in response to one of the pictures that we posted, announcing that they had arrested a woman on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

However, an arrest is only the first stage in the criminal justice system. There must also be prosecutions and then trials in court, with appropriate sentences for those who are convicted.

On that score, the system has failed us this week.

You may recall that, in one of the first major anti-Israel protests in the wake of 7th October, three women were seen displaying images of a paraglider, a symbol that had come to be associated with the Hamas attack. They were identified and arrested, and have been convicted of terrorism offences.

However, Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram “decided not to punish” the trio. The court thereby sent the worst possible signal to the Jewish community at a time of surging antisemitism.

We then shared fresh evidence with the media that may suggest possible bias on the Judge’s part. We shared this with the media, and have written to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. A full and proper investigation must follow. The Jewish community deserves to be able to trust our legal system to act impartially and with zero-tolerance enforcement of the law.

This weekend’s anti-Israel march

We are continuing to monitor the weekly anti-Israel protests. This week, we publicised concerns from local Jewish community leaders in central London about the route and persistence of these marches. The Met Police tried to ensure that the marches would start at 13:30 on Saturday after synagogue services had finished, but the protesters gathered at midday anyway. The police bolstered security outside synagogues in the area and we have heard from parents who were afraid to walk home with their children.

Not only are the organisers of these marches refusing to respect local communities and the police, but neither are the protesters. Met Police officers who, rightly, were arresting a woman holding a sign that read “Long Live the Intifada” were confronted by angry demonstrators chanting “Shame on you”. The reason that these protests are so hard to police is because it is not just the overt criminals who cause disruption, but it is the criminals who walk alongside them and attack the police when they move in. This means dozens of police — who are considerably outnumbered to begin with — are required to effect one arrest.

Sir Mark Rowley has accepted that there is a threat to synagogues and Jewish people but has still not banned the marches or placed meaningful restrictions on them. He has sent 1,500 officers to police tens of thousands of people and they are getting beaten up doing their jobs.

For shame.

The above is just a sample of our work over the past week. We have also written to the University of Leeds over a spate of incidents in and around its campus; we have called out the BBC over a contestant on “The Apprentice” with a history of inflammatory rhetoric about Jews and offered assistance to BBC employees who are reportedly frightened at work; we are referring the General Medical Council to the Professional Standards Authority over a pitiful sanction for a doctor who has been found to be “quite comfortable with using discriminatory language” about Jews; we are assisting a Jewish nightclub owner in East London who has been forced to step down as a director following threats against him and his family; and more.

We are fighting antisemitism on every front – on the streets and on campuses, on television and in politics, in business and online, in our regulated professions and in our cultural institutions – and we are fighting it nationwide. We are only able to do so with your continued support.

A new report shows an alarming surge in antisemitic incidents in the UK, particularly since the Hamas attack of 7th October 2023.

According to the report by CST, more than 4,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2023, marking a significant increase from previous years. This spike in hatred has been attributed to the sheer volume of antisemitism following the Hamas attack of 7th October 2023.

Mark Gardner, Chief Executive of CST, described the situation as “an absolute disgrace”, emphasising the resilience of British Jews in the face of this surge in hatred. He stated: “British Jews are strong and resilient, but the explosion in hatred against our community is deeply concerning. It occurs in schools, universities, workplaces, on the streets, and all over social media.”

The report outlined a range of disturbing incidents, including 3,328 cases of abusive behaviour, 266 incidents of assault, 305 threats and 182 instances of damage and desecration. Alarmingly, almost a fifth of the recorded incidents involved perpetrators under the age of eighteen, highlighting the urgent need for education and intervention.

Furthermore, the report observed that, for the first time, at least one antisemitic incident was recorded in every single police region in the UK in the course of one year, demonstrating how widespread the problem has become.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The CST’s figures reveal the explosion in antisemitic hate crime that the Jewish community has experienced in the past several months. It is particularly notable that the surge in anti-Jewish racism began in the immediate wake of 7th October, indisputably demonstrating that antisemites in the UK were emboldened by Hamas’s massacre of Jews, and that is why we are seeing what we are seeing on our streets and campuses, in workplaces and cultural institutions and online. There is a sickness in our country, and the sclerotic and overly-generous reaction of our criminal justice system shows that our institutions have utterly failed to grasp the gravity of the threat that our society faces right now.”

The social media activity of the judge in case of three women who displayed images of a paraglider in an anti-Israel protest may suggests possible bias.

Heba Alhayek, 29, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, were given twelve-month conditional discharges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday after being convicted of terrorism offences.

Ms Alhayek and Ms Ankunda attached images of paragliders to their backs; Ms Olayinka attached such an image to the handle of a placard.

They were arrested and charged with carrying or displaying an article to arouse reasonable suspicion that they are supporters of the proscribed antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation, Hamas.

Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram reportedly said that there was nothing to suggest the group were supporters of Hamas, but, he added, “seven days earlier, Hamas went into Israel with what was described by the media as paragliders. A reasonable person would have seen and read that. I do not find a reasonable person would interpret the image merely as a symbol of freedom. You’ve not hidden the fact you were carrying these images. You crossed the line, but it would have been fair to say that emotions ran very high on this issue. Your lesson has been well learnt. I do not find you were seeking to show any support for Hamas.” He concluded that he had “decided not to punish” the trio.

Campaign Against Antisemitism can reveal that Judge Ikram’s social media activity may suggest bias (see picture below), and we are exploring legal options.

We are also looking at submitting a complaint to the Bar Standards Board in relation to barrister and political candidate Sham Uddin, over his social media output.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram’s social media activity suggests to us that there may be grounds to set aside his ruling in the case in which he decided ‘not to punish’ three women found guilty of terrorism offences, on the basis of actual or apparent bias. We are sharing our findings with the Crown Prosecution Service, which may wish to appeal the verdict, and we are considering various legal options. We are also submitting a complaint to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.”

Heba Alhayek, 29, Pauline Ankunda, 26, and Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, have been given twelve-month conditional discharges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today after being convicted of terrorism offences.

Ms Alhayek and Ms Ankunda attached images of paragliders to their backs; Ms Olayinka attached such an image to the handle of a placard.

They were arrested and charged with carrying or displaying an article to arouse reasonable suspicion that they are supporters of the proscribed antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation, Hamas.

Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram reportedly said that there was nothing to suggest the group were supporters of Hamas, but, he added, “seven days earlier, Hamas went into Israel with what was described by the media as paragliders. A reasonable person would have seen and read that. I do not find a reasonable person would interpret the image merely as a symbol of freedom. You’ve not hidden the fact you were carrying these images. You crossed the line, but it would have been fair to say that emotions ran very high on this issue. Your lesson has been well learnt. I do not find you were seeking to show any support for Hamas.” He concluded that he had “decided not to punish” the trio.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is right that these three women, who displayed an image of a paraglider – a symbol that immediately came to be associated with the Hamas attack of 7th October – at an anti-Israel protest, have been convicted of terrorism offences. What is inexplicable is that Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram has seen fit ‘not to punish’ them. The court has thereby sent the worst possible signal to the Jewish community at a time of surging antisemitism and glorification of terror, and we fully expect the CPS to now bring an appeal against this unduly lenient sentence.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism is assisting Jewish guests who were reportedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London. 

We are reviewing legal options after comedian Paul Currie allegedly led his audience in discriminatory chanting.

According to a statement provided to Campaign Against Antisemitism by one Jewish attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, the incident occurred on Saturday during the one-hour “Shtoom” show, attended by approximately 200 people.

Towards the end of the performance, Mr Currie introduced two props – a Ukrainian flag and a Palestinian Authority flag – and urged everyone to stand and applaud, apparently in support of the causes with which those flags have become associated, creating discomfort among some attendees in relation to the Palestinian Authority flag.

The Palestinian Authority pays salaries to terrorists and the families of terrorists who succeed in killing Jews, distributes antisemitic teaching materials, and was widely involved in celebration of the 7th October atrocity, which was the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust.

“When we all sat down again, [Mr Currie] looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’,” recounted the attendee.

“The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag’’,” they continued.

According to the attendee, the comedian then yelled at the young man: “Get out of my show. Get the f*** out of here. F*** off, get the f*** out of here.” 

This instantaneously escalated into the audience shouting “Get out” and “Free Palestine” until the young man left.

The attendee described feeling a sense of considerable discomfort as the situation unfolded, particularly as Mr Currie’s interactions with the Israeli audience member became increasingly confrontational. The attendee decided to leave the theatre too, along with their friends.

Shaken, they approached a front-of-house manager to report what had happened. However, the staff member was said to be unhelpful and distracted with her other tasks. She allegedly told them to “back off and stand further away from her” and that they “support free speech at Soho Theatre” and urged them to send the theatre an e-mail.

As they exited the theatre, they encountered a tense atmosphere among some audience members, further reinforcing their sense of marginalisation and ostracisation.

“Our friends later received a message from someone they knew who had also been at the show, saying that after we left, the situation became even more inflamed,” they reported. “The chanting carried on for quite some time. Currie turned to the audience and said: ‘I may get into trouble for this. Can you ensure you write some positive stuff about me on social media?’”

The attendee told us: “Leaving the theatre, I felt threatened. I didn’t know if I was going to get physically assaulted. We were all shaken. We were extremely upset and anxious.” 

He also said that his initial reaction after the alleged incident was: “I don’t want to go into central London anymore.

“It felt like we were welcome in the theatre as long as our identities of Jews weren’t known, and the minute our identities were known, we felt threatened.”

The Soho Theatre released a statement today on Twitter in which they said: “We are sorry and saddened by an incident that took place at our venue at the end of a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 February which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others.

“We take this very seriously and are looking into the detail of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho Theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all.”

We have contacted Paul Currie for comment.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “What the Jewish audience-members have recounted is atrocious, and we are working with them and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account. These allegations are of deeply disturbing discriminatory abuse against Jews. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any further information is asked to contact us in confidence on +44 (0)330 822 0321 (option 2) or at [email protected].

This week, James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, announced several proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, in a clear and targeted rebuke to anti-Israel marchers deliberately causing disruption in London and around the country and outraging the public over behaviour at war memorials and launching fireworks at police.

Mr Cleverly has proposed the following changes to the Criminal Justice Bill:

  • Creating a new offence of desecrating a war memorial punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Creating a new offence which would make it illegal for someone to have a pyrotechnic article in their possession during a procession or assembly. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Providing the police with new powers to arrest protesters wearing face coverings to conceal their identity. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000 and a month in prison;
  • Modifying the reasonable excuse defence that is currently available concerning certain public order offences to prevent a minority of protesters from deliberately causing serious disruption while exploiting defences relating to the right to protest. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit has for months observed protesters causing severe disruption to the public during their weekly anti-Israel demonstrations, including launching fireworks at police officers; desecrating war memorials; and preventing members of the public from travelling.

A further effect of these weekly protests is that a staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there.

With protesters using rhetoric like, “Zionists are like Nazis, and if that’s antisemitic then f*** it. I don’t care” in last week’s protests, that sentiment is not surprising.

You can watch interviews, captured by our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit and Communications team, here.

For months now, we have been asking for tougher restrictions to be placed on these protests, which have made our urban centres no-go zones for Jews. While the police have failed the Jewish community and law-abiding Londoners, the Government, to its credit, is listening.

These new laws will help address the mob mentality that we have observed in these protests. There is no justification for such scenes, and now, there will be no legal defence.

The people of this country expect the lawlessness on our streets to be brought firmly under control, and with these changes there are now even fewer excuses for police inaction.

The Prime Minister recently explained how the weekly protests prompted the Government to act.

What is happening on British campuses?

In the past week, Jewish students at Birmingham had to face signs reading “Zionists off our campus”.

Our most recent polling shows that only 6% of Jews do not consider themselves to be Zionists. The University of Birmingham claims that it offers a “welcoming and supportive environment”. It doesn’t look that way.

At the University of Leeds, the synagogue and Hillel Jewish student centre was vandalised with graffiti reading “IDF off campus” and “Free Palestine”, and there are reports that the Jewish chaplain has received death threats.

Less than a day later, students on the same campus voiced support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen at an anti-Israel protest. The motto of the Houthis is: “Allah is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam.”

When support for an organisation that openly parades its antisemitism goes unchallenged on a university campus, what message is this sending to its Jewish students? What message does it send when they chant “There are many, many more of us than you”?

This is not some sort of social justice movement. It is an attempt by thugs to intimidate Jews and drive them out of our universities. The reaction of the universities must be swift and severe.

What does the David Miller judgment mean?

The Bristol Employment Tribunal has published its judgment in the case of the University of Bristol’s termination of Prof. David Miller.

David Miller, a disgraced academic obsessed with anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 following a Jewish communal outcry and one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of students against the institution.

Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community. He now regularly appears on the Iranian state propaganda channel, Press TV.

Prof. Miller later sued the University, and the Bristol Employment Tribunal has now handed down its judgment.

Until this case, the exact reasons for Prof. Miller’s sacking by the University of Bristol were kept from the public. It is now clear that, despite its adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, Bristol’s failure to recognise that Prof. Miller’s comments constituted antisemitism, as well as its failure to consider some of his most egregious comments, opened the way for this judgment.

But even so, the tribunal found that Prof. Miller’s misconduct was “extraordinary and ill-judged” and deserving of disciplinary action, albeit that it did not warrant dismissal. He was found to be “culpable and blameworthy”, and, if he had been fired for the right reasons, the result at the tribunal may have been different.

Importantly, the tribunal drastically slashed Prof. Miller’s compensation, including due to his behaviour since being dismissed, which the tribunal found led to a ‘realistic chance that the claimant would have been dismissed’ anyway.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is deeply concerned by the way in which the University of Bristol has handled this matter over the course of years. We hope and expect that Bristol will appeal this decision. We are considering the matter with our lawyers.

To understand better what this judgment does and does not mean, watch this explainer here.

In the wake of the judgment, Kemi Badenoch, the Trade Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, told the House of Commons: “It is important to underline that this ruling does not change the fact that, while academics have the right to express views, they cannot behave in a way that amounts to harassment of Jewish students. Disguising this as discourse about Israel would be no more lawful than any other form of antisemitism.”

British universities cannot become places where students or academics attempt to intimidate Jews and drive them off campus. We will continue to do whatever it takes to stop that from happening and hold the thugs accountable.

If you are a student, academic, member of staff or chaplain at a university — or you know somebody who is and needs assistance — please contact us at [email protected].

Today, James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, has announced several proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, in a clear and targeted rebuke to anti-Israel marchers deliberately causing disruption in London and outraging the public over behaviour at war memorials and launching fireworks at police.

Mr Cleverly has proposed the following changes to the Criminal Justice Bill:

  • Creating a new offence of desecrating a war memorial punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Creating a new offence which would make it illegal for someone to have a pyrotechnic article in their possession during a procession or assembly. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Providing the police with new powers to arrest protesters wearing face coverings to conceal their identity. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000 and a month in prison;
  • Modifying the reasonable excuse defence that is currently available concerning certain public order offences to prevent a minority of protesters from deliberately causing serious disruption while exploiting defences relating to the right to protest. 

Our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit has for months observed protesters causing severe disruption to the public during their weekly anti-Israel demonstrations, including launching fireworks at police officers; desecrating war memorials; and preventing members of the public from travelling.

A further effect of these weekly protests is that a staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there. Our urban centres have become no-go zones for Jews.

In December, Campaign Against Antisemitism gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee regarding the policing of protests. During the hearing, Chief Executive Gideon Falter pointed out that there is no freedom to intimidate others, glorify terrorism or commit acts of hatred under the law, and contrasted how police at the March Against Antisemitism in November were there to protect marchers from criminality, whereas at the weekly anti-Israel marches they are there to protect the public from criminals among the marchers.

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, said: “Recent protests have seen a small minority dedicated to causing damage and intimidating the law-abiding majority. The right to protest is paramount in our county, but taking flares to marches to cause damage and disruption is not protest, it is dangerous. That is why we are giving police the powers to prevent any of this criminality on our streets.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Public Order, Chief Constable BJ Harrington, said: “We welcome the proposal to create new offences relating to war memorials and flares, as well as making it clear that covering your face at a protest to conceal identity is not acceptable.

“These changes are in-line with conversations that we have had with the Home Office to ensure that we have the powers that we need to get balance right between the rights of those who wish to protest, and those impacted by them.

“Thankfully, the use of flares and pyrotechnics at public order events is rare, but they are still extremely dangerous. Safety is our number one concern when policing these events, and the effective banning of these items during protests can only help in our mission to ensure that they take place without anyone coming to any harm.

“As with all policing powers, these new powers will be used when appropriate, proportionate, and necessary to achieve policing objectives. Policing is not anti-protest, but there is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives with reckless and criminal acts.”

Andy Marsch, Chief Constable at the College of Policing, said: “I welcome the new offences this legislation will provide the officers who are policing protests and working hard, in complex environments, to keep people safe.

“The safety of both those protesting and others nearby trying to go about their business is the top priority and our training and guidance focuses on balancing the rights of those protesting with the rights of those affected. The new legislation is now clear that protest is not an excuse for serious disruption.

“As with previous changes the College of Policing will work quickly to provide practical advice, training and support for policing to utilise these new powers.”

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “For months now, we have been asking for tougher restrictions to be placed on these protests, which have made our urban centres no-go zones for Jews. While the police have failed the Jewish community and law-abiding Londoners, the Government, to its credit, is listening. These new laws will help address the mob mentality that we have observed in these protests, including the use of fireworks against police officers, desecration of war memorials and severe disruption to travel. There is no justification for such scenes, and now, there will be no legal defence. The people of this country expect the lawlessness on our streets to be brought firmly under control, and with these changes there are now even fewer excuses for police inaction.”

Today, the Bristol Employment Tribunal has published its judgment in the case of the University of Bristol’s termination of Prof. David Miller.

David Miller, an academic obsessed with anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of students against the institution.

Prof. Miller later sued the University, and the Bristol Employment Tribunal has today handed down its judgment.

Our lawsuit related to Prof. Miller’s speech on a Zoom webinar in which he said that the “Zionist Movement” is “the enemy” that must be engaged, that it is “the enemy of world peace,” and that those associated with Zionism, including Jewish students on Bristol campus, “must be directly targeted”.

Taken together, the implication of Prof. Miller’s remarks is that all decent people who support “world peace” should view Bristol Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students, and Jewish people, including those who identify with those bodies, and the vast majority of Jewish students as an “enemy” that must be “directly targeted”.

He also said that interfaith work between Jewish and Muslim groups is “a trojan horse for normalising Zionism in the Muslim community”. He also claimed that Jewish students, by virtue of being Zionist, “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.

Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Until this case, the exact reasons for Prof. David Miller’s sacking by the University of Bristol were kept from the public. It is now clear that, despite its adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, Bristol’s failure to recognise that Prof. Miller’s comments constituted antisemitism, as well as its failure to consider some of his most egregious comments, opened the way for today’s judgment. But even so, the tribunal found that Prof. Miller’s misconduct was ‘extraordinary and ill-judged’ and deserving of disciplinary action, albeit that it did not warrant dismissal. He was found to be ‘culpable and blameworthy’, and, if he had been fired for the right reasons, the result today may have been different.

“Importantly, the tribunal drastically slashed Prof. Miller’s compensation , including due to his behaviour since being dismissed, which the tribunal found led to a ‘realistic chance that the claimant would have been dismissed’ anyway.

“We are deeply concerned by the way in which the University of Bristol has handled this matter over the course of years. We hope and expect that Bristol will appeal this decision. We are considering the matter with our lawyers.”


If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]

After weeks of resisting calls to impose restrictions on the weekly anti-Israel marches coursing through London, this week the Metropolitan Police Service finally agreed that enough is enough, and ordered protesters not to pass through Whitehall.

Then, under pressure, the Met reversed its decision, deciding that enough is not, in fact, enough, and that the protesters could march down Whitehall after all.

So, among the other rhetoric and signage, a flag, popular with Islamists, once again passed through the UK’s seat of government.

This is a humiliation for the Met and its Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, and serves as a reminder to the rest of us just how far our top police officers are willing to go to appease the mob.

To understand better the powers available to the Commissioner of the Met, the Mayor of London and the Home Secretary, watch this video here.

For one MP, enough is enough

The news this week that a senior MP and Government Minister is stepping down out of fear marks a dark time for democracy and the rule of law in Britain.

While the motivation behind the recent arson attack on Mike Freer’s constituency office is not yet clear, what is known is that the MP, who represents one of the country’s largest Jewish communities, has long been violently targeted by Islamist radicals and other extremists over his views on matters of Jewish interest, so much so that he has now announced his retirement, observing that “there is an underlying antisemitic part of the attacks.”

Regardless of political views, it should be deeply alarming to all people who care about our democracy that such fears are not only valid but can reach the point of driving elected MPs like Mr Freer out of public service.

We wish to thank Mr Freer for his longstanding and continuing support for the Jewish community, the fight against antisemitism, and Campaign Against Antisemitism, of which he has served as an Honorary Patron.

Alleged knife attack in Golders Green

Mike Freer’s announcement came just days after an alleged knife attack in his constituency.

On Monday, brave staff members of a kosher supermarket in Golders Green defended themselves against a man said to be wielding a knife in an alleged antisemitic incident.

We spoke with a member of staff involved, who told us that the suspect – appearing from footage to be a male dressed in a grey hoodie and grey tracksuit bottoms – entered the shop demanding to know the staff’s feelings on what was happening “in Palestine”.

One staff member refused to engage, explaining that he did not wish to discuss politics. He and another staff member then escorted the suspect out of the shop.

The suspect, shortly after, allegedly attempted to grab at one of the staff members’ neck. Defending himself with Krav Maga moves he remembered learning as a youth, the staff member tried to restrain him before hearing people around him yell “knife, knife”.

At this point, the staff member quickly backed away, and the suspect began moving towards him.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed a nearby shopping trolley, pushing it into the body of the suspect in order to create distance.

The staff member told us that he retreated into the shop, where the suspect then followed, before leaving and making his way across the road into a building.

He is alleged to have then left that building approximately five minutes later in a change of clothes, apparently wearing traditional Muslim garb, and began walking up the road.

One of the staff members then ran ahead of him so that he could view his face to confirm that this was the same man from minutes earlier.

Shortly thereafter, the suspect was apprehended by Shomrim North West London and the Metropolitan Police, and arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and racially-aggravated affray.

He was then taken into custody, and has been charged.

We are continuing to support the victims and follow the matter closely.

Roger Waters dropped by record label following CAA exposé

It has been revealed that the music rights company BMG dropped the controversial rockstar Roger Waters shortly after we published our exposé on the musician, where we revealed that Mr Waters wanted to put “Dirty k***” on an inflatable pig and impersonated a Holocaust victim, among other allegations.

The decision, taken by BMG in the closing months of last year, was not accompanied by an explanation at the time.

The company, which is based in Germany, signed a publishing agreement with Mr Waters in 2016 and was scheduled to release a newly recorded version of Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon last year, but withdrew and the re-recording was instead released by the UK-based record label Cooking Vinyl.

The split is reported to be unusual for a major publishing deal, and comes as Mr Waters’ reputation is in tatters following the release of our documentary. You can watch the film here.

The full documentary can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Vincent Reynouard to be extradited to France after action by CAA

Vincent Reynouard, a French Holocaust-denier, will be extradited from the UK after his application for leave to appeal was rejected.

Mr Reynouard, 54, a convicted Holocaust-denier, was awaiting a decision on his appeal after a court in Scotland granted an extradition request from France. Mr Reynouard was a fugitive in the UK who was caught following appeals from Campaign Against Antisemitism and our Honorary Patron, Lord Austin.

Mr Reynouard is a despicable Holocaust-denier who has repeatedly been convicted by French courts. For him to have evaded justice, only to settle in the UK as a private tutor teaching children, is intolerable, which is why we worked with French Jewish organisations to secure his extradition so that he faces the consequences of his abhorrent incitement.

We are delighted that those efforts have borne fruit, with the court granting the request to extradite Mr Reynouard and refusing his application for permission to appeal, so that he can face justice in France. This is not only the right judgement for the Jewish community, but also for the justice system. The UK cannot become a haven for those seeking to evade justice elsewhere. For antisemites in particular, the message is clear: you are not welcome in Britain.

Germany-based music rights company BMG has reportedly ended its relationship with the former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters. The move comes shortly after an exposé published by Campaign Against Antisemitism went viral in the autumn.

It is understood that the contract between BMG and Mr Waters was originally signed in 2016. The musician was due to re-record and release a newer version of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon in 2023. The contract, however, was cancelled and Mr Waters subsequently released the album with Cooking Vinyl, a UK-based label.

According to Mr Waters, the contract was cancelled due to alleged ‘pro-Israel pressures’ on BMG’s parent company, Bertelsmann. 

In September last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism published The Dark Side of Roger Waters, a documentary which reveals disturbing e-mails that were gathered during an investigation into allegations of antisemitism against the rockstar, as well as interviews with his former associates. 

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols.

The documentary also includes interviews with Norbert Statchel, Mr Waters’ former saxophonist, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin, who produced The Wall, as well as hits for talent from U2 to Kiss to Taylor Swift.

Among various incidents, Mr Stachel says that Mr Waters lost his temper over vegetarian food at a restaurant and demanded that waiters “Take away the Jew food”, that Mr Waters mocked Mr Stachel’s grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust, and that a colleague warned him not to react if he wanted to keep his job.

Mr Ezrin recounts an incident in which Mr Waters sung him an impromptu ditty about then agent Bryan Morrison, the last couplet of which ended with words to the effect of “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew”.

Following the initial release of the documentary, we heard from Marc Brickman, a lighting director and former associate of Mr Waters. 

We interviewed Mr Brickman, in which explained the conversations around the “dirty k*ke” e-mail and how he demanded to know why, if the purpose was to confront hateful phrases, it was only a racist epithet that targets Jews that was due to be included on the pig and no other offensive terms.

In the interview, he also reveals that the reason that the swastika confetti idea never materialised was only because nobody would make it, and that he was called out by Mr Waters for expressing his reservations.

These incidents and others that he recounts – including the proposed inclusion of an image of “a menacing Hasidic Jewish boy” alongside “an angelic Palestinian girl” – drew Mr Brickman to the conclusion that Mr Waters’ “definition of antisemitism is totally different than anyone else’s”.

Mr Waters was due to perform at the London Palladium on 8th and 9th October last year. Leading up to the performances, we orchestrated a number of activities to protest these performances, including delivering thousands of letters from members of the public to the theatre, parking an advertisement outside the theatre to raise awareness of Mr Waters’ record, driving a van around London drawing attention to the controversy, and picketing the venue.

The documentary’s investigation was led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

The full documentary, and the follow-up film, can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Around the world, International Holocaust Memorial Day was marked with dignity and respect. But not everywhere.

Some, like Labour MP Kate Osamor, used the occasion to imply in a message to constituents that what is happening in Gaza is comparable to the Holocaust and, by strong implication, that Israel acts like the Nazis, a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Her apology rang hollow, as if she was unaware of the meaning of her own remarks. Clearly, her understanding of antisemitism is deficient and not in accordance with that of her Party, which has adopted the Definition.

We have called on the Labour Party to suspend her, and she must be required to undertake antisemitism training by a reputable provider.

Meanwhile, at anti-Israel demonstrations in the UK, protesters desecrated the solemnity of the day, not only by equating Israel to Nazis as well, but also in providing a masterclass in how a phenomenon like Holocaust-denial begins, as they cast doubt on, played down or outright denied the Hamas atrocities of 7th October.

Leicester Square attack

Not only are the police failing to police the weekly anti-Israel demonstrations adequately, but they are also failing individual Jews under attack.

Last weekend, in the early hours of the morning, three Jews were physically assaulted by ten men in Leicester Square, resulting in serious injuries. Incredibly, not a single bystanders assisted.

Although the victims called the police while the attack was underway, and notwithstanding that it was taking place in the heart of London, police officers only showed up after half an hour, by which time the perpetrators had fled the scene.

The Metropolitan Police must identify and arrest the attackers. The victims are also calling on the police to apologise for failing them when they needed them most.

Watch the victims speak out here.

“Generation hate”: frightening new polling published

Campaign Against Antisemitism commissioned King’s College London to survey British adults’ attitudes towards Jews, using YouGov.

The polling has revealed worrying levels of anti-Jewish prejudice among the British public, with particularly frightening rates among young people aged between 18 and 24.

Published in the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, the polling raises serious questions about whether lessons about the antisemitism that motivated the Nazis have really been learned by British young adults.

  • A quarter of British people over 64 believe that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews. Among 18-24 year olds, it is over a third.
  • Almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media. Among 18-24 year olds, it is more than a quarter.
  • Compared to the general population (one in twenty), double the proportion of 18-24s (almost one in ten) do not believe that Jewish people are just as loyal to Britain as other British people.
  • Compared to the general population, more than double the proportion of 18-24 year olds are not as open to having Jewish friends as they are to having friends from other sections of British society.
  • While almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy, that rises to over one quarter of 18-24 year olds.
  • 7% of Britons do not believe that Israel is right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it. That figure doubles to 14% of 18-24 year olds.
  • 14% of British people are not comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel. Among 18-24 year olds, that figure rises to 21% – more than one fifth of the young population.
  • More than one in ten young Britons do not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.
  • More than one in ten 18-24 year olds believe that Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda.

Other findings from the survey:

  • More than one in ten British people believe that Jewish people chase money more than other people do.
  • Only three quarters of British people believe that Jewish people can be trusted just as much as other British people in business.
  • More than one in ten Britons believe that, compared to other groups, Jewish people have too much power in the media.

The rhetoric that we are seeing online, on television and on our streets is radicalising the British public, but it is the rates of antisemitism that we have discovered among 18-24 year olds that are most frightening. This is generation hate.

On the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day, our country needs an urgent rethink about how we teach about antisemitism. If young people cannot see the relationship between the genocidal antisemitism of the Nazis and the genocidal antisemitism of Hamas, and, as a society, we refuse to talk about how our attitudes towards Israel and its supporters are influenced by antisemitic prejudice, then we are clearly not talking about antisemitism properly.

Our education is failing the next generation, and our society is suffering as a result. It is British Jews who are paying the price.

The YouGov survey was designed and analysed by experts at KCL on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism. Total sample size was 2,084 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-11th December 2023 by YouGov plc. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). The full results, background information and methodology can be found here.

This weekend saw the memory of the Holocaust appropriated to abuse the Jewish community. What would the British soldiers who liberated the Nazi death camps make of Britain today?

Vincent Reynouard, a French Holocaust-denier, will be extradited from the UK after his application for leave to appeal was rejected on Friday.

Mr Reynouard, 54, a convicted Holocaust-denier, was awaiting a decision from the court on the appeal after a court in Scotland granted an extradition request from France. Mr Reynouard was a fugitive in the UK who was caught following appeals from Campaign Against Antisemitism.

His extradition hearing followed several preliminary hearings and false starts to allow time for the content of videos, which were alleged to have been made by Mr Reynouard, to be translated into English, as well as other delays due to ill health on his legal team.

Mr Reynouard continued to post updates on his far-right blog, Sans Concession, despite being incarcerated as he awaited his extradition hearing.

The extradition request was granted after the court considered that the postings for which Mr Reynouard was found guilty in France would also be crimes in the UK under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

In a different case in 2018, Campaign Against Antisemitism secured a legal precedent that Holocaust-denial is “grossly offensive” and therefore illegal when used as a means by which to hound Jews. When it is delivered via a medium of communication, it can fall within the purview of the Communications Act. That English precedent has effectively been replicated in Scottish law in this case now as well.

Mr Reynouard was sentenced  to jail for four months on 25th November 2020 by a court in Paris and again in January 2021 for six months, in addition to fines. His latest conviction is in relation to a series of antisemitic postings on Facebook and Twitter and a 2018 YouTube video for which fellow French Holocaust denier, Hervé Ryssen (also known as Hervé Lalin), received a seventeen-month-jail term earlier that year.

However, Mr Reynouard fled the country before serving his sentence and settled in the UK, where he reportedly worked as a private tutor teaching children mathematics, physics and chemistry. Private tutors are not required to undergo background checks.

In November 2022, he was finally arrested near Edinburgh. In the intervening months, Campaign Against Antisemitism has been cooperating with French Jewish groups seeking Mr Reynouard’s extradition to France. Along with Lord Austin, an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, we corresponded with police forces and prosecutors in the UK and Interpol in an effort to locate Mr Reynouard and bring him to justice.

Scottish police arrested him at an address near the Scottish capital, where he was apparently living under a false identity. He was brought before a judge on the same day and refused to consent to his extradition to France.

Early last year, Mr Reynouard appeared in court where he was served with a second arrest warrant, as the French authorities had allegedly made an error in their application for the initial arrest warrant. Paul Dunne, Mr Reynouard’s lawyer, said of Mr Reynouard: “He does not consent to his extradition to France.”

Mr Reynouard faces a sentence of almost two years in a French prison, in addition to any further sentence in relation to other ongoing proceedings. It is possible that his time in prison in the UK may reduce the length of his custodial sentence in France.

The Office Central de Lutte Contre les Crimes Contre l’Humanité, les Génocides et les Crimes de Guerre (OCLCH) — the arm of the French gendarmerie that specialises in hate crime and war crimes — has been leading the investigation.

Mr Reynouard’s first Holocaust denial conviction was in 1991 for distributing leaflets denying the existence of the gas chambers at concentration camps. Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990. He has been convicted on numerous occasions and his subsequent sentences include multiple prison terms and a €10,000 fine.

Mr Reynouard is alleged to have ties to Catholic fundamentalist groups that deny the Holocaust. In a recent analysis of the French far-right, the newspaper Liberation claimed that Mr Reynouard and Mr Ryssen are key members of a network of propagandists dedicated to the denial and distortion of the Holocaust.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Vincent Reynouard is a despicable Holocaust-denier who has repeatedly been convicted by French courts. For him to have evaded justice, only to settle in the UK as a private tutor teaching children, is intolerable, which is why we worked with French Jewish organisations to secure his extradition so that he faces the consequences of his abhorrent incitement.

“We are delighted that those efforts have borne fruit, with the court granting the request to extradite Mr Reynouard, and refusing his application for permission to appeal, so that he can face justice in France. This is not only the right judgement for the Jewish community, but also for the justice system. The UK cannot become a haven for those seeking to evade justice elsewhere. For antisemites in particular, the message is clear: you are not welcome in Britain. Good riddance, Mr Reynouard.”

The leader of a far-right group behind numerous stickering campaigns had been found guilty of racial hatred.

Sam Melia, 34, of Pudsey in West Yorkshire, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court of intending to stir up racial hatred through the distribution of the stickers and encouraging racially aggravated criminal damage.

Mr Melia, a professional sign-maker, was unmasked in 2020 as the leader of Hundred Handers, an anonymous network of activists who have carried out far-right stickering campaigns across the country and worldwide.

The stickers, which feature far-right slogans and imagery and antisemitic tropes, were seen in cities in Britain, Europe, the United States and Australia. 

It was discovered that Mr Melia set up a Telegram group, which had over 3,500 subscribers, for Hundred Handers, where members could download stickers for printing.

The stickers featured text such as “there is a war on whites,” “they seek conquest, not asylum” and “intolerance is a virtue” alongside the group’s logo.

Police arrested Mr Melia in Farsley, Leeds in April 2021. Upon his arrest, stickers bearing nationalist text were discovered in his wallet.

At his home, police found a poster of Adolf Hitler, an emblem of an eagle with a swastika and a copy of a book by Sir Oswald Mosley, who was the founder of the British Union of Fascists. 

Police also discovered digital archives of over 200 Hundred Handers stickers and evidence of the stickers being posted around the UK. They also found evidence that he encouraged members of the Telegram group to place stickers in public areas and proof that he carried out similar activities.

Mr Melia was also found to have told others to use anonymous e-mail providers and a VPN for any communication relating to Hundred Handers’ activities. 

After police searched his home, the defendant and his wife discussed the raid online, which attracted almost 3,000 viewers and raised nearly £1,500 in one hour. 

During the hearing, Mr Melia argued that, while his stickers could be offensive to some, any offence caused would be a “subjective reaction”.

When Mr Melia raised the issue of free speech, prosecutor Tom Storey dismissed the notion and stated that the case against the defendant was not to “punish someone for their political views.”

Mr Storey reminded the court that the charges brought against Mr Melia were based on his actions stirring up racial hatred.

In court, Mr Melia was joined by his wife, Laura Tyrie, who also goes by “Laura Towler” and is reportedly the Deputy Leader of Patriotic Alternative (PA). Ms Tyrie, who was in the public gallery, sat with Mark Collett, the leader of PA.

Mr Melia is also a regional organiser for PA, a UK-based group headed by the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP, Mr Collett. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

PA is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Mr Melia is due to be sentenced in March later this year. 

This is the second conviction of a PA member. Last year, Kristofer Thomas Kearney, who said that Adolf Hitler did “nothing wrong” was jailed.

Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Melia was perfectly aware that the stickers he published on his Telegram channel were being downloaded and then stuck up in public places around the country. He also knew full well the impact these racially inflammatory stickers were having, and by attempting to remain anonymous, sought to protect himself and others from investigation.

“He was very deliberate in the manner he wanted to spread his messages of racial hatred, and online messages recovered made it clear that he knew these stickers were being displayed in public and causing damage to public property. It is illegal to publish such material intending to stir up racial hatred towards others, and the CPS will not hesitate to bring prosecutions against those who break the law in this way.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) commissioned King’s College London to survey British adults’ attitudes towards Jews, using YouGov.

The polling has revealed worrying levels of anti-Jewish prejudice among the British public, with particularly frightening rates among young people aged between 18 and 24.

Coming on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, the polling raises serious questions about whether lessons about the antisemitism that motivated the Nazis have really been learned by British young adults.

  • A quarter of British people over 64 believe that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews. Among 18-24 year olds, it is over a third.
  • Almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media. Among 18-24 year olds, it is more than a quarter.
  • Compared to the general population (one in twenty), double the proportion of 18-24s (almost one in ten) do not believe that Jewish people are just as loyal to Britain as other British people.
  • Compared to the general population, more than double the proportion of 18-24 year olds are not as open to having Jewish friends as they are to having friends from other sections of British society.
  • While almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy, that rises to over one quarter of 18-24 year olds.
  • 7% of Britons do not believe that Israel is right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it. That figure doubles to 14% of 18-24 year olds.
  • 14% of British people are not comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel. Among 18-24 year olds, that figure rises to 21% – more than one fifth of the young population.
  • More than one in ten young Britons do not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.
  • More than one in ten 18-24 year olds believe that Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda.

Other findings from the survey:

  • More than one in ten British people believe that Jewish people chase money more than other people do.
  • Only three quarters of British people believe that Jewish people can be trusted just as much as other British people in business.
  • More than one in ten Britons believe that, compared to other groups, Jewish people have too much power in the media.

The YouGov survey was designed and analysed by experts at KCL on behalf of CAA.

Total sample size was 2,084 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-11th December 2023 by YouGov plc. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The rhetoric that we are seeing online, on television and on our streets is radicalising the British public, but it is the rates of antisemitism that we have discovered among 18-24 year olds that are most frightening. This is generation hate.

“On the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, our country needs an urgent rethink about how we teach about antisemitism. If young people cannot see the relationship between the genocidal antisemitism of the Nazis and the genocidal antisemitism of Hamas, and, worse still, refuse to talk about how our attitudes towards Israel and its supporters are influenced by antisemitic prejudice, then we are clearly not talking about antisemitism properly.

“Our education is failing the next generation, and our society is suffering as a result. It is British Jews who are paying the price.”

Full results

Jewish people can be trusted just as much as other British people in business.

  • Strongly agree 42
  • Agree 33
  • Neither agree nor disagree 21
  • Disagree 3
  • Strongly disagree 2
  • TOTAL AGREE 75
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 5

Only three quarters of British people believe that Jewish people can be trusted just as much as other British people in business.

Jewish people are just as loyal to Britain as other British people.    

  • Strongly agree 34
  • Agree 32
  • Neither agree nor disagree 29
  • Disagree 3
  • Strongly disagree 2
  • TOTAL AGREE 66
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 5 (rises to 9% among young people, i.e. 18-24)

Compared to the general population (one in twenty), double the proportion of 18-24s (almost one in ten) do not believe that Jewish people are just as loyal to Britain as other British people.

I am just as open to having Jewish friends as I am to having friends from other sections of British society.    

  • Strongly agree 56
  • Agree 28
  • Neither agree nor disagree 13
  • Disagree 1
  • Strongly disagree 1
  • TOTAL AGREE 84
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 2 (rises to 5% among young people)

Compared to the general population (2%), more than double the proportion of 18-24 year olds (5%) are not as open to having Jewish friends as they are to having friends from other sections of British society.

Compared to other groups, Jewish people have too much power in the media.

  • Strongly agree 4
  • Agree 8
  • Neither agree nor disagree 42
  • Disagree 24
  • Strongly disagree 22
  • TOTAL AGREE 12 (rises to 16% among young people)
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 46

More than one in ten Britons believe that, compared to other groups, Jewish people have too much power in the media.

Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda.

  • Strongly agree 2
  • Agree 6
  • Neither agree nor disagree 30
  • Disagree 29
  • Strongly disagree 33
  • TOTAL AGREE 8 (rises to 11% among young people)
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 62

More than one in ten 18-24 year olds believe that Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda.

Jewish people chase money more than other people do.    

  • Strongly agree 3
  • Agree 8
  • Neither agree nor disagree 43
  • Disagree 21
  • Strongly disagree 25
  • TOTAL AGREE 11
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 46

More than one in ten British people believe that Jewish people chase money more than other people do.

I am comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel    

  • Strongly agree 14
  • Agree 24
  • Neither agree nor disagree 48
  • Disagree 9
  • Strongly disagree 5
  • TOTAL AGREE 38
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 14 (rises to 21% among young people)

14% of British people are not comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel. Among 18-24 year olds, that figure rises to 21% – more than one fifth of the young population.

Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people    

  • Strongly agree 21
  • Agree 35
  • Neither agree nor disagree 37
  • Disagree 4
  • Strongly disagree 3
  • TOTAL AGREE 56
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 7 (rises to 11% among young people)

More than one in ten young Britons do not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.

Israel is right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it    

  • Strongly agree 20
  • Agree 38
  • Neither agree nor disagree     34
  • Disagree 4
  • Strongly disagree 3
  • TOTAL AGREE 58
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 7 (rises to 14% among young people)

Seven percent of Britons, and fourteen percent of young Britons, do not believe that Israel is right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it.

Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy    

  • Strongly agree 7
  • Agree 10
  • Neither agree nor disagree 51
  • Disagree 21
  • Strongly disagree 12
  • TOTAL AGREE 17 (rises to 28% among young people)
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 33

Over one quarter of young people believe that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy, compared to almost one fifth of the wider British public.

Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media    

  • Strongly agree 6
  • Agree 12
  • Neither agree nor disagree 45
  • Disagree 23
  • Strongly disagree 15
  • TOTAL AGREE 18 (rises to 26% among young people)
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 38

Almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media. Among young people, it is more than a quarter.

Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews    

  • Strongly agree 12
  • Agree 18
  • Neither agree nor disagree 43
  • Disagree 15
  • Strongly disagree 12
  • TOTAL AGREE 30 (rises to 34% of young people)
  • TOTAL DISAGREE 27

A quarter of British people over 64 believe that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews. Among 18-24 year olds, it is over a third.

Background and Methodology

The twelve statements – which include six relating to Judeophobic antisemitism and six relating to anti-Zionist antisemitism – together comprise the Generalised Antisemitism Scale.

The Generalised Antisemitism Scale was devised by Dr Daniel Allington of King’s College London, Dr David Hirsh of Goldsmiths, and Dr Louise Katz (then) of the University of Derby. The research behind the Generalised Antisemitism Scale has been peer reviewed.

In particular, in developing the Generalised Antisemitism Scale, they were guided by the International Definition of Antisemitism, which Campaign Against Antisemitism, together with other Jewish communal institutions from around the world, has long campaigned to be widely adopted. Further background on the Generalised Antisemitism Scale can be found here.

Our survey of British adults were conducted by YouGov Plc. The surveys were administered online to members of YouGov’s panel of over 1,000,000 British adults who have agreed to take part in surveys. E-mails were sent to adult panellists who fulfilled the requirements of the sample, inviting them to take part in the surveys, and providing a link to the survey. YouGov normally achieves a response rate of between 35% and 50% to surveys however this does vary depending on the subject matter, complexity and length of the questionnaire.

Total sample size was 2,084 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-11th December 2023 by YouGov plc. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

YouGov ensured that there were no duplicate responses and that all respondents were adults living in Great Britain.

The responding sample was weighted according to age and gender, social grade, political attention level, education, and region, in addition to past voting behaviour, to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is derived from the Census as well as the mid-year population estimates and Annual Population Survey published by the Office for National Statistics.

This week we approach Holocaust Memorial Day, which marks the Allied liberation of Auschwitz and commemorates the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. But how should we remember the Holocaust – the event for which the term “genocide” was coined?

From graffiti in Glasgow to a library in Tower Hamlets, we are all seeing comparisons of Israel to Nazis everywhere, in a clear breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism. At yesterday’s weekly anti-Israel protest, leaflets were distributed in London purporting to explain the “Zionist Holocaust, backed by the West, aping Hitler.” Across the channel in the Hague, the Jewish state is being accused of implementing a genocide.

The brutality of the antisemitic genocidal terror group Hamas has quickly been forgotten, and reminders of its barbarism – such as pictures of baby Kfir, who this past week turned one year old in Hamas’s clutches – are torn from walls.

Evidently, the enemies of the Jewish people view the Holocaust and its legacy very differently from the rest of us. This week will be an opportunity to ask ourselves why we continue to remember the Holocaust, and what lessons it is supposed to teach.

If you are organising or attending a Holocaust Memorial Day event, make sure that the right lessons are being taught. If they are not, please let us know.

Manchester marches against antisemitism

Weekly anti-Israel rallies featuring antisemitic rhetoric and genocidal chanting have made our urban centres no-go zones for Jews. It is intolerable.

Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism was proud to join Jews and allies in Manchester to march against antisemitism!

“Filthy animals and Zionist control”

Our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit, together with our communications team, went out to a recent anti-Israel rally and asked protesters why they were demonstrating.

​Their repugnant responses were so voluminous that we couldn’t fit them all into one video. Here is Part One:

You can also watch Part Two and Part Three.

Are the police doing enough?

Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, appeared on LBC to defend policing of the weekly anti-Israel protests. Challenged by a caller, he claimed: “We’re determined to do everything we can do within the law to create the frameworks around protest to make sure that we balance the rights of protesters with not having the centre of London as a place where people such as yourself are afraid to come into.”

Given that our polling shows that 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there, we question Sir Mark’s satisfaction that the right “balance” has been struck.

Pressed on whether his officers are being robust enough with demonstrators who hold antisemitic signs and presented with the claim that, when protestors shout the genocidal chant “From the River to the Sea”, his officers just stand and watch, he insisted: “That’s not true.”

​You can judge for yourself here.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has been at the forefront of holding the Met to account, and we will continue to do so in the weeks to come.

Proscription of Hizb ut-Tahrir

While the Met Police may not be listening, the Government showed that it is. This week, Home Secretary James Cleverly announced that the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is to be proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.

When we discovered that Hizb ut-Tahrir had appeared to praise the Hamas attack of 7th October, we wrote to the Met to prevent the group from holding its demonstrations on the streets of London. The Met took no action and the rallies went ahead, in which there were calls for the armies of Muhammed to wage Jihad. Still, the Met refused to take action, making excuses to defend this rhetoric instead.

We therefore wrote to the Home Secretary calling for the controversial Islamist group to be proscribed.

​We commend the Home Secretary for this significant announcement. for which we have called over the past few weeks and with which, according to our polling, 90% of British Jews agree.

It is absolutely the right step, and shows that the Government is listening. The Met should take note.

This week, as we approach Holocaust Memorial Day, we must ensure that the right lessons are being learned. We owe it to the past, and we owe it to the present and the future.

The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has announced that the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is to be proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, following calls to do so by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist party which is actively operating in over 40 countries worldwide. It has been banned in a number of countries and is particularly active in the UK.

There have previously been considerations as to whether Hizb ut-Tahrir should be proscribed. Concerns were raised on those occasions in light of the fact that Hizb ut-Tahrir presents itself as a non-violent party (although members have been linked to violent acts in multiple countries).

On 17th October 2023 Hizb ut-Tahrir published on its website a call to the public to attend a national demonstration on 21st October 2023 at both the Egyptian Embassy and the Turkish Embassy.

The call-to-demonstrate post specified that the demonstrations were “in light of the heroic feats carried out by the heroic Mujahideen in the Blessed Land – Palestine under the slogan Al-Aqsa Flood against the usurping Jewish entity…” a reference to the Hamas attack of 7th October.

The post went on to clarify that the demonstration was organised “to call on the Muslim armies to break the shackles that the Ruwaibidah rulers have placed on them in their barracks and move immediately to trample the traitorous rulers and give victory to the Mujahideen in the Blessed Land – Palestine and liberate the blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa from the clutches of the occupying Jews”.

These published statements were explicit calls for serious violence.

Although Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately brought this information to the attention of the Metropolitan Police Service, no action was taken and the demonstrations proceeded. In view of this failure by the Met to act, we wrote to the then-Home Secretary calling for a proscription.

We also polled the Jewish community, 90% of which believes that the British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.

We are pleased that the Government has listened and is proscribing the organisation.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “When we discovered that Hizb ut-Tahrir had appeared to praise the Hamas attack of 7th October, we wrote to the Metropolitan Police Service to prevent the group from holding its demonstrations on the streets of London. The Met took no action and the rallies went ahead, in which there were calls for the armies of Muhammed to wage Jihad. Still, the Met refused to take action, making excuses to defend this rhetoric instead.

“We therefore wrote to the Home Secretary calling for the controversial Islamist group to be proscribed. Our polling of the Jewish community showed overwhelming support for this policy change.

“We commend James Cleverly for this significant announcement. It is absolutely the right step, and shows that the Government is listening. The Met should take note.”

It may be a new year, but sadly what we are seeing on our streets is still the same old hate.

Last week, there was an illegal anti-Israel protest, which our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit captured on film, and during the week there were genocidal calls outside the Houses of Parliament. Yesterday, there was another large protest, which our volunteers also monitored.

But even as these demonstrations take place week after week, the Mayor of London has failed to speak out and take action. Perhaps Sadiq Khan did not want to provoke the ire of antisemites, as the Mayor of Bristol did when he expressed solidarity with the victims of Hamas terror.

But Mr Khan is also London’s equivalent of a police and crime commissioner. He is the elected official in charge of policing in our capital city at a time when 90% of British Jews say that they are feeling intimidated and bullied into staying out of city centres, according to our representative polling of the Jewish community.

This weekend, Campaign Against Antisemitism called on the Mayor finally to speak out against the marches on our streets that regularly feature antisemitism, glorification of terrorism and incitement to intifada.

The Mayor is not above criticism. After all, why is it that it is okay to criticise the Mayor over, say, knife crime but not okay to criticise him over antisemitic hate crime? Why do some people seem to think Jewish Londoners do not have a right to expect solidarity and action from their city’s mayor at a time of record antisemitism?

There seems to be a cynical double standard, which we do not accept. We will continue to hold politicians and police chiefs to account, without fear or favour.

100 days in captivity

Today, British Jews have gathered at Trafalgar Square to mark 100 days since the brutal Hamas terror attack.

Contrary to the claims of antisemites, Zionism and a strong connection to Israel are core to the identity of most British Jews. Over the winter break, we published polling that shows that a near-unanimous 97% of British Jews feel personally connected to events happening in Israel, and eight in ten British Jews consider themselves to be a Zionist. Only six percent do not. That is why so many turned out today.

For 100 days, the hostages taken by Hamas have been held in captivity by the terrorist organisation, in unimaginable conditions.

Among them is Kfir Bibas, who turns one year old this month.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is proud to join the call of the Jewish community and its allies to Bring Them Home!

Parliament acts

This week has seen a variety of welcome developments in the House of Commons:

  • The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill passed its third reading. Once it becomes law, it will ban public bodies from imposing their boycotts, divestment, or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries. Year after year, our polling has shown that an overwhelming majority of British Jews consider the tactics of the BDS campaign to be intimidatory.
  • MPs debated a proposal by Nickie Aiken MP relating to the contribution of British Jews to our country. Campaign Against Antisemitism provided a submission to all MPs in advance of the debate.
  • Andrew Percy MP raised the critical issue of antisemitism in schools. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed that “there is no place for antisemitism or the glorification of terrorism in Britain, especially not in our classrooms.”

Our volunteers also met with MPs this week, and our Policy Unit continues to engage with parliamentarians and the Government on a regular basis as part of our policy advocacy.

Wiley performance cancelled

You may recall that, in 2020, the rapper Richard Cowie, known as Wiley, published antisemitic and potentially criminal posts on social media. Numerous platforms suspended his accounts in response to the scandal.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to seek criminal prosecution against Mr Cowie in relation to these posts, which he published from abroad.

In the meantime, we have made every effort to prevent his hate from being normalised. This week, for example, we wrote to a venue that was due to feature him in a gig. Following our correspondence, he has been dropped from the lineup.

This past week, all eyes were on the Home Affairs Select Committee, where the organisers of the weekly anti-Israel marches were grilled by MPs and antisemitism experts gave evidence before parliamentarians.

Notwithstanding the evidence gathered week after week by our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit, the organisers of the marches, including leaders of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop The War Coalition, insisted that these were peace marches, and that they not only “tolerate” the genocidal “From the River to the Sea” chant but actively chant it.

Are they really peace marches? Watch our video and decide for yourself.

After the organisers had their say, antisemitism experts had their turn answering the Committee’s questions.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, Gideon Falter, pointed out that there is no freedom to intimidate others, glorify terrorism or commit acts of hatred, and contrasted how police at the March Against Antisemitism were there to protect marchers from criminality, whereas at the anti-Israel marches they are there to protect the public from the criminals among the marchers.

This hearing was an opportunity to bring our polling results – your responses to our recent survey – to the attention of lawmakers. Thank you to the thousands of you who participated.

He also did not leave unchallenged Diane Abbott’s claim not to have seen any glorification of terrorism at these anti-Israel protests and her insistence that her Jewish constituents are unafraid to enter Central London during the demonstrations. (After we publicised her comments, members of the Stamford Hill Jewish community contacted us angrily to reject her assertions.)

Watch the exchange in the video.

Have you experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident?

We are looking to collect filmed testimonials from the Jewish community to capture how British Jews are coping at a time of surging antisemitism.

Please contact us so that we can get in touch about arranging filming.

Solidarity during Chanukah

During Chanukah, it is traditional to display the Chanukah lamp at the window, in order to publicise the miracles that were bestowed on the Jews of antiquity who successfully overcame their oppressors.

This year, particularly after last week’s march, that feeling of defiance is stronger than it has been in a while, and we anticipate that many of the Jewish community’s friends and allies will be looking for ways to continue to show solidarity against antisemitism.

We have created an image of a Chanukah lamp which you can print and place in your window during the eight-day festival, which begins this Thursday evening. We have also included a version that can be coloured in, in case you have children who would like to get involved!

We would love you to send us pictures of images of your Chanukah lamp or the picture of the lamp in your window, which we can share on social media.

“Acheinu” – “Our Brothers”

Campaign Against Antisemitism, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Rabbi, is delighted to present Jonny Turgel’s “Acheinu”, an anthem for the National Solidarity March Against Antisemitism that took place in Central London on Sunday 26th November 2023.

We were thrilled to have the Chief Rabbi among the speakers at the National Solidarity March Against Antisemitism and to have such an accomplished chazan in Jonny Turgel to express the feelings of the crowd that day.

We are honoured to have worked with him and the Office of the Chief Rabbi to create this music video to immortalise that most extraordinary day and to be able to present it to the Jewish community and our many friends.

Please share the video widely. May it bring light to us all in this particularly dark period for the Jewish people and our wonderful allies.

Wishing our Jewish supporters a Happy Chanukah!

As the dust settles following the 105,000-strong March Against Antisemitism of last week, the contrast could not be clearer between us, seeking to uphold our right to walk the streets proudly as Jews and allies in safety, and those whose fight makes our city centres no-go zones for Jews on a weekly basis.

During this season, as we approach Chanukah, we are particularly attuned to the fight against antisemitism, and how we can wage it in twenty-first-century Britain in accordance with our values. Last Sunday, we showed the country and the world how we do it: peaceably, with dignity and in good humour. We showed British values at their best – by being proud Jews and allies.

We have now uploaded a picture gallery of the march, as well as a video of all of the speeches in full.

We were privileged to speak to many of you who attended to ask why you felt it was so important to participate and the impact that being there had on you.

The march was peaceful. The march was unthreatening. The march was different from all other marches that London has hosted in recent weeks.

The contrast could not be clearer between those who fight against antisemitism and those whose fight makes our cities no-go zones for Jews.

Solidarity during Chanukah

During Chanukah, it is traditional to display the Chanukah lamp at the window, in order to publicise the miracles that were bestowed on the Jews of antiquity who successfully overcame their oppressors.

This year, particularly after last week’s march, that feeling of defiance is stronger than it has been in a while, and we anticipate that many of the Jewish community’s friends and allies will be looking for ways to continue to show solidarity against antisemitism.

For those interested, we have created an image of a Chanukah lamp which you can print and place in your window ahead of the eight-day festival, which begins this Thursday evening. We have also included a version that can be coloured in, in case you have children who would like to get involved!

We would love you to send us pictures of images of your Chanukah lamp or the picture of the lamp in your window, which we can share on social media. You can e-mail or Direct Message us on social media at the handle @antisemitism.

A solemn commemoration

140,000, 75,000, 135,000, 5,000, 38,000, 265,000, 30,000, 105,000, 63,000.

These are estimates of the number of Jews living, respectively, in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen in 1948.

Their numbers are now depleted to single digits in all but two of those countries, where they are a fraction of what they were. A similar pattern prevailed in other Muslim countries in the wider region as well.

This past week saw the annual Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab Countries and Iran. We remember the persecution and expulsion of these communities, and celebrate their immense contributions to the Jewish world and the countries that welcomed them.

The BBC

There were reports prior to the march that the BBC had either instructed employees not to attend or had referred those who asked whether they could attend to guidelines that seemed to discouraged attendance. Either way, it was very disappointing to see our national broadcaster not readily permit its staff to attend a march against racism. These reports served only to fuel suspicions among the community and much of the wider public about the Corporation’s impartiality.

We have offered free assistance to any BBC employee who is reprimanded or faces any consequences for having made a stand against racism by joining the march, including arranging legal support free of charge.

This is, of course, just the latest controversy relating to the BBC. Another has been its reticence to call Hamas “terrorists”.

If you have not yet signed our Parliamentary Petition, you can still do so. It calls for terrorism legislation to be amended to require all broadcasters regulated by Ofcom to describe all terrorist organisations proscribed in the UK and their operatives as “terrorists” and not by any other descriptor, which does not make their terrorist nature clear.

Unlike other petitions, if 10,000 people sign a Parliamentary Petition, the Government will issue a response, and if 100,000 people sign it, the topic will be considered for debate in Parliament. Please help us to right this wrong and urge lawmakers to act to ensure that television and radio audiences get the real facts in the news that they consume.

This year, Chanukah will carry more meaning than usual for many Jews. We wish our Jewish supporters a safe, joyous and defiant Chanukah. May it bring light in this particularly dark period for the Jewish people and our wonderful allies.

Image credit: Campaign Against Antisemitism/Stuart Mitchell

Week after week, London has become a no-go zone for Jews. Until Sunday, when 105,000 of you – British Jews and our allies from across the country – assembled to #MarchAgainstAntisemitism. It was the largest gathering against antisemitism in a century.

Even with the full page ads in all of the major national newspapers, extensive publicity in the Jewish press, a one-hour call in programme with our Chief Executive on LBC last Thursday, and significant additional coverage in newspapers and on television and radio, the turnout still exceeded all expectations.

We were honoured to be joined by the Chief Rabbi Sir Efraim Mirvis and rabbinical leaders from across the movements; former Prime Minister Boris Johnson; Ministers Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Halfon, Shadow Cabinet Minister Peter Kyle and numerous other MPs; peers including Lord Austin; actors Eddie Marsan, Dame Maureen Lipman, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Felicity Kendall; broadcasters Robert Rinder, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Vanessa Feltz and Trevor Phillips; historian Simon Sebag Montefiore; journalists Dan Hodges and Toby Young; the photographer and activist Laura Dodsworth; ambassadors and many more. Legions of public figures and social media influencers also attended and helped get the message out to millions, while our speakers expressed the demands of the moment and Israeli singer Rita and renowned cantor Jonny Turgel provided beautiful renditions of the national anthems and performed other songs.

The march was peaceful. The march was unthreatening. The march was different from all other marches that London has hosted in recent weeks.

So many of you have sent kind feedback and messages of thanks. But above all, your testimonials, some of which we shall be posting on our social media channels this week, have powerfully expressed the impact on you of weeks of surging antisemitism. There were a number of powerful testimonies from Jewish people on the march. Some revealed that they have not entered central London in almost two months, until Sunday, and felt relieved to be able to walk the streets of their capital city again. Others said how reassuring it was to finally be able to walk alongside so many other Jews and friends in safety. Others still related to us just how empowering it was to be a Jew, in open, once again, and how important it was to them to participate.

We wish to give particular thanks to those of you who travelled from far afield, some of you on coaches organised locally and others by public transport, sometimes leaving very early in the morning or staying overnight in hotels, because you rightly wanted your voice heard. Without you, this would not have been the truly national march that it had to be.

In addition, we are enormously grateful to those Jewish organisations and the non-Jewish groups that supported the march, which so many participants have told us was one of the most important Jewish events of their lifetimes. We could not have done it without that powerful coalition of organisations that stepped up when the Jewish community and its allies needed them.

We particularly wish to thank the Metropolitan Police Service for guarding the march, the CST for protecting us all with one of the largest ever deployments, and our many stewards who helped the march run so smoothly. Thank you for keeping us safe.

You can watch the full video of speeches here.

New Polling

We all felt that this march was essential. But now we can show empirically why it was so necessary. We can reveal to you the results of our survey of British Jews, which yielded the following alarming insights:

  • 69% of British Jews say that they are less likely to show visible signs of their Judaism right now.
  • Almost half of British Jews have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism, since 7th October.
  • More than six in ten British Jews have either personally experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October or know somebody who has.
  • Only 16% of British Jews believe that the police treat antisemitic hate crime like other forms of hate crime, with two thirds believing that the police apply a double standard.
  • A staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there. Our urban centres have become no-go zones for Jews.
  • A full 95% of British Jews believe that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes.
  • 90% of the Jewish community believes that the British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.

We will be discussing these extraordinary findings with relevant authorities.

Of our supporters more generally, 85% believe that the police do not treat antisemitic crime like other forms of hate crime, 97% agree that the CPS should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes, and 92% believe that the British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir. (Unlike the survey of the Jewish community above, this supporters’ survey was not a representative poll.)

Thank you to everyone who participated in the surveys.

Last Saturday

Last Saturday may seem like an age ago, but it saw a very different type of march – the sort we have been seeing week after week. As ever, our Demonstration and Monitoring Unit was there. To see what they found, please watch the video.

Sunday’s march will not, on its own, stop the surge of antisemitism in its tracks. But because of you the voice of British Jews and our friends has been heard, and the march will amplify the impact of all of our work in the coming weeks, as we continue to do everything we can to hold the authorities to account and defend the Jewish community.

Image credit: Campaign Against Antisemitism/Stuart Mitchell

Following action from Campaign Against Antisemitism, the former barrister Ian Millard was convicted on Friday at Southampton Magistrates’ Court of five offences contrary to section 127(1)(a) Communications Act 2003 in relation to the posting of grossly offensive material relating to his assertions regarding the Jewish race on his blog.

However, Mr Millard was only prosecuted following seven years of work by Campaign Against Antisemitism, due to a reluctance to prosecute from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The charges relate to five blog entries dated between May 2021 and April 2022. Mr Millard posted the entries to his website.

In one post on 10th May 2021, Mr Millard wrote: “Where Jews exist in any but very small numbers, non-Jews will always be exploited, and can never be free. That is as true in Europe (and including the UK) as it is in the Middle East.”

On 15th May 2021, Mr Millard wrote: “I lived on and off in the USA, mostly in the early 1990s though I did also spend time there in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Many Americans are fine people, but the mass media there is almost, not quite, 100% owned and operated by Jews. TV, radio, film, newspapers, magazines, book publishing. Americans have little choice but to see the world largely through the Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli lens. Fact. They are also brainwashed from childhood with ‘holocaust’ propaganda and fake history.”

In another, dated 20th November 2021, Mr Millard posted an image of an arm — which had a Star of David emblazoned on the sleeve — holding a hammer above a computer with the words “free speech” on it. Above the image, text read: “Wherever Jews have power, non-Jews eventually become victims or slaves. Look at history. The ridiculous thing is that, in the UK, many of those who oppose Jewish supremacism in Israel or occupied Palestine, effectively support the Jewish lobby in Europe, eg in the UK itself; they pay lip-service to the ‘holocaust farrago’, in particular, and applaud the Zionist efforts to destroy free speech.” 

Defending himself in court, Mr Millard admitted to ownership and editorial control of the blog, but did not admit to posting the offending posts. He did, however, state that he agreed with all the sentiments expressed in the posts. 

During the course of his time on the stand, Mr Millard attempted to portray himself as the victim of a Jewish plot to crush free speech, telling the court that the CPS had been able to highlight only five blog posts out of more than 1,600 that he had published. A cursory glance at his blog reveals that it is strewn throughout with antisemitic conspiracy theories and imagery glorifying Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. 

He went on to brag about how he had visitors to his blog from all over the world. 

When confronted with the opinions expressed in his posts, he maintained that they were “perfectly acceptable”.

Attempting to defend his Holocaust-denial, he said: “There’s history and there are views of history and people are entitled to adopt whichever view they want.”

He further professed that there were “a great number of hoaxes” around the Holocaust, going on to lament: “It’s the only history that’s acceptable and I disagree with that.”

Mr Millard told the court that “Jewish control of media is pervasive.” 

He also made the claim that British politics is controlled by Zionists, citing as evidence of this the fact that the Star of David — the flag of Israel — had been projected onto 10 Downing Street as a display of solidarity with the Israeli public following the 7th October Hamas terror attacks.

Parroting the far-right antisemitic Great Replacement conspiracy theory, he asserted during his cross-examination that “They [Jews] are trying to get more immigrants into the country and the truth is coming out.” 

While insisting that he could not recall if he had written any of the posts, owing to the fact that he allegedly blogs daily, he also said: “It’s not about whether I’m right or wrong. It’s about freedom of expression.”

He maintained that he had never set out with an intent to offend and that while some of the posts were “shocking”, they were not against the law and in fact merely satirical. 

CPS Prosecutor Philip Allman noted that the offending was “at the high end of culpability”, while Judge Peter Greenfield condemned the posts as “Grossly offensive to Jews and a multiracial society.”

“This is antisemitic…it’s Holocaust-denial, and therefore it is grossly offensive,” Judge Greenfield said. 

While Campaign Against Antisemitism is pleased that justice has finally been delivered, the road to it was made less easy resulting from repeated setbacks by the CPS.

In October 2016, the Bar Standards Board found Mr Millard to be guilty of professional misconduct due to his extensive use of Twitter as a vehicle to publicise his antisemitic and extreme right-wing views, leading to him being banned from the profession. Following the hearing, Campaign Against Antisemitism carried out a detailed investigation of Millard’s Twitter account. It was found that over a lengthy period he had tweeted a large quantity of opinions and images that were virulently antisemitic and promoted Nazi ideology.

In November of that year, Campaign Against Antisemitism reported Mr Millard to Essex Police, providing a substantial dossier of evidence in support of the complaint and by the following May, the police sent a file to the CPS, recommending that Mr Millard be charged with inciting racial hatred. 

Seventeen months later, in October 2018, the CPS instructed the police to obtain Mr Millard’s Twitter account in its entirety, rather than just the antisemitic tweets that were included in the complaint. By this time, his account had been terminated by Twitter, and he had transferred his social media activities to Gab — a US-based platform used heavily by the far-right and which has a policy of non-cooperation with requests for information about its users. Given that it was now impossible for the police to provide the evidence requested by the CPS, the investigation was closed. 

By this point, Mr Millard had subsequently turned his attention to his personal blog. In April 2021, based on the content of the blog, Campaign Against Antisemitism, for the second time, handed a dossier of evidence collected from Mr Millard’s blog to Hampshire Police.

However, nine months later, we were informed that the CPS would be taking no further action, citing “evidential difficulties which have arisen which present a conflict of evidence.” 

In January 2022, we challenged this decision via the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) scheme. Six months later, Lord Austin, an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions about the matter and subsequently received a reply stating that our VRR submission was being taken seriously and had been handed to counter-terrorism police, which had requested further evidence from the police.

In April of this year, fifteen months after the VRR submission, we were informed that the CPS intended to prosecute Mr Millard.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are pleased that, after seven years, Ian Millard has finally been found guilty of these crimes. Holocaust-denial and antisemitic conspiracy theories have no place in decent British society. British Jews are under assault from antisemites in real life and online, and the fact that a former barrister could commit acts of anti-Jewish racism is utterly abhorrent. 

“It is lamentable that, not for the first time, the CPS initially tried to avoid prosecuting and then dragged its feet after we brought criminal antisemitic behaviour to its attention. What hope are Jewish people in this country supposed to have if the CPS refuses to prosecute individuals spewing antisemitic bile? Justice has been served, albeit much later than it should have been. The reluctance of the CPS in prosecuting individuals like Mr Millard sadly just reinforces the importance of our work.”

It is time for our voice to be heard. Please join us.

Week after week, London has become a no-go zone for Jews. But not only London. Rallies featuring antisemitic rhetoric have been held throughout the country over the past weeks, and this weekend the demonstrators doubled down on that strategy, launching micro rallies across the UK.

As you know, the police have refused to heed our calls to impose conditions on these weekly marches or ban them altogether, notwithstanding their obvious inability to police demonstrations that feature criminality on such a scale.

Our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit has helped to document and expose, week after the week, the hatred and glorification of terrorism at these rallies, including among the rank and file protesters.

Still, we believe that much of our country is with us, and next weekend it is time for us — the Jewish community and its allies — to finally have our voice heard.

That is why we are marching together in solidarity against antisemitism on Sunday 26th November, at 13:30 in central London.

Thousands of you have signed up already for updates about the route. If you have not yet done so, please register.

Among those friends backing the march are the stalwart allies of the Jewish community behind the October Declaration. We are proud to have friends like these, who are not afraid to call out antisemitism, speak up for the truth and love our country. You can read more about them, and sign the October Declaration on their website.

Meanwhile, this week has seen protests in London that target the MPs who make our laws. On Wednesday, Parliament was surrounded. Yesterday, they took the fight to MPs’ offices. Rule of law or mob rule? Watch and decide.

The hostages

Antisemitism in the UK is of course bound up with Hamas’ war on Israel, and we have been at the forefront of raising awareness in the UK about the plight of the Hamas’ hostages since the start of the war. You may recall that, last month, while failing to take action against demonstrators, the police nonetheless insisted on shutting down our van displaying the images of child hostages. Since then, we struggled to find other billboard van companies willing to work with us, for fear of police action.

So we bought our own van.

Thanks to generous donors, the images of the children are now back on our streets.

Although the police, along with demonstrators who hate to be reminded of the antisemitic evil of Hamas, have again attempted to shut the van down, this time we refused to acquiesce in the trampling of our rights, and we continued on our way. We will remember the hostages, and we will not be silenced. #BringThemHome

Broadcasters must call Hamas terrorists

We have all been appalled by the BBC’s refusal to call Hamas “terrorists”. And the BBC is not alone among broadcasters in, deliberately or otherwise, sanitising the terror group by having described Hamas’ murderous members by other descriptors, such as “militants”.

This weekend we are, therefore, launching a Parliamentary Petition calling for terrorism legislation to be amended to require all broadcasters regulated by Ofcom to describe all terrorist organisations proscribed in the UK and their operatives as “terrorists” and not by any other descriptor, which does not make their terrorist nature clear.

Unlike other petitions, if 10,000 people sign a Parliamentary Petition, the Government will issue a response, and if 100,000 people sign it, the topic will be considered for debate in Parliament. Please help us to right this wrong and urge lawmakers to act to ensure that television and radio audiences get the real facts in the news that they consume.

After suffering through weeks of hateful demonstrations that have taken over our capital and other cites across the country, it is time for our voice to be heard. Next weekend, please join us.



This weekend, some people in London honoured those who fought murderous antisemites in the past to protect our freedoms. Others paraded to glorify murderous antisemites in the present who want to kill all Jews and destroy the Jewish state.

Once again, the marches featured genocidal chants, Hamas headbands, antisemitic signs comparing Israel to Nazis and others caricaturing prominent minority politicians as coconuts, and the marchers who may not have engaged in these activities knowingly and readily marched alongside those who did. They are just as complicit.

We are also aware of Jewish families being targeted on their way out of synagogue and have received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety.

Islamist extremists, the far-left, and the far-right were out on the streets, all on one day. What a day to be a Jew in London.

While we welcome the more significant number of arrests this week, the overall policing policy in relation to these demonstrations is woeful. This march should never have been allowed to go ahead, and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley, yet again, has serious questions to answer.

The refusal of the Met to ban this march was not only a failing of its duty to law-abiding Londoners, including the Jewish community, but it was a disgrace to the heroes that we paused to remember.

The Met’s refusal was in spite of our calls, including on Newsnight and ITV, on the Met Commissioner and the Mayor of London, to ban the march under section 13 of the Public Order Act, and our urging of the Home Secretary to direct the Mayor of London to remedy the Met’s failures under section 40 of the Police Act. It also came despite evidence that we collected from last week’s march of open support for Hamas.

We need to hear from you

This weekend’s march – and the failure of the authorities to stand by the Jewish community – opens a new chapter in our campaign to defend British Jews. But now we need to hear from you.

We are running two surveys – one for Jewish people living in Britain, and another for all of our other supporters – which will help us in our dealings with Government, the police and media and will enable us to craft the right policies moving forward.

You can also tell us how these marches have impacted your life or routine by completing an Impact Statement.

We may contact you about the information that you give us and use it to make legal representations to the police in support of limiting or banning further demonstrations of this nature.

First-of-its-kind event with the BBC

Last Wednesday, courtesy of Campaign Against Antisemitism, two senior BBC executives addressed the Jewish community for the first time.

We are grateful to Rhodri Talfan Davies and David Jordan from the BBC’s executive team for joining us for this unprecedented event. It was the first time that BBC executives have spoken directly to the Jewish community.

The participation of over 300 of you ensured that the strong feelings of British Jewry regarding the BBC’s coverage were expressed, and that the BBC’s representatives were left in no doubt about the strength of that feeling.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has been at the forefront of holding the BBC to account, not only over recent weeks but for the past several years since our inception, including rallies, projections and an ongoing legal complaint.

We believe that criticism and pressure are vital, and that they are complemented by a collaborative relationship. This event, in which senior BBC figures spoke with and heard directly from the community for the first time, was one of the fruits of that relationship.

This is a long process and faces many challenges, but it is essential if we are to pivot our national broadcaster to a fairer and more accurate representative of the issues that our community cares about.

Another weekend in which central London was turned into a no-go zone for Jews, with marchers happy to tell our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit that they support Hamas and with calls for a violent intifada ringing throughout the capital.

Past intifadas were campaigns of violence, including suicide bombings. We do not want one in London.

As we approach Remembrance weekend, where we remember the heroes who defended our freedoms and fought against antisemitic hatred, we must honour their memory by banning demonstrations that abuse those freedoms to call for violence against Jews.

We are therefore calling on Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, to use his powers under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986 to ban next week’s march.

Section 13 powers allow the police to prohibit processions if other powers under the Act do no suffice to prevent serious public disorder. As we have seen over the past month, that threshold is now met.

Please take a moment to write to your MP in a few clicks to ask them to write to the Met Commissioner. Since these marches are billed as “national” marches, please write regardless of whether you live in a London constituency.

While some arrests are being made, the police are so outnumbered that they cannot ensure the safety of Londoners, in particular the Jewish community.

If you or your routine have been adversely affected by these marches, please let us know by completing this short form. It will help us to make legal representations to the police in support of limiting or banning further demonstrations of this nature.

Our legal team is processing hundreds of cases and making reports to the police, and our Online Monitoring and Investigations Unit is assisting in identifying suspects when the Met cannot. We will continue to do so, but this alone cannot stem the tide of criminality on our streets: it is time for a ban.

We continue to engage with the police, public bodies and political parties in a variety of ways:

  • More than 20,000 people have signed our petition calling on the police to reclaim our streets. You can join them by signing here: Sir Mark Rowley, give London back to Londoners
  • Leading lawyers, including 15 King’s Counsel, signed our open letter calling on the Met to impose restrictions on the weekly marchers.
  • We signed a letter to the Charity Commission calling for an immediate investigation into mosques with charitable status that have allowed sermons glorifying terrorism, inciting violence and propagating antisemitic tropes. We are also submitting specific complaints to the Commission.
  • Our Demonstrations and Monitoring Unit continues to capture evidence from anti-Israel protests across the country, including genocidal chanting outside Downing Street when the Prime Minister met with the US Vice President.
  • We have called for the proscription of Hizb ut-Tahrir, and made reports of serious alleged offences to the police.
  • We have convened a letter from prominent figures to Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to direct unions affiliated to the Labour Party to end their association with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has organised many of these hate marches.
  • We have called out the double standards of football clubs prohibiting open support for Israel.
  • We continue to work with victims of antisemitism, including families at a North London school where “Kill the Jews” graffiti and a swastika were drawn in a toilet.
  • We spoke at a rally of thousands gathered in Parliament Square in support of the families of the hostages taken by Hamas, demanding with one voice: #BringThemHome.
  • We are making final preparations for a renewed campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages, after the police shut down our vans two weeks ago.

The intifada was a campaign of horrific violence that saw suicide bombings and brutal murder on a national scale. We cannot allow it to come here. The police must ban these marches now.

Yesterday, for the third week in a row, central London was turned into a no-go zone. 100,000 people coursed through the centre of our capital. Last week they called for jihad, this week they called for a violent intifada, shouting “From London to Gaza we’ll have an intifada.”

Past intifadas were campaigns of violence, including suicide bombings. We do not want one in London. The law cannot be enforced in crowds as huge as the ones we are seeing. There is mass criminality on the streets of London.

That is why we are demanding that Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, uses his powers under section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 to bring this situation under control.

Section 12 powers allow the police to limit the size and duration of marches if they pose a serious risk. So far, Sir Mark has only opted to limit the route and the wearing of masks, but even that has not been enforced.

Londoners, including British Jews, are afraid to enter central London during these marches because there are people on the marches openly engaging in support for terrorism, extremist chanting, and incitement to religious hatred.

Police officers are outnumbered 100 to 1, and have even been hospitalised.

Sir Mark must use his section 12 powers to limit these marches to instead be static protests of no more than 20,000 people in a location such as Trafalgar Square, with sufficient police numbers to enforce the conditions without putting brave officers and Londoners in danger.

Enough is enough. Together we are calling on Sir Mark to make this the last week that masked extremists control our streets. Sign the petition now.

The situation is particularly severe because over the past three weeks, the Met has documented an unprecedented 1,350% surge in antisemitic hate crimes, and greeted it with lax policing, too few arrests, and excuses on social media — all to the incredulity of the Jewish community, the mainstream media and the Government.

As Jews, we are enormously grateful to the police for protecting our Jewish community and for keeping our cities safe. But over this recent period, our cities have felt less and less safe for Jews – and for many of our fellow citizens.

It adds insult to injury when the police take so little action against offenders spewing racist hate but still find the time to stop our digital vans from displaying the faces of children taken captive by Hamas, to raise awareness of their plight, from driving around London.

We therefore gathered on Wednesday outside New Scotland Yard to show the depth of feeling and call for the police to take action. Along with speakers including Lord Ian Austin, an Honorary Patron of CAA, the leader of Christian Action Against Antisemitism, and the Israeli author and activist Hen Mazzig, so many of you joined us and had your voice heard. We came as friends of the police, to ask the police to uphold the law. We need to see arrests, not excuses.

The next day, the Home Secretary chaired a meeting with us and other representatives of the Jewish community. Whilst we cannot reveal what was discussed, we can confirm that our focus remained on ensuring that arrests and prosecutions materialise, and that the Met use their section 12 powers.

Londoners cannot and will not tolerate a situation in which every weekend the streets become an exhibition of such extremism. The Met is creating the conditions in which not only London’s Jews but all Londoners could be placed in serious danger. Extremists rarely limit themselves to extreme language. We need action by the authorities responsible for keeping Britain safe.

The media

We continue to call out media outlets for their incorrect and inflammatory coverage, and we are among those at the forefront of the campaign to pressure the BBC to report accurately and impartially, including by calling Hamas what they are: terrorists. If you wish to join the tens of thousands who have signed the petition, please add your name.

It is time for the BBC to hear the strength of feeling directly from the Jewish community and to justify its appalling coverage. Courtesy of CAA, for the first time, a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee will be speaking at an open event for the Jewish community, and you are invited. To reserve tickets, please visit antisemitism.org/bbc.

Enough is enough: The police must act to defend the Jewish community against those who want to harm us, before it is too late.

The Metropolitan Police Service, like police forces across the country, has a responsibility to defend every community, including the Jewish community, which is all too familiar with the threats that face it.

What we have seen over the past two-and-a-half weeks, however, is an unprecedented 1,350% surge in antisemitic hate crimes met with relative inaction on the part of the police.

Too few arrests, lax policing, and excuses posted on social media for why certain chants and signs and phrases are not hate crimes — all to the incredulity of the Jewish community, the mainstream media and the Government.

As Jews, we are enormously grateful to the police for protecting our Jewish community and for keeping our cities safe. But over the past two weeks, our cities have felt less and less safe for Jews. It has hardly been reassuring to see such lax policing of demonstrations featuring genocidal chants, antisemitic signs, calls for Jihad against the Jewish state, and more. Given that a “March for Palestine” and other demonstrations are planned for this weekend and are likely to continue week after week, the Met must be seen to make urgent changes to its policing policy.

It adds insult to injury when the police take so little action against offenders on these marches but still find the time to stop our digital vans from displaying the faces of children taken captive by Hamas, to raise awareness of their plight, from driving around London.

Hundreds of Londoners of all faiths demonstrated this evening to show the depth of feeling.

Campaign Against Antisemitism Chief Executive, Gideon Falter, told the crowd: “Last Saturday saw an exhibition of Jew-hate as rarely seen before on the streets of London. Britain’s capital was effectively closed to Jewish people.” He further warned: “We cannot and will not endure weekly processions featuring terrorist sympathisers and antisemites through our streets. We are fortunate to live in a country with the freedom to demonstrate, but there are limits set by law and those laws must be enforced. The demands of an unlawful mob must not supersede the rights of law-abiding citizens.”

Lord Ian Austin, an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, demanded that the forthcoming King’s speech be used to introduce new policing powers to strengthen the police response

The leader of Christian Action Against Antisemitism, Tim Gutmann, described his treatment by police as they repeatedly told him that he and his supporters would be in danger if they proceeded with two solidarity rallies for British Jews, leading to their cancellation

Israeli author and activist Hen Mazzig told the crowd: “My Israeli family asked if they should come to London for respite and safety after the terrorist atrocity, and I told them that I am not so sure that’s what they would find here.”

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The volume of phone calls and messages coming into our service in the last two and a half weeks is unprecedented.”

In their speeches, the speakers covered:

• The sad fact that the Jewish community is in such need of police protection;

• What went wrong on Saturday and why we cannot tolerate a repeat of it at the march this coming Saturday;

• The need for ‘section 12 conditions’ to be imposed on the march this Saturday, which our lawyers requested from the Metropolitan Police today;

• The existing legislation that the police should avail themselves of and the need to use the forthcoming King’s speech to grant the police additional powers;

• The dangers of this moment becoming a conflict between politicians and the police;

• The failures of police to protect two major solidarity marches by Christian groups, which led to those marches being cancelled on police advice;

• The predicament faced by officers policing large protests, and the need to ensure that the desires of mobs do not supersede the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Thanks to this demonstration and the lead-up to it, the Met has increased its sensitivity to the concerns of the Jewish community. It is enhancing the already existing cooperation between the force and Campaign Against Antisemitism on a number of fronts.

Placards read “Make arrests, not excuses”, “Enforce the law”, “Zero tolerance for antisemites” and “Act against hate before it’s too late”.

Police had to intervene in a number of instances when passersby shouted at the rally, with two people arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences. A prominent far-right figure was spotted in the crowd by our stewarding team and hounded out to calls of “racist scum, off our streets”, as we have done in the past when the far-right have attended.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Last Saturday saw an exhibition of Jew-hate as rarely seen before on the streets of London. Britain’s capital was effectively closed to Jewish people and anyone else not prepared to brave Islamist flags, supporters of terrorist organisations. calls for Jihad, genocidal chanting, and signs comparing Israelis to Nazis.

“The police were practically invisible, as they have been throughout the past two-and-a-half weeks. Almost the sole exception was when they swooped on our digital vans displaying the faces of children abducted by Hamas. Apparently that, in contrast to almost everything that we saw this weekend, was the real risk to a breach of the peace.

“The Jewish community is grateful to the many ordinary police officers who work tirelessly throughout the year to protect our community, but the Met’s leadership must adapt policing policy to the scale of the present threat and use the powers already available to make arrests.

“Since we started calling out the force and advertised this demonstration, the Met has already begun indicating that it recognises that policing to date has been inadequate, but it must go further. Firm law enforcement is the only way to deter offenders and reassure all law-abiding citizens that they are safe in our nation’s capital.”

Photo credit: Nathan Lilienfeld

Since last weekend, we have been leading a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages held by Hamas, including through billboards and digital vans that travel around London displaying the images of some of the child captives. We have also taken action against those who tear down or deface the leaflets and posters that have been put up around the city.

We expected that there may be pockets of opposition to the vans from terrorist-sympathisers and their fellow travellers in London. What we did not anticipate was opposition from the Metropolitan Police Service.

For the full story of this outrageous incident, join the millions who have watched our Chief Executive recount the episode, which was also covered across the national media.

Since the incident, we have engaged with the Metropolitan Police — in addition to our work with the Government — but the outcomes with the police have been unsatisfactory. This adds to our disappointment with current policing policy. It is time to take action.

The volunteers of our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit continue to gather evidence from the demonstrations around the country, bearing witness to the Metropolitan Police’s own findings that antisemitic hate crime in London is up by a scandalous 1,350%.

Instead of arrests, however, the Met has been making excuses for hate. The force permitted a rally by Hizb ut-Tahrir to go ahead; it announced, contrary to the view of the Home Secretary, that the chant “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free” is not hate speech unless it expressly targets a Jewish institution; and it ignores calls for “Jihad” and “Intifada” by demonstrators; among other shortcomings.

While failing to take action against those expressing sympathy for terrorists or calling for violence, as shown here, the Met did find the time to order that our vans shut down their display of the faces of children taken hostage by a proscribed terrorist group. The protesters hurling abuse at our volunteers, just feet from watching police officers, were not apprehended.

In 2014, Campaign Against Antisemitism was founded when the community witnessed that the authorities barely lifted a finger to combat antisemitism on our streets. We made our voices heard then outside the Royal Courts of Justice, but only towards the end of that surge in antisemitic incidents. This time, we must make our voices heard earlier, to shape how the Met polices our streets over the coming weeks.

We will be rallying outside New Scotland Yard this Wednesday at 18:30. The rally will be held at New Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2JL, and the nearest Underground stations are Westminster and Embankment.

The BBC

We have been among those at the forefront of the campaign to pressure the BBC to report accurately and impartially, including by calling Hamas what they are: terrorists.

The BBC must be made to understand that not only is it doing a disservice to viewers, listeners and readers by not reporting in accordance with its guidelines, but its coverage has a real-life, adverse impact on British Jews.

We co-sponsored a rally outside Broadcasting House, which was covered by all the major broadcasters and press, backed a petition signed by tens of thousands (please do sign if you haven’t already), physically projected a powerful message onto Broadcasting House itself to shame the BBC, and recorded a special episode of our podcast with Noah Abrahams, a courageous and principled young sports journalist who has quit the BBC in protest at its failure to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation (listen now).

We also called out the BBC for referring to the recent Brussels attack as terrorism while refusing to do the same for Hamas. After its hypocrisy was exposed, rather than accept that it must finally describe Hamas as a terror group, the Corporation quietly and disgracefully changed its Brussels coverage instead.

The BBC is not the only media outlet that we have held to account in recent days. Among the most egregious was the satirical magazine Private Eye. Perhaps appropriately, our response to its appalling front cover involved satirising their unfunny attempt at satire.

We have also reviewed material and submitted complaints relating to other broadcasters and newspapers, and continue to do so.

It is time for the BBC to hear the strength of feeling directly from the Jewish community and to justify its appalling coverage. Courtesy of Campaign Against Antisemitism, for the first time, a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee will be speaking at an open event for the Jewish community, and you are invited. To book tickets, visit antisemitism.org/bbc.

We are fighting back. Now it is the turn of the police to rise to the occasion in these challenging times and uphold the law against those who want to harm the Jewish community.

As we continue to process the news in Israel and pray for the swift rescue of the hostages, antisemitism is surging in the UK.

On our streets, on campuses and online, in our workplaces, schools and even in the playground, we are seeing the glorification of terrorism and antisemitic hate, and on our television screens our national broadcaster cannot bring itself to call terror by its name.

At Campaign Against Antisemitism, we have been mobilising. The fightback has begun.

The volunteers of our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit have gathered evidence from the demonstrations this weekend and over the past week. We have also heard from you in unprecedented numbers, receiving a constant flow of messages and tips. Our staff and volunteers have worked around the clock to monitor, document and process evidence, and we have referred a multitude of individuals and organisations to the police and regulatory authorities, and we continue to do so at a rapid pace. If they fail to act, we will hold them to account.

If you have information that you would like to share with us, please e-mail [email protected].

We have written to the BBC about its refusal to describe Hamas as “terrorists”, called for Ofcom to intervene, and led the national media campaign to pressure the broadcaster to call terror by its name. We have also requested that the Culture, Media and Sport Committee hold an urgent hearing, are promoting a petition and are co-sponsoring a rally on Monday evening outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London. To join the tens of thousands who have already signed the petition, please sign here.

We have also written to the FA and Premier League to express our disgust at the decision not to illuminate Wembley Stadium and to prohibit the waving of Israeli flags at matches this weekend.

We have launched a billboard campaign around London featuring the faces of infants and children taken hostage by Hamas, as part of a campaign to ensure that the public does not so quickly forget not only those murdered by the terrorists but also those still in their clutches.

It is a frightening prospect, but the same ideology that brought about the horrors in the south of Israel is present in the UK. Our fight here is part of the same war that our brethren are fighting in Israel: it is simply another front. We need the resources to fight back.

On top of it all, our regular work continues. In the past few days, for example, we secured the extradition of a fugitive French Holocaust-denier back to France, where he will now face the justice that he has evaded for too long.

As a volunteer-led organisation, our priority is manpower. This week, we have mobilised a huge number of new volunteers, to ensure that everybody who can play a part has the opportunity to do so. Thank you to the many of you who have stepped forward. To join them, please visit antisemitism.org/mobilise.

Still, we are a charity, and the surge in demand for our services means that we must raise funds to meet it. We must also prepare for what may come next: while the support from the Government and the authorities and the support that we are seeing for Israel and the Jewish community is welcome, history shows that it may be transient. We must have the resources in place now to ensure that their words translate into action over the weeks and months ahead.

To that end, we are launching an urgent crowdfunding appeal this week. We recognise that we are not the only worthy cause asking for your help at this time, and any support that you can contribute will go directly to the fight against those who mean harm to our people. To make a donation now, please visit antisemitism.org/donate.

This is the worst situation faced by Jews worldwide since 2014, when we were founded. As an organisation and as a community, we are incomparably better placed to wage it. But we need your help to do so.

Those who glorify terrorism and delight in the massacre of Jews, and those who use the events still unfolding as cover for antisemitic acts should be under no misapprehension: we will pursue justice against you.

A court in Scotland has granted an extradition request for the convicted Holocaust-denier Vincent Reynouard, a French fugitive in the UK who was caught following appeals from Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Mr Reynouard, 54, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today for his extradition hearing, which followed several preliminary hearings and false starts over the past year, to allow time for the content of videos, alleged to have been made by Mr Reynouard, to be translated into English, as well as other delays due to ill health on his legal team.

Mr Reynouard continued to post updates on his far-right blog, Sans Concession, despite being incarcerated as he awaited his extradition hearing.

Today, the extradition request has been granted, as the court considered that the postings for which Mr Reynouard was found guilty in France would also be crimes in the UK under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

In a different case in 2018, Campaign Against Antisemitism secured a legal precedent that Holocaust-denial is “grossly offensive” and therefore illegal when used as a means by which to hound Jews. When it is delivered via a medium of communication, it can fall within the purview of the Communications Act. That English precedent has now been replicated in Scottish law today as well.

He will be extradited within ten days of the seven-day period in which he can appeal.

Mr Reynouard was sentenced to jail for four months on 25th November 2020 by a court in Paris and again in January 2021 for six months, in addition to fines. His latest conviction is in relation to a series of antisemitic postings on Facebook and Twitter and a 2018 YouTube video for which fellow French Holocaust denier, Hervé Ryssen (also known as Hervé Lalin), received a seventeen-month-jail term earlier that year.

However, Mr Reynouard fled the country before serving his sentence and settled in the UK, where he reportedly worked as a private tutor teaching children mathematics, physics and chemistry. Private tutors are not required to undergo background checks.

In November last year, he was finally arrested near Edinburgh. In the intervening months, Campaign Against Antisemitism has been cooperating with French Jewish groups seeking Mr Reynouard’s extradition to France. Along with Lord Austin, an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, we have corresponded with police forces and prosecutors in the UK and Interpol in an effort to locate Mr Reynouard and bring him to justice.

Scottish police arrested him at an address near the Scottish capital, where he was apparently living under a false identity. He was brought before a judge on the same day and refused extradition to France.

Earlier this year, Mr Reynouard appeared in court where he was served with a second arrest warrant, as the French authorities had allegedly made an error in their application for the initial arrest warrant. Paul Dunne, Mr Reynouard’s lawyer, said of Mr Reynouard: “He does not consent to his extradition to France.”

Mr Reynouard faces a sentence of almost two years in a French prison, in addition to any further sentence in relation to other ongoing proceedings.

The Office Central de Lutte Contre les Crimes Contre l’Humanité, les Génocides et les Crimes de Guerre (OCLCH) — the arm of the French gendarmerie that specialises in hate crime and war crimes — has been leading the investigation.

Mr Reynouard’s first Holocaust denial conviction was in 1991 for distributing leaflets denying the existence of the gas chambers at concentration camps. Holocaust denial has been a criminal offence in France since 1990. He has been convicted on numerous occasions and his subsequent sentences include multiple prison terms and a €10,000 fine.

Mr Reynouard is alleged to have ties to Catholic fundamentalist groups that deny the Holocaust. In a recent analysis of the French far-right, the newspaper Liberation claimed that Mr Reynouard and Mr Ryssen are key members of a network of propagandists dedicated to the denial and distortion of the Holocaust.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Vincent Reynouard is a despicable Holocaust-denier who has repeatedly been convicted by French courts. For him to have evaded justice, only to settle in the UK as a private tutor teaching children, is intolerable, which is why we worked with French Jewish organisations to secure his extradition so that he faces the consequences of his abhorrent incitement.

“We are delighted that those efforts have borne fruit today, with the court granting the request to extradite Mr Reynouard so that he can face justice in France. This is not only the right judgement for the Jewish community, but also for the justice system. The UK cannot become a haven for those seeking to evade justice elsewhere. For antisemites in particular, the message is clear: you are not welcome in Britain. Good riddance, Mr Reynouard.”

Following the release of Campaign Against Antisemitism’s documentary last week showcasing disturbing e-mails and allegations relating to the musician Roger Waters, another former associate, appalled by the testimony in the documentary, has now come forward to cast further light on Mr Waters’ conduct.

The new interview can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

In this new interview, lighting director Marc Brickman, who has worked with music legends from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Carol King and Duke Ellington, speaks out.

He explains the conversations around the “dirty k*ke” e-mail and how he demanded to know why, if the purpose was to confront hateful phrases, it was only a racist epithet that targets Jews that was due to be included on the pig and no other offensive terms.

He also reveals that the reason that the swastika confetti idea never materialised was only because nobody would make it, and that he was called out by Mr Waters for expressing his reservations.

These incidents and others that he recounts – including the proposed inclusion of an image of “a menacing Hasidic Jewish boy” alongside “an angelic Palestinian girl” – drew Mr Brickman to the conclusion that Mr Waters’ “definition of antisemitism is totally different than anyone else’s”.

Regarding venues, such as the London Palladium, that host Mr Waters, Mr Brickman says: “They don’t care; all they care about is their bottom line.”

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters is playing at the London Palladium on Sunday 8th and Monday 9th October.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has orchestrated a number of activities to protest these performances, including delivering thousands of letters from members of the public to the theatre, parking an advertisement outside the theatre to raise awareness of Mr Waters’ record, driving a van around London drawing attention to the controversy, and picketing the venue.

We will be holding a demonstration outside the London palladium at 18:00 on Monday 9th October. Please register attendance at eventbrite.co.uk/e/protest-against-roger-waters-at-the-london-palladium-tickets.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation has revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols, among other incidents and revelations. The full documentary can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s investigation has been led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Following the release of The Dark Side of Roger Waters, this latest interview corroborates the account of Waters’s views given by the people who worked with him over many years.

“It took more than a decade for Marc Brickman to speak out, and now that he has, it is hard to look at Waters in the same light. Waters comes across as a cold-hearted bully who picks on Jews. You can’t help but flinch listening to a person as gentle as Brickman recount how he had to stand alone against Waters’ repulsive interventions in the artistry of the show.

“Taking this new interview together with the revelations in last week’s documentary, it is all the more astounding and disturbing that one of London’s most iconic venues will roll out the red carpet to Waters this weekend, having so far stayed resolutely deaf and silent in the face of thousands of letters of complaint. Brickman suggests it’s because the Palladium’s owner only cares about the bottom line, and so far it seems that might be true.”

If you wish to add your name to our petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, or learn about other ways to get involved in this campaign, please visit antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today released a documentary which showcases disturbing e-mails that were gathered during an investigation into allegations of antisemitism by rockstar Roger Waters, as well as interviews with former associates of the Pink Floyd frontman.

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation has revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols.

The documentary also includes interviews with Norbert Stachel, Mr Waters’ former saxophonist, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin, who produced The Wall, as well as hits for talent from U2 to Kiss to Taylor Swift.

Among various incidents, Mr Stachel says that Mr Waters lost his temper over vegetarian food at a restaurant and demanded that waiters “Take away the Jew food”, that Mr Waters mocked Mr Stachel’s grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust, and that a colleague warned him not to react if he wanted to keep his job.

Mr Ezrin recounts an incident in which Mr Waters sung him an impromptu ditty about then agent Bryan Morrison, the last couplet of which ended with words to the effect of “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew”.

The full documentary can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Roger Waters has repeatedly used his enormous platform to bait Jews, but he always claims that he is not antisemitic. We believed that there was further evidence out there to the contrary, and the release of The Dark Side of Roger Waters now puts the evidence we obtained in the hands of the public.

“It is hard to imagine a rockstar emblazoning the N-word above their concerts, but Mr Waters demanded that his crew do exactly that with the K-word. Not only that, but he seems to have spent time humiliating and harassing his Jewish staff.

“One cannot help but watch this film and wonder what kind of person uses their power to this effect. Is Roger Waters an antisemite? Now people can make up their own minds.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s investigation has been led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

Mr Waters is due to play the London Palladium on 8th and 9th October. Campaign Against Antisemitism has contacted the Palladium’s owner, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Live Nation Events, the organiser.

If you wish to add your name to our petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, or learn about other ways to get involved in this campaign, please visit antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Graffiti that read “yids” was discovered on Saturday ahead of a match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. 

The graffiti, which consisted of the words “yids” and “THFC”, was found on the Two Brewers pub in Holloway, a pub that is located near Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Both phrases were written twice on the windows and doors of the pub. “THFC” likely refers to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. 

The graffiti, which was photographed and reported by users on social media, was removed ahead of the scheduled London derby match between the two clubs the following day. 

Tottenham Hotspur has long been associated with the Jewish community, and its fans are consequently often targeted by antisemitic abuse.

Last month, the Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy, faced antisemitic abuse online, including being called a “fat bald Jew”, over the impending transfer of player Harry Kane. 

In March, an Everton fan was sentenced over antisemitic insults at a football match against Tottenham Hotspur. One of the phrases that the defendant used was “dirty Jews, dirty Yids”.

In 2022, Tottenham Hotspur announced that it was to reassess the use of the word “Yid” after holding focus groups on the matter. After conducting the first stage of its consultation with supporters in 2019, the Club found that 94% of the 23,000 respondents acknowledged that the word could be considered a racist term against a Jewish person.

In 2020, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Oxford English Dictionary to have the word “Yiddo” edited to include the controversy over the use of the term and its pejorative connotation when used by supporters of football clubs.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

Image credit: Jewish News

A former Royal Air Force cadet, who was responsible for far-right graffiti, was sentenced in court on Thursday.

Aristedes Haynes, 17, of Cwmavon in Wales, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to one year and 220 days’ imprisonment in youth custody with a further one year on licence.

Mr Haynes previously pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a terrorist document, three charges of distributing a terrorist document and three charges of criminal damage in June. Earlier this month, the teenager admitted to two separate acts of vandalism in 2022 on a Windrush memorial in Port Talbot. The graffiti consisted of a swastika, text that read “Nazi zone” and “1488”, and a racial slur. 

1488 is often used as a coded reference to the neo-Nazi fourteen-word oath, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” a slogan initially devised by David Lane, a member of the white supremacist terrorist group “The Order”, which was responsible for the murder of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is intended as a code for “Heil Hitler.”

My Haynes was previously revealed to have a troubling history of engagement with far-right ideology, which included being banned from Instagram for posting Nazi content; owning a copy of Mein Kampf, which was bought for him by his mother; and having an online search history of extreme far-right material. 

A video had also been shown to the court in which the teenager posed with an air rifle and called himself, “Hitler’s strongest soldier”. 

Mr Haynes was referred to the Government’s Prevent programme last year by his RAF cadet group. He was later expelled from the group when he shared an image of himself with a swastika on his chest with other cadets.

Following his arrest, police found knives, a gasmask, a KKK flag, a swastika flag and an air rifle among Mr Haynes’ possessions. Police also found a diary belonging to Mr Haynes in which he expressed his desire for a “race war” as well as a to-do list with items such as “burn a building down, maybe bomb it”, “kill someone”, “join a Nazi militia”, “get a gun or make one” and “get buff as hell”.

Mr Haynes had previously remained anonymous to the public; it was determined, however, by Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, that it was within the public interest to identify the defendant. 

Mr Justice Baker also remarked that the defendant’s “parents and others were naive in their approach to the views they had witnessed”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: South Wales Police

The disgraced former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and former Labour councillor Pamela Bromley, have now withdrawn their legal proceedings against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) at the High Court.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley were both named in the EHRC’s report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. The report came about following the EHRC’s years-long investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant, having made the original referral to the EHRC.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley brought a claim for judicial review against the EHRC in order to overturn the EHRC’s landmark 2020 report which concluded that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment of its Jewish members. These proceedings were a final attempt by the far-left supposedly to undermine the report, and much was pinned on this case, with those supporting the claimants having said that this judicial review could lead to the report’s worst allegations being entirely discredited. 

Had they been successful, they would have set back the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial by years. To prevent such an eventuality, Campaign Against Antisemitism sought to intervene in the case, and defeated Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s opposition, with the High Court granting our application to do so earlier this year.

At the time, Mrs Justice Lang ruled: “In my judgment, the Court is likely to be assisted by CAA’s intervention…It made the complaint to [EHRC], and requested that an investigation took place. It provided substantial evidence, conceptual framework analysis and legal submissions to support the investigation. It has been particularly concerned with antisemitism denial as a form of harassment. As a Jewish community charity, it is rooted in the Jewish community and it has built up a longstanding expertise on the nature of modern antisemitism. Because of its expertise, it is likely to be able to contribute information, analysis and context more effectively than the other parties [the EHRC and the Labour Party].”

The EHRC supported Campaign Against Antisemitism’s application to intervene, while the Labour Party neither supported nor opposed it, remaining neutral.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have now withdrawn the claim, surrendering and withdrawing the judicial review proceedings without testing the EHRC’s report at all, thereby giving up the chance to have their much-vaunted day in court, for which they had crowdfunded large sums of money from their trusting supporters.

The EHRC’s report cannot now be subject to further review, and its critical findings about the Labour Party and the nature of antisemitism – including about the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, whereby allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as attempts to silence criticism of Israel or as motivated by some other ulterior motive – are no longer at any risk of being overturned.

The EHRC report is now unimpeachable and every finding in it stands, final and binding, including those about Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s conduct. The Labour Party, through their conduct as its agents, was found to have created an intimidating or hostile environment for Party members and prospective members, particularly those who were Jewish. Their statements were unwanted conduct related to Jewish ethnicity, which had the effect of harassing Labour Party members. In other words, their conduct amounted to harassment of Jewish members of the Labour Party on the basis of their Jewishness.

The EHRC found that, in addition to use of antisemitic tropes, antisemitism-denial – that is, dismissing complaints as ‘smears’ and ‘fake’ – can be a form of antisemitic conduct that amounts to unlawful harassment, and that it was in the cases of both of these individuals. The EHRC described these examples of antisemitic conduct as the tip of the iceberg of the issues that it identified in the Labour antisemitism investigation. That finding is now unimpeachable.

In a bizarre display of Humpty Dumpty’s Theory of Meaning, Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have sought to portray as a brilliant victory their withdrawal of the case, which cost their supporters so much yet achieved not one of their objectives in court. Nobody will be persuaded by this laughable attempt at rationalising their capitulation. Meanwhile, their claim that these proceedings cost Campaign Against Antisemitism some astronomical figure is comically lacking in foundation, thanks to the generosity of our legal team.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is a significant victory for the Jewish community, as it means that the EHRC’s groundbreaking report into antisemitism in the Labour Party stands. Ken Livingstone has been at the heart of Labour’s antisemitism scandal for years, so it is apt that he is also at the centre of this final failure of the antisemitism-denying far-left to overturn the EHRC’s findings.

“Recognising that Campaign Against Antisemitism originally referred the Labour Party to the EHRC and is an expert body in combating antisemitism, the High Court granted us intervener status in the case. We were keen to defend in court the EHRC’s findings of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Our only disappointment at the dropping of this specious claim is that we will not have the opportunity to demolish the claims made by apologists for Mr Corbyn and his acolytes.

“This is a humiliating end for Mr Livingstone and his co-complainant, and one that their supporters, whose funds were squandered, will surely question. They are now reduced to crowing that they cost the EHRC hundreds of thousands in taxpayers’ money and delighting in their amusingly false assumption that they cost us vast charitable funds. Having seen off Mr Livingstone, we will continue our work to advocate for zero tolerance of antisemitism in all political parties, without fear or favour.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism was represented by Derek Spitz and Adam Wagner, of counsel, instructed by Asserson solicitors Shimon Goldwater and Joshua Battat. We are extremely grateful to our highly-capable legal team, which has been working on this matter with us since we first referred the Labour Party to the EHRC five years ago.

Shimon Goldwater, partner at Asserson, said: “Mr Livingstone has acted sensibly for the first time in these proceedings and abandoned his judicial review application. The EHRC’s findings are now final and not subject to further challenge, which is materially due to the strong stand taken in this case by Campaign Against Antisemitism.”

A spokesperson for the EHRC said: “We firmly stand by our robust and fair investigation, the findings of which were accepted in full by the Labour Party. We welcome the decision to withdraw this judicial review claim, with disappointment at the valuable time and resources that we have had to expend on defending it.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

A group sparked backlash after attending a local festival dressed as Nazis.  

The festival, where attendees are encouraged to wear period dress, is an annual 1940s-themed event, held in Sheringham, Norfolk.

Attendees of the event confronted the group, which reportedly met at a local pub before beginning their march, by shouting to them that they were not welcome. Some members of the group were seen to be wearing swastikas, whilst others wore clothing that indicated an affiliation with the SS. 

Marshalls at the event reportedly attempted to get the group to leave before local police stepped in and escorted the group away from the festival. 

An anonymous group member said: “There was no offence intended… and we left when asked to do so.” He also claimed that the men in the group were from a history group. 

Of the costumes, Guy Walters, a historian and author of books relating to the Second World War, said on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter: “People who dress like comedy SS clowns from ‘Allo Allo’ teach us nothing, absolutely nothing, about the Second World War. They’re just flabby Nazi wannabes, who deserve the utmost ridicule.”

Mike Keller, a witness to the event, said: “It was a lovely family atmosphere and very friendly, when suddenly from nowhere there were ten-fifteen men dressed in authentic SS uniform literally marching in unison. It was deeply offensive.

“These men were not milling about and blending in among people. They were marching and making a demonstration. It was frightening. My father was from a Jewish family who lost his parents and brothers and sisters in death camps. He was fortunate to escape with my uncle via Kindertransport, so having to see this with my son was mortally offensive and a disgraceful act.”

A spokesperson for Sheringham Town Council said: “Sheringham Town Council has been made aware that on the Saturday there was an incident in the town that was managed by the police. Sheringham Town Council will consult with the police, North Norfolk Railway and others to determine what happened and what action may be taken to prevent a recurrence.”

A spokesperson for Norfolk Police said: “A police officer on patrol in Sheringham came across a confrontation in the high street on Saturday at about 5.30pm, involving a man and a group of people who had been attending an event. The officer intervened and quickly resolved the incident. One man reported being assaulted and this is being investigated further. No one was injured during the incident.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Guy Walters

A BBC Arabic article has linked “fanatical Jews” to the 9/11 terrorists while appearing to play down Islamism.

The Arabic-language article on the Corporation’s website purports to recount the “story of suicide attackers throughout history”, claiming that the tactic originated with a Jewish group fighting the Roman occupation of ancient Israel, and tracing the history through the Middle Ages, Japanese Kamikaze pilots and into the current era of Islamist terrorism and 9/11.

The article reads: “It is believed that the first suicide attacks…were by a group of Jewish fanatics who spread fear…during the Roman occupation.”

It goes on to suggest that, since the end of WWII, suicide attacks were “almost” non-existent until Israel’s incursion into southern Lebanon in 1982, for which no context is provided.

While ancient Jews are described as “fanatics”, the word “terrorist” appears nowhere in relation to modern Islamist and Arab terror organisations. Indeed, other than the ancient Jews who targeted the Roman military, no other faction is censured in the article at all, even though some limited their attacks to combatants while others specifically target civilians.

The history is also dubious, with the mass Jewish suicide at Masada somehow presented as an example of the use of suicide attacks.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Of all the suicide attackers over the past two millennia, the only ones described by BBC Arabic as ‘fanatics’ are the Jewish assassins of ancient Judea who attacked the occupying Roman military. All others appear to escape any form of censure, including the modern Islamist terror groups. Moreover, this latest incarnation of Middle Eastern suicide attack is still blamed on the Jews, with the article alleging that the suicide strategy was only adopted because of Israel’s incursion into Lebanon.”

According to the JC, BBC Arabic has issued more than 130 corrections following complaints of bias and inaccuracy in reports about Israel and Jewish affairs since the beginning of 2021 — an average of more than one every week.

A spokesperson for BBC Arabic said that it “offers independent and impartial news and information. As with all content produced by the BBC, their output is subject to the BBC’s rigorous Editorial Guidelines. We reject any notion that there are wider issues with the service’s 24-hour, multi-platform output.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

Chelsea Football Club has created a supporters group for its Jewish members.

According to a statement on the Club’s website, “the creation of the group builds on the work Chelsea FC and Chelsea Foundation have delivered over the last five years,” going on to state: “In January 2018, the club and Foundation launched Say No To Antisemitism – a consolidated campaign and programme focusing on education, support and awareness with the message that antisemitism, or any form of discrimination, has no place in our club or society.”

Stephen Nelken, founder of the Jewish Supporters Group, said: “As a life-long Chelsea fan, I have been impressed and proud of the work the club has done to combat antisemitism and discrimination.” 

He added: “The intention in founding this group is to celebrate Jewish identity, support the excellent work the club is doing and encourage like-minded fans to come together to support Chelsea.”

Hollie Varney, Kick It Out COO, said of the group: “We’re delighted to see Chelsea FC and their community of Jewish supporters working together to create a space for Jewish fans to express and celebrate their culture and identity. ‘Chelsea FC has been at the forefront of the drive to combat antisemitism in football and this announcement is a fantastic step to creating an inclusive and welcome environment for the club’s Jewish fanbase.”

Earlier this year, Arsenal Football Club announced the launch of a new affiliate called “Jewish Gooners”, partly in response to antisemitism among supporters.

James Cleverly, the UK Foreign Secretary, has said that Mahmoud Abbas must stop spreading antisemitic tropes. 

The comments came during an address to the World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, ahead of Mr Cleverly’s meeting with officials from the Palestinian Authority, which Mr Abbas heads.

Referring to Mr Abbas’ recent speech, which contained a tirade of antisemitic tropes, Mr Cleverly said: “When I meet with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, I will make it clear that rather than spreading disgusting antisemitic tropes and outrageous distortions of history, they should be clear in their denouncement of violence.”

He continued: “The PA [Palestinian Authority] should be clear that there is no acceptance for brutality and terrorism. It should be clear that there is no excuse to target Israelis, particularly Israeli civilians, because that is the only way that peace is possible.”

Mr Cleverly also said during his speech that Israel’s “right to self-defence belongs exclusively to Israel’s security forces who operate within the line of international law”.

Referring to Iran’s involvement in attacks on the Jewish state, Mr Cleverly said: “Iran refuses to take responsibility for their complicity in these attacks, but we in the UK are under no illusion about Iran’s maligned role.”

Mr Abbas’ speech was given on 24th August to the Revolutionary Council of Fatah. In the speech, Mr Abbas claimed that Jews were not “Semites” and were actually descendants of the Khazars. The Khazar myth is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims that Jews are descended from a Central Asian people and have no connection to the Land of Israel. He did, however, make the distinction that, in his view, Sephardi Jews are Semites “because they originated in the Arabian Peninsula”.

Mr Abbas also said in his speech: “They say that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews.”

He added, “It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion. Several authors wrote about this. Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion, but to Judaism for its social role.” 

Referring to Hitler, Mr Abbas continued: “He said he fought the Jews because they were dealing with usury and money. In his view, they were engaged in sabotage, and this is why he hated them. We just want to make this point clear. This was not about semitism and antisemitism.”

Following Mr Abbas’ speech, Paris revoked his Medal of the City of Paris. The medal was awarded to Mr Abbas in 2015 in “recognition of his actions towards finding peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

A teenager from Swindon who promoted antisemitic and racist views has been convicted of terror offences. 

Yesterday, after a two-week trial, Malakai Wheeler, 18, was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of six offences relating to the possession and dissemination of terrorist material.

Mr Wheeler was arrested in 2021 following an investigation, which was conducted by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, into users in a Telegram group whom police suspected to be sharing extreme far-right content. 

Following his arrest, police found the Terrorist Handbook in Mr Wheeler’s bedroom. The Terrorist Handbook is a publication which instructs readers on how to make bombs and other explosives. 

Mr Wheeler was found to be frequently sharing material in the chat, including antisemitic content and instructions on how to make explosives. 

The defendant said in court that he had downloaded the explosives instructions as they would be useful should there be a case of “social disorder”. 

He added: “Weapons could be useful if there was a serious emergency. Covid showed things could come out of the blue. It could be an economic problem or a foreign invasion, things can just pop out of nowhere.”

Mr Wheeler told the court that he downloaded material with the intent to make an archive if the documents were deleted from Telegram. He also said that he had obtained videos, which show people being murdered, from ISIS out of “morbid curiosity”. 

The court heard that the defendant was interested in Nazism and anti-Zionism. Mr Wheeler also told the court that he had a swastika as part of his profile picture on Telegram and admitted to being in a photograph whilst doing a Nazi salute in a skull mask. 

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “Although only sixteen at the time of his arrest, Wheeler was deeply entrenched in a Telegram chat group committed to extreme right-wing ideology. He was not simply curious, or a passive observer within the group. He clearly shared the same mindset as other members and was very active when it came to promoting racist and antisemitic views and propaganda. It is important young people recognise the potential impact of their online activity, before they cross a line into criminality, or engage in harmful or dangerous behaviours.”

Mr Wheeler remains in custody until his sentencing in November.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Contrary to his assertions, Mr Wheeler’s obsession with violence went far beyond ‘morbid curiosity’. His anticipation of ‘social chaos’ is indicative of the very real threat that is posed by the far-right. Cases such as these shed light on the kind of rhetoric that is utilised to recruit young people and mobilise them against the Jewish community. We hope that Mr Wheeler’s sentencing will reflect the serious danger that he poses to society.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Wiltshire Police

The Labour Party has reportedly reached a settlement with nine whistleblowers who had brought legal proceedings against the Party after their names appeared in a leaked report about antisemitism.

The nine individuals sued the Party after their names were included in a leaked 850-page report produced in the waning days of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, titled ‘The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014 – 2019’.

The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit antisemitism allegations in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which the new leadership of the Party declined to do, but it was leaked.

That leak is at the centre of another, ongoing lawsuit. It is understood that this settlement does not affect that case.

Campaign Against Antisemitism called at the time for the report to be sent to the EHRC as part of the evidence of antisemitism-denial and diminishment within the Party.

It is understood that the nine whistleblowers and the Labour Party have reached a settlement out of court, with a notice of discontinuance having been filed with the High Court.

The whistleblowers claimed that the Party had breached their rights to data privacy and exposed them to attacks online.

In a separate case, 21 claimants are suing Labour over alleged breaches of their data privacy rights and defamation.

There are estimates that the various cases could cost the Labour Party several million pounds.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “We are pleased to be able to move forward in a positive manner. The Labour party is committed to continuing its work on combating antisemitism.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Rory Stewart, the former Conservative MP and candidate for the Party’s leadership, has defended his view that it was “disgusting” that Sir Keir Starmer withdrew the Labour whip from Jeremy Corbyn, before apologising today.

In an interview last week with the controversial far-left activist-journalist Ash Sarker on the far-left Novara Media blog, Mr Stewart said: “I think it’s disgusting he was thrown out of the Labour Party. I mean, it’s mad. Jeremy Corbyn, whatever you think of him, is a major figure who represents a very significant part of Labour history and heritage. He was the leader of the party.”

Mr Corbyn had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party and was suspended from the Labour Party but was subsequently readmitted to the latter, which means that he is a Labour member but sits as an independent MP.

Mr Stewart, who previously served as International Development Secretary, was asked about his comments by the JC, in view of Mr Corbyn’s record on antisemitism, and said: “I’m making a narrow point but I may have been over influenced by my own experience. There was horrifying antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, I had friends who witnessed it directly and they expressed to me how disgusting it was. I absolutely believe it and it was a very good reason why people turned against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. However, I am concerned about the trend of MPs being expelled from political parties. Parties with serving MPs in Parliament should have broad coalitions.”

However, in an opinion editorial in the Jewish News today, Mr Stewart clarified: “My point was not to exonerate Corbyn but to oppose the principle of leaders  barring fellow members from standing as candidates as happened here. In a first past the post system like the US or the UK this operates – as I discovered personally – as a de facto expulsion from Parliament.”

He added: “None of this is to excuse the horrifying antisemitism that existed and was not addressed in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. I heard about it directly from many friends who I trust. Corbyn has a great deal to answer for. I also feel very uncomfortable trying to maintain a constitutional point over an issue which was so deeply hurtful and offensive and disturbing to so many. And I realise Corbyn is not the constitutional hill I would have wanted to choose to die on.

“Seeing the passionate responses to my original comments, I wanted to express many many apologies for stepping into this so insensitively. I don’t believe Starmer was right to expel Corbyn from Parliament, but Starmer has done the right thing in demonstrating that antisemitism will not be tolerated in his party.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Matt le Tissier, a retired footballer, has reportedly shared content which claims that Osama Bin Laden was a Mossad agent.

The post, which was published by a different user on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, was accompanied by an inflammatory thread that said: “Who is Osama Bin Laden, well it may come to shock you that his actual name is Tim Osman, or Colonel Tim Osman, a CIA asset and Mossad agent who worked with the Justice Department.”

It continued: “The establishment media complex wants you to believe that the highest ranking terrorist known in America was simply assassinated after decades of failure to find him, then put on board an old Vietnam-era chopper only to be thrown into the sea thus eliminating all evidence.”

Alongside the post published the other user, Mr le Tissier wrote, “what a thread”.

Included in the thread of the post was a video featuring James Fetzer, an American academic who is known to promote Holocaust-denial and conspiracy theories. Mr Fetzer previously wrote: “My research on the Holocaust narrative suggests that it is not only untrue but provably false and not remotely scientifically sustainable.”

In the video, Mr Fetzer reportedly appears to describe accounts of the 9/11 attacks as “not just false but provably false”. He also allegedly claimed: “This whole project emanated in the fertile imagination of [Israeli Prime Ministers] Bibi Netanyahu and Ehud Olmert…to promote the Israeli agenda by drawing American forces into the Middle East.”

One of the posts in the thread appeared to reference the ‘dancing Israelis’ conspiracy theory: “Even though being suspects in the largest terror attack in our nation’s history, they were released.”

‘Dancing Israelis’ is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that alleges that five Israeli Mossad agents were witnessed by police to be dancing and celebrating the 9/11 attacks on a rooftop when they took place. It also alleges that the Israelis were involved in the attacks and that Jewish people were pre-warned to stay away from the buildings that day. 

It is understood that other comments in the thread denied the plausibility of the attacks entirely. 

In 2020, Mr le Tissier apologised for comparing rules on mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic to the Holocaust in a highly controversial and ill-considered social media post.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

Members of the far-right met for an event in Samlesbury, Lancashire on Saturday which hosted Patriotic Alternative speakers and honoured fascist Sir Oswald Mosley.

The event was organised by Heritage and Destiny, which meets annually. According to the group’s website, Heritage and Destiny “reflects a cross-section of 21st century racial nationalist opinion”. 

According to Heritage and Destiny, a total of eighty people attended the event and was chaired by Keith Axon, a former National Front and British National Party (BNP) organiser.

Several individuals were due to be commemorated at the event, including: Sir Oswald, who founded the British Union of Fascists; Ian Stuart Donaldson, a musician for the band, “White Power”; Derek Beackon, a former councillor for the British National Party; and Andrew Brons, a former Chairman of the National Front who was also a British National Party Member of European Parliament. 

Speaking at the event were Mark Collett and Laura Towler, who are respectively the Leader and Deputy Leader of the far-right group, Patriotic Alternative. Patriotic Alternative is a UK-based group headed by Mr Collett, the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust-denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

Patriotic Alternative is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Other speakers at the event included Isabel Peralta, Ken Schmidt, Benny Bullman, Ian Stuart, John Kersey, Stephen Frost, Mark Cotterill and Peter Rushton.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

In the coming days, Jews around the world will celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, a festival that has the theme of justice at its core. At this time of the year, we reflect on the achievements of the past year and rededicate ourselves to our mission of fighting for justice for British Jews.

In just the past few weeks, Abdullah Qureshi has been sentenced for violent antisemitic assaults against religious Jews in North London. This was only possible after we exposed a plea deal that he had agreed with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), as part of which the antisemitic element of the hate crimes was dropped. Only after we and other groups made representatives to the CPS did the court agree to reinstate the charges, and, two years after the attacks, he has finally been sentenced for the full horror of his crimes.

He is not the only illustration of a system that tries to downplay antisemitism. After six years of action by Campaign Against Antisemitism – including a private prosecution, a judicial review and a complaint to his regulator – the pharmacist Nazim Ali has finally been found to have made antisemitic comments at the pro-Hizballah ‘Al Quds Day’ march in London in 2017. An earlier hearing determined that the comments had not been antisemitic, and only after we and others appealed the matter, ultimately to the High Court, was that decision quashed and a new hearing held which made an opposite finding.

We have also been involved in the prosecution of a Tik Tok influencer who was invading the homes of the Jewish families in London, the antisemite Alison Chabloz lost an appeal in her latest case following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, and, in Scotland, the French far-right fugitive and Holocaust-denier Vincent Reynouard was finally arrested following appeals by Campaign Against Antisemitism, aided by our Honorary Patron Lord Austin. He now faces an extradition hearing, and, if he is extradited, he faces immediate imprisonment in France.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has also been granted intervener status in a High Court case brought by the disgraced former mayor Ken Livingstone against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over the EHRC’s investigation into Labour antisemitism, in which we were the complainant.

In the workplace, we continue to help victims in cases that do not make the headlines but make a big difference in the lives of ordinary Jews facing discrimination, for example in the case of a young Jewish employee whose employer we helped to sue for unfair dismissal, and a teacher, who, with our help, reached a settlement following multiple instances of antisemitism at their school.

On campuses, we continue to work with students, staff, administrators and other stakeholders to challenge antisemitism when it arises at universities around the country. For example, at Birkbeck, a professor is no longer working at the institution following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, and we have also made a detailed submission to the independent inquiry into antisemitism at Goldsmiths.

Meanwhile, a major independent report into antisemitism at the National Union of Students (NUS), to which Campaign Against Antisemitism contributed and which leaned on our research, found that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct. The report rightly recognised that there has been a “poor relationship” between NUS and Jewish students for a long time. During the investigation, NUS took the unprecedented step of removing its President, Shaima Dallali.

Our communications work has also yielded tremendous successes over the past year. Retail giant Adidas ended its partnership with the rapper Kanye West after almost 200,000 people signed Campaign Against Antisemitism’s petition, which was backed by celebrities David Schwimmer, Chelsea Handler and others. We have also sustained international pressure on the musician Roger Waters, secured the cancellation of an antisemitism-denial propaganda film at Glastonbury Festival and many other venues around the country, and made videos exposing individuals and activist groups such as Just Stop Oil.

We also launched the first ever national antisemitism billboard campaign, highlighting the fact that Jews are 500% more likely to be the victims of a hate crime than any other faith group. These billboards were in dozens of locations across multiple cities including London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The campaign was featured in major locations such as Leicester Square, Heathrow airport, Westfield Shopping Centre and Manchester One. Among the models was a Holocaust survivor who has been left sickened by modern antisemitism, and, it is believed for the first time ever on a British billboard, a member of the Charedi Jewish community, which bears so much of the brunt of violent antisemitic crime.

Our work holding traditional media organisations to account has also borne fruit. For example, Ofcom finally rebuked the BBC over its coverage of the antisemitic Oxford Street incident, which followed action by Campaign Against Antisemitism and many others in the Jewish community. We have also been at the forefront of action against The Guardian, the BBC over other issues, and others.

We continue to be active in policy-making as well. We ensured that the new draft online safety bill would retain a key legal provision to enable the fight against antisemitism on the internet, and we have called on the British Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, providing a dossier of research to the Home Secretary, Security Minister and all MPs.

We also launched a first-of-its-kind study surveying in real-time the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by local authorities across the UK. It is the only such resource, and complements our existing similar database for universities. We made a submission to a Parliamentary committee calling for tougher punishments against racist local councillors, and we recently revealed that over 40 British universities have yet to adopt the Definition, despite calls from the Government and the Jewish community to do so. We have also urged the United Nations finally to adopt the Definition.

The only way to inoculate against the virus of antisemitism is through education. That is why we continue to offer educational classes in Jewish and non-Jewish schools and synagogues, a curriculum for non-Jewish schools that is also featured on BBC Teach, events for the public, and regular training for corporations, charities, regulators, police forces, university societies and others. Our annual internship programme grows in popularity every year, and our podcast – the only podcast in the world dedicated to antisemitism – is in the top five percent most shared podcasts globally on streaming giant Spotify, and is in the top ten percent most followed podcasts. Guests have included David Baddiel, Eddie Marsan, Robert Rinder, Simon Brodkin, Elon Gold, Modi Rosenfeld, Ben M. Freeman, Eve Barlow, Natan Levy and numerous other celebrities, influencers, rabbis, academics, activists and authors.

This is just a selection of what our volunteers, who work day in and day out, have achieved, with the support of our staff and lawyers, who are paid for by donors who give what they can to make this work possible.

Please help us to keep achieving our goals.

To keep up to date with our work, please subscribe or follow @antisemitism on all major social media platforms.

From everyone at Campaign Against Antisemitism, we wish you a happy and healthy Jewish new year ahead!

A Conservative MP has hired a former Labour Party councillor who has a history of making inflammatory comments about Jews

Paul Bristow, the Conservative MP for Peterborough, hired Ansar Ali, who used to be a councillor for Peterborough City Council, according to the JC.

Mr Ali was suspended from the Labour Party in 2021 whilst under investigation after he posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” because the broadcaster “didn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby”. Mr Ali was reinstated to the Party after it concluded its investigation. 

The Labour Party is alleged not to have investigated other social media posts that he published, such as one in 2017 linking to an article asking, “How many British MPs are working for Israel?” which he described as “interesting and thought-provoking”, and another from 2016 referencing “Nazi-Zionist collaboration”.

Mr Bristow has acknowledged that whilst he was aware that Mr Ali had been suspended by Labour due to accusations of antisemitism, he had not “closely checked” what prompted the investigation. Nevertheless, according to Mr Bristow, Mr Ali “regrets deeply this social media activity and now sees clearly why it is antisemitic”. 

Mr Bristow added: “In an environment where material such as this (and worse) is being shared openly, he should have known much better.

 “I know some will disagree with my decision to give Ansar a chance to make amends. People may be disappointed. I understand this. But I am convinced that Ansar will stand with me in the fight against hatred and antisemitism. He will use his experience and mistakes as lessons for others.

“Ultimately the proof will be in actions, not words, and I look forward to this being demonstrated. By having his support, I will make a bigger difference than asking him to walk away.”

Mr Bristow also recommended that local politicians in the area undertake antisemitism training: “I think all councillors in Peterborough need to go through antisemitism training as a matter of course. We have a deserved reputational issue.  We owe it to Peterborough to address it.”

Mr Bristow also confirmed that Mr Ali will remain working for the Conservative Party in his role as a translator and caseworker for Mr Bristow’s constituency office. 

Mr Ali said: “In the past I have commented and shared social media posts that I now fully understand would have caused hurt and distress to members of the Jewish faith. This was wrong, and I deeply regret any hurt I have caused to the Jewish community and others.

“I have always considered myself someone who works to bring diverse communities in Peterborough and beyond together. These specific examples of social media activity fell well short of this aspiration.

“I shall work to ensure all community leaders strive to eliminate antisemitism and all forms of racial hatred and division wherever it is expressed. I aspire for a just and peaceful world where humanity comes first. Justice for All. Love for all, hate for none.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Image credit: Twitter via the JC

A camp for former British soldiers has been revealed to be a hotbed of antisemitic conspiracy theories. 

PTSD Camp Bath, a camp for “ex-forces with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]”, has allegedly hosted several antisemitic conspiracy theorists as well as far-right individuals, according to an investigation by the JC.

The camp is located in a rural area and offers therapy sessions with horses as well as classes on woodland skills.

According to the investigation, the centre is run by Dion Drayford and Jo Drayford. Mr Drayford has reportedly appeared on podcasts with members of Patriotic Alternative (PA). According to his wife, Mr Drayford previously worked as a bodyguard in Iraq for American clients and, before that, served as a paratrooper for around twenty years. 

His wife, Jo, is also known to have been a guest on a podcast with the alleged former East of England organiser for PA, Chris Mitchell. 

PA is a UK-based group headed by the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP, Mark Collett. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

PA is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

In 2017, Mr Drayford reportedly shared content that claimed to uncover a “Jewish organ-trafficking centre”. In the content, it was alleged that Jews harvest organs from Syrian refugees. 

Currently, the centre is understood to be organising a fundraiser for Alfred Guenigault. Mr Guenigault is a 98-year-old veteran who fought in the Second World War and whose landlord evicted him from his home. The fundraiser is claimed to be organised by Darren Edmundson, the self-proclaimed “Pembrokeshire Patriot” who was involved in protests against asylum seekers arriving in the UK. It is understood that the logos of both PTSD Camp Bath and Patriotic Alternative appear on the fundraising videos.

John Lawrence, the founder and leader of the National Housing Party, is known to have made a livestream in which he encouraged people to donate to Mr Guenigault. 

According to its website, the National Housing Party is a “nationalist party with realistic policies which will benefit both the indigenous population and UK citizens”. According to the Party, “the politically correct society we now live in is a vicious anti-white and anti-Christian one.”

Mr Lawrence has reportedly said: “I’ve met many veterans alongside Dion [Mr Drayson] at the camp.”

Earlier this year, a message on Telegram was reportedly sent from the National Housing Party which read: “Every major contributor to the dogma of Cultural Marxism was Jewish. The Frankfurt School from where it originated was a nest of Jews. Its goal was simple destroy white Christian civilisation and replace it with a multicultural madhouse under Jewish hegemony [sic].” 

The Party has also allegedly said that “there is not an anti-Jewish agenda… there is a vicious anti-white agenda” and that the “mainly Jewish” Soviet authorities were responsible for the deaths of Christian Ukrainians by starvation. 

Nigel Marcham and Alan Leggett, who are nicknamed “Little Veteran” and “Active Patriot” respectively, are understood to be attendees at the camp. Both Mr Marcham and Mr Leggett were previously banned from the docks at Dover after a judge concluded that they were “abusing” migrants. 

In 2020, Mr Marcham allegedly led a protest against boat crossings over the Channel. The protest, which was attended by white nationalists, led to the port being closed. 

A spokesperson for the Government said: “There is no place in our country for antisemitism in any form – it is abhorrent and will not be tolerated. The UK has some of the strongest legislation in the world, but we recognise there is more work to be done and will continue to push for prosecution where religious or racially motivated criminal activity occurs. We also continue to work closely with Jewish communities and the police to tackle hate crime.”

Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “Given the links to Patriotic Alternative, this is deeply concerning. The police and the Home Office must scrutinise this camp very carefully to ensure it is not a front for more insidious activity.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Charity Commission last month over a charity that hosted senior commanders from the antisemitic Islamist terrorist group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

It was reported last month that several IRGC leaders gave lectures to students nationally. It is believed that some of the talks have been held at the registered address of the Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust.

The Al-Tawheed Charitable Trust is understood to be under investigation already by the Commission due to “serious concerns regarding events held at its premises” after the charity reportedly held an event to celebrate and commemorate Qasem Soleimani, an IRGC terrorist mastermind who was assassinated by the United States in 2020. 

The lectures were reportedly organised by the Islamic Students Association of Britain. 

The Islamic Students Association of Britain reportedly has branches on university campuses in Bradford, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Cambridge.

Saeed Ghasemi, reported to be a former general in the IRGC, allegedly told British students that the Holocaust was “fake”.

“The one that the Jews say happened is fake. The real Holocaust happened in my country in the First World War, 1917-19, when the UK occupied Iran,” he reportedly said during an online talk.

He also is reported to have encouraged his audience of students to join “the beautiful list of soldiers” who would fight and kill Jews in a coming apocalyptic war. 

Hossein Yekta, another figure believed to be a high-ranking IRGC official, is said to have accused Jews of having “created homosexuality”. He allegedly told students that they should view themselves as “holy warriors”, promising them that the “era of the Jews” would soon be at an end. 

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal to proscribe the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We provided the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and appalling record of promoting antisemitic propaganda, including Holocaust-denial, and funding and orchestrating violence against Jews. This is in addition to being the world’s biggest state-sponsor of terrorism more generally, the effects of which are not only profound in the Middle East but felt on every continent in the world. According to our nation’s security chiefs, Iran directly threatens the UK.

But what is less known is that it is specifically the IRGC that is one of the principal instruments through which the Iranian regime carries out these endeavours.

Founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRGC is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the radical regime. Its purpose is to serve as a praetorian guard for the theocracy at home and to advance its interests abroad. That includes training, arming and supporting terrorist groups and encouraging strategic acts of terror against targets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC has a paramount role in cultivating antisemitic sentiment, giving succour to antisemites and backing terrorism against Jews.

The IRGC is a vital organ pumping out antisemitic propaganda in Iran and through the Middle East, it emboldens those who wish harm to Jewish people in the name of extremist religion, and it is the indispensable patron of such antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups as Hizballah and Hamas, both of which are proscribed by the UK.

The BBC Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has admitted that its presenter’s baseless accusation that “Israeli forces are happy to kill children” was not impartial. 

The outrageous and unfounded claim came during an interview on BBC News in July with the former Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, about Israel’s military operation in Jenin, which has now concluded.

When speaking on the topic of the targets of the operation, Anjana Gadgil, the presenter who conducted the interview, stated: “The Israeli forces are happy to kill children.” 

Mr Bennett robustly rejected the baseless assertion, including by noting that the seventeen-year-olds in question were armed combatants.

The notion that the military of the state of Israel – the Jewish state – is “happy” to kill minors draws on the symbolism of the blood libel.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g. claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterise Israel or Israelis” is an example of antisemitism.

The original antisemitic blood libel dates to 1144, when Jews in England were falsely accused of the murder of a boy known as William of Norwich.

Incidents of blood libel grew in the Middle Ages, with Jews accused of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood in Passover rituals. In 1290, it was a pretext for the confiscation of all Jewish property and the complete expulsion of Jews from England. They were not permitted to return until centuries later. The blood libel has been a case of much persecution and murder of Jews ever since, including up to the present day.

In the modern era, updated versions of the blood libel continue to pervade antisemitic discourse.  Contemporary manifestations include the accusation that Jews or the Jewish state steal human organs, drink or utilise the blood of non-Jews, or willfully and readily murder non-Jewish – particularly Arab – children.

After Campaign Against Antisemitism and many others complained to the BBC about the comments, the broadcaster apologised. Now the ECU has also published the results of its investigation.

A spokesperson for the ECU said: “The ECU accepted that, as phrased, the statement might have given viewers the impression that they were hearing the presenter’s personal view on a controversial matter, and that it therefore fell below the BBC’s standards of impartiality.”

The spokesperson also said that BBC News had “already acknowledged a problem with the interview” on its corrections webpage and that it, therefore, considered the complaint resolved. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

The BBC is reportedly set to work on a film with the expelled Labour member and controversial filmmaker Ken Loach.

The film, entitled, “Downtrodden”, is reportedly in partnership between the BBC and Mr Loach’s production company, Sixteen Films, according to The Telegraph. 

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism…and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn.”

He was also reportedly behind a motion passed by Bath Labour Party branding the Panorama programme a “dishonest hatchet job with potentially undemocratic consequences” and asserting that it “disgraced the name of Panorama and exposed the bias endemic within the BBC.” John Ware, the programme’s reporter, is apparently considering legal action against Mr Loach for his comments.

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust-denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism. Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal.

While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is a terrible lapse in judgement which we will discuss with the BBC. Ken Loach has been just appalling in his antisemitism-denial, not only during the years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, but long after the Equality and Human Rights Commission found evidence of illegal antisemitism and the Labour Party admitted it. Even the Labour Party has ditched him, so why would anyone think he’s still an acceptable partner for the BBC?”

Mr Loach has denied that he is involved in the production of “Downtrodden”, reportedly telling the PA news agency:  “This is unfounded abuse from a pressure group. I have answered such allegations many times. There are important questions to put to the CAA [Campaign Against Antisemitism] when it makes these unpleasant attacks. They have a political agenda and they clearly do not represent all Jewish people, maybe only a minority. They never challenge me directly, simply seek to cause professional damage and personal distress.”

Mr Loach reportedly described himself as a “target” for pressure groups such as Campaign Against Antisemitism, purportedly because he is “known to be of the left” and someone “who supports Palestinian rights”. He added: “In this instance, the CAA has its facts wrong. I am not a producer of the film Downtrodden, nor involved in its production. Sixteen Films is a production company that works with several directors.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

The Labour Party has spent over £500,000 in legal costs as part of its case against former staffers who are accused of leaking an internal antisemitism report. 

The costs, reported to be at least £503,260, are understood to relate to a recent hearing in which the Party tried to gain access to Laura Murray’s e-mails. Ms Murray is a disgraced former aide to Jeremy Corbyn who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process during his tenure as leader of the Party.

The hearing is part of a wider counterclaim against the Party’s former staffers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.

In the counterclaim, four other former staffers are named: Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Mr Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at the pro-Corbyn Momentum pressure group, who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

Last year, it was reported that Labour could face up to £5 million in claims and counterclaims relating to the leaked report. 

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The party has conducted a wide-ranging and appropriately thorough investigation following the leak and is confident of the case it has presented to the court. That remains the case.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

The Green Party has announced that Jo Bird, a controversial expelled Labour Party councillor, has been selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Party.  

A post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for the Wirral Green Party read: “We’re pleased to announce our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Birkenhead, Cllr Jo Bird. #JoBird4Birkenhead #GetGreensElected”. 

Cllr Bird then retweeted the post and wrote, “Birkenhead deserves better,” before continuing to list various policy issues. 

Cllr Bird, who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist and friend of Mr Corbyn, Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”

Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird has been a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.

Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from Labour for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt.

Cllr Bird then joined the Green Party last year, after Campaign Against Antisemitism warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

Earlier this year, the Jewish Greens appointed Cllr Bird as a senior officer. 

Our polling of British Jews found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%).

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

The Government has pledged to halt public funding of mosques that host hate-preachers. 

An investigation by the JC revealed that four mosques that have hosted inflammatory speakers in Britain have received substantial public grants in recent years. 

The investigation found that Finsbury Park Mosque in North London received almost £300,000 from Islington Council between 2017 and 2022. 

Earlier this year, the mosque’s General Secretary, Mohammed Kozbar, reportedly wrote on Facebook that he was “honoured” to meet the antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. 

In 2015, Mr Kozbar allegedly visited the grave of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and described him as “the master of the martyrs of resistance, the mujahid [holy warrior] sheikh, the teacher.” Mr Yassin is known as one of the founders of Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terrorist group.

Mr Kozbar has also reportedly met senior Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar.

In 2021, the UK banned Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist group following calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.

Mr Kozbar also hosted Egyptian cleric Omar Abdelkafi. Despite Mr Abdelkafi’s record of quoting from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and a Facebook post that included a prayer to “liberate the al-Aqsa mosque from the filth of the Jews,” Mr Kozbar reportedly described him as “our beloved preacher”.

In 2011, Mr Kozbar was reportedly caught on video speaking at an anti-Israel rally, where he allegedly said that he looked forward “to the end of Israel, inshallah.”

He has also reportedly given public support to the disgraced Bristol University academic David Miller and to Shaima Dallali, who was removed from her position as President of the National Union of Students amidst allegations of antisemitism.

Days after the investigation was published, Jeremy Corbyn, the former Leader of the Labour Party, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter: “Finsbury Park Mosque offers a place of peace, hope and solidarity to so many people in our community. We will not be divided by those in our media who seek to sow hatred and fear. It is love for our neighbours, whatever their faith, that unites us all.”

According to the investigation, Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre in Birmingham was reported in August to have received a grant of £2.2million from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). 

The funding is understood to come from a Government Youth Investment Fund and is for the mosque to build a centre for young people. The centre would host courses provided by the mosque on topics such as “how to empower marginalised communities” and “critical thinking”.

The decision to award the mosque money was reportedly made by the Social Investment Business (SIB). SIB is a foundation that is contracted by DCMS to help with decisions in social investment. 

A spokesperson for SIB said that the distribution of the grant has been “paused”. A “pre-construction” grant of £600,000 however, has already been paid to the mosque. 

In terms of SIB’s vetting processes, the spokesperson said: “Prior to any decision to award beneficiaries funding, due diligence checks are conducted.” 

The spokesperson added: “This includes information publicly available via the Charity Commission and Companies House, as well as extensive assessments of project bids and documentation.” 

In 2021, Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem, the mosque’s Head Imam and Head of Education, reportedly said in a recorded talk that female adulterers should be killed and that “there must be a hole dug in the earth and she [the adulterer] must be covered up to half her body.” 

In 2019, Shaykh abu Usamah at-Thahabi, who is known to be a regular speaker at Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre, appeared in a video that was posted to the mosque’s YouTube channel in which he said that he was stopped from entering Israel as he was considered a “threat to public safety”. He later reportedly remarked in the same video that he was not a threat and that his visit was to see holy sites in Jerusalem before comparing Israel to a “concentration camp”. 

In another video, Mr Thahabi allegedly said that “the Jews made a lot of trouble for the Arabs in Medina, a lot of trouble.”

He has also reportedly expressed homophobic beliefs publicly which included saying, “you make sure you kill the one who is doing it and the one who it is being done to,” after suggesting that Shariah law permitted killing LGBTQ+ people. 

It is also understood that the mosque hosted a speaker who claimed that Jews are “people of envy” who “killed the prophets and the messengers”. 

Another video appeared to show a leading imam of the mosque saying that women who are adulterous should be stoned to death. 

A spokesperson for Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre claimed that the video “lacked context” and was “taken from a wide-ranging theological discourse that included the recounting of events in Arabia over 1,400 years ago…he did not suggest that these practices have a place in UK society.”

The investigation also found that Lewisham Islamic Centre in South London received nearly £540,000 between 2015 and 2022 in “local authority grants”. 

In 2016, the mosque’s Head Imam, Shakeel Begg, was determined by a High Court judge to have “promoted violence in support of Islam” during his unsuccessful libel claim against the BBC.

It is also understood that Mr Begg told young Muslims to “go to Palestine and fight the Zionists.”

Lewisham Council has reportedly said that it has no record of the grants made between 2015 and 2022.

Michael Adebolajo, who murdered British soldier Lee Rigby, used to be a member of the Lewisham congregation and attended a speech by Mr Begg at the mosque in 2021. During the speech, Mr Begg reportedly showed support for the use of rockets against Israel. Mr Adebolajo described the speech as “inspiring”. 

Mr Begg said that he was “appalled” by the murder of Mr Rigby. 

In the centre’s 2022 Annual Report, there is an endorsement by Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West, which says that the centre does “absolutely brilliant work for the Lewisham community”. In the same report, Damian Egan, the Labour Mayor of Lewisham, described it as “a source of guidance, community and friendship”. 

Another mosque was revealed to have received over £850,000 between 2017 and 2022. Jamia Islamia Ghousia in Luton is believed to have received the funding locally from its town council. 

In 2021, Jamia Islamia Ghousia allegedly backed a rally where the speaker, Attiq Malik, reportedly claimed that Israel was committing “genocide” and said that this was underreported in the media due to “global censorship by Zionists”.

It is understood that the mosque’s Chief Imam attended the rally. 

At the same rally, another speaker reportedly said that “Israel is a disease that needs to be cut out,” before leading a chant that said: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism

According to the Definition, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” is an example of antisemitism.

It is understood that following the investigation, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, and Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary are pushing for better “due diligence” checks to be conducted by the Government and local governing bodies.

Rachel Hopkins, the Labour MP for Luton South, attended the rally and said to local media afterwards: “I was proud to speak at today’s Luton demo against the abuses in Israel and Palestine. There’s no justification for such violent, traumatic attacks.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.

A former prison officer who shared neo-Nazi rap songs was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment on Thursday. 

Ashley Podsiad-Sharp, 42, from Barnsley, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on the charge of being in possession of material likely to be of use to a terrorist contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. 

Mr Podsiad-Sharp formerly worked as a prison officer at a men’s prison in Armley, Leeds. 

The material in question was the White Resistance Manual. According to law enforcement authorities in California, the White Resistance Manual is “basically a guerrilla warfare manual instructing people on different types of weapons, on creating weapons, on police investigations, basically how to conduct covert urban operations.”

The manual states: “No longer will we allow the Jews to live like parasites upon the body of our race. No longer will we tolerate any Jewish influence in our political system, our legal system or our mass-media.” 

Following an investigation into Mr Podsiad-Sharp’s online activity, he was arrested by Counter Terrorism Policing North East with the assistance of South Yorkshire Police, in May 2022.

In May, he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court where he faced accusations of running an online fitness club in which he promoted terrorism through the use of neo-Nazi rap music.

Said to be the founder of the White Stag Athletic Club, Mr Podsiad-Sharp described the club as “nationalist boy scouts for grown-ups”, which he said was “something beautiful, a brotherhood among a lot of men who have none — white working-class men”. As part of the process for new recruits for the club, members were asked if they were of Jewish or Muslim heritage, mixed race or LGBTQ+. 

Judge Richardson said during Mr Podsiad-Sharp’s sentencing: “The simple fact of the matter is you created a cauldron of self-absorbed neo-Nazism masquerading as a low grade all-male sports club. This sought to camouflage your real purpose to incite violence against those you hated with a vengeance. Those individuals were inadequate, ill-educated, unsuccessful, and dangerous. The terrorist manual was an integral part of this scheme. Sooner or later that violence would have eventuated.”

“You place Hitler and his henchmen as idols in your life,” Judge Richardson later added.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing North East

A former RAF (Royal Air Force) cadet admitted in court on Friday that he was responsible for far-right graffiti.

An unnamed seventeen-year-old boy appeared in court at the Old Bailey and admitted two separate acts of vandalism in 2022 on a Windrush memorial in Port Talbot. The graffiti consisted of a swastika, text that read, “Nazi zone” and “1488”, and a racial slur. 

1488 is often used as a coded reference to the neo-Nazi fourteen-word oath, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” a slogan initially devised by David Lane, a member of the white supremacist terrorist group “The Order”, which was responsible for the murder of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is intended as a code for “Heil Hitler.”

The Court heard about the teenager’s troubling history of engagement with far-right ideology, which included: Being banned from Instagram for posting Nazi content; owning a copy of Mein Kampf, which was bought for him by his mother; and having an internet history of extreme far-right material. 

According to the prosecution, police also found knives, a gasmask, a KKK flag, a swastika flag and an air rifle among the defendant’s possessions. 

A video was shown in Court where the teenager posed with the air rifle and called himself, “Hitler’s strongest soldier”. Another video showed him wearing a swastika necklace and talking about “white power”.

It was also found that the defendant wrote “check my art out” on Telegram after the mural was vandalised. 

The Court heard that the defendant was referred to the Government’s Prevent programme last year by his RAF cadet group. He was later expelled from the group when he shared an image of himself with a swastika on his chest with other cadets. 

Lucy Jones, prosecuting, also presented content from the defendant’s diary, which included an entry that expressed desire for a “race war”. 

Another entry included a to-do list that detailed items such as “burn a building down, maybe bomb it”, “kill someone”, “join a Nazi militia”, “get a gun or make one” and “get buff as hell”.

The teenager previously pled guilty to two charges of possessing a terrorist document, three charges of distributing a terrorist document and three charges of criminal damage in June. 

The defendant is due to be sentenced in September and will remain on unconditional bail until then. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Following six years of dogged action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has finally admitted that comments by the pharmacist Nazim Ali were antisemitic, but has still let him off with just a warning.

The GPhC’s Fitness to Practise Committee ruled that Mr Ali’s conduct while leading the pro-Hizballah ‘Al Quds Day’ march in London in 2017 brought his profession into disrepute due to comments made over a public address system that the Committee found to be antisemitic.

Today’s hearing comes after a previous decision by the GPhC to let Mr Ali off with a warning was quashed following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which, along with others, took the matter to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Campaign Against Antisemitism has also brought a private prosecution, launched a judicial review, and submitted the initial complaint to the GPhC, in our efforts to secure justice.

Ultimately those efforts have succeeded today, much as the final sanction is unacceptably weak.

At the hearing in London today, two of the four comments made by Mr Ali at the ‘Al Quds Day’ march in London on 18th June 2017 were found to have been antisemitic, based on how a “reasonable person” would have understood the comments.

The two comments, made before a crowd holding Hizballah flags and placards proclaiming “We are all Hizballah” were: “Any Zionist, any Jew coming into your centre supporting Israel, any Jew coming into your centre who is a Zionist, any Jew coming into your centre who is a member of the Board of Deputies, is not a Rabbi, he is an imposter”; and “They are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell. The Zionist supporters of the Tory Party,” referring to the tragic fire in which seventy-two people had perished four days prior to the march. The Committee found that it was “proved” that the comments were antisemitic.

The Committee made reference to the International Definition of Antisemitism, and determined that a reasonable person could find that the first comment “conveyed [that] there are certain categories of persons who are not [a] proper representation” of Jews, and that the use of the word “imposter” was antisemitic because it “displayed hostility to the Jewish people”.

With regard to the second comment, the Committee found that, given that Zionism had nothing to do with the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, a reasonable person could view “Zionist” in this comment as a synonym for Jews, and that this engaged the Definition, according to which “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews” is an example of antisemitism. The Committee found that, in this instance, “‘Zionist’ connoted antisemitic tropes.”

The sanction of a warning was considered suitable by the Committee even though it found that Mr Ali’s remarks were given greater “salience” by the fact that he led the rally, rather than merely participating in it, and that his claims about the Grenfell Tower tragedy were made soon after the fire when emotions would have been at their “rawest”. Despite these findings, the next level of sanction — suspension — was not even sought by the GPhC’s counsel.

Disappointingly and inexplicably, an additional two comments, “It’s in their genes. Zionists are here to occupy Regent Street. It’s in their genes. It’s in their genetic code”; and “European alleged Jews. Remember brothers and sisters, Zionists are not Jews,” were “not proved” to be antisemitic. Regarding the first comment, in this case “Zionists” was not deemed to be synonymous with ‘Jews’, and the second comment about Zionists not being Jews was supposedly ambiguous, and the Committee understood it to mean simply that ‘Zionists are not the same as Jews,’ and concluded that that was not an antisemitic comment.

Nevertheless, the Committee deemed that the “nature of what was said amounted to serious misconduct” and that it constituted an impairment to practise “on public interest grounds”, and that it was “entirely likely he would be identified as a pharmacist,” and indeed Campaign Against Antisemitism did identify him as such. It was found that he “did not lead by example,” as is required by all in the pharmaceutical profession, and his “comments brought the [pharmaceutical] profession into disrepute.”

While the Committee did not feel that Mr Ali posed a risk to patients, and even though he did not repeat his comments in subsequent years, the Committee concluded that he had brought the profession into disrepute with his comments, and that his words “had caused damage to the public’s confidence in the pharmaceutical profession.”

Despite the damage to the profession that the Committee found that Mr Ali’s comments caused, the Committee nonetheless decided to issue Mr Ali with only a warning, a weak sanction that a reasonable person would interpret as indicative of an unseriousness toward racist conduct as it pertains to Jews.

In 2020, the GPhC’s Fitness to Practise Committee found that Mr Ali had brought the pharmaceutical profession into disrepute. Although the Fitness to Practise Committee had found that Mr Ali’s words were offensive, it did not find that the words had been antisemitic, and the panel let him off with only a formal warning.

Following the GPhC’s ruling, Campaign Against Antisemitism and others made representations to the PSA, which oversees disciplinary decisions made by the GPhC. We asked the PSA to use its statutory power to appeal the GPhC’s decision to the High Court under the National Health Service Reform and Healthcare Professionals Act 2002, on the grounds that the decision made by the GPhC panel was insufficient to protect the public because it was “irrational and perverse”.

In particular, we asked the PSA to review the GPhC’s ruling that Mr Ali’s statements were not antisemitic, including by attempting to distinguish between “antisemitism” and “antisemitic”. We asked the PSA to consider the International Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the British Government, and the Guidance to all Judiciary in England and Wales produced by the Judicial College that makes clear that the word “Zionist” or “Zio” as a term of abuse has no place in a civilised society.

The PSA made the referral that we requested, opening the way for the High Court to decide whether to quash the GPhC panel’s decision. Subsequently, the GPhC itself also agreed with Campaign Against Antisemitism and declared that it would not oppose the appeal at the High Court, leaving Mr Ali to do so himself. The High Court allowed the PSA’s appeal, ruling that the case was to be remitted to the Fitness to Practise Committee to redetermine whether Mr Ali’s comments had been antisemitic. Mr Ali subsequently sought leave to appeal the High Court’s ruling in the Court of the Appeal, but permission to appeal was refused.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Today’s ruling marks the culmination of more than six years of work by Campaign Against Antisemitism to secure justice against the leader of the infamous 2017 pro-Hizballah ‘Al Quds Day’ march. It has finally been ruled that Nazim Ali’s address to the crowd contained antisemitic invective, an obvious conclusion that has been resisted for years.

“Despite this admission at long last by the GPhC, Mr Ali has only been given a warning, a slap-on-the-wrist sanction that shows a disturbing lack of seriousness toward racist conduct as it pertains to Jews.

“The road to justice in this case has proved long and winding, but we always said that we would not allow this injustice to stand and we are pleased that this ruling that the comments were antisemitic has at long last vindicated our efforts, even as the sanction shows that enforcement remains unacceptably weak in many cases. British Jews can be assured that we will always be unrelenting in pursuit of justice, and we will be meeting with the GPhC about its approach to antisemitic hate.”

As the new academic year approaches, Campaign Against Antisemitism can reveal that 43 universities in Britain have still not properly adopted, or have expressly refused to adopt, the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The number of universities that have adopted the Definition in full, including the eleven integral examples, and have not adopted any other qualifying or competing language, is 134. However, the rate of adoption is slowing, with our research indicating that the most recent adoption may have been as far back as March 2022. The latest information, which is updated in real time, can be found at antisemitism.org/universities.

Among those universities that have not adopted, some have not provided any cogent reasons, such as the University of Brighton and the University of Wales Trinity St David.

Brighton University, for example, told us: “A Race and Faith commission was set up following discussions at the Academic Board and Board of Governors on the subject of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The Commission recommended that the University should not adopt the definition.”

This Commission relied on work by the UCL Academic Board, which even the UCL leadership has not followed (UCL has adopted the Definition), input from the University and College Union (UCU), which is a staunch opponent of the Definition and whose reputation in the Jewish community is in the gutter, and Prof. David Feldman, a former Deputy Chair of the whitewash Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party and whose advocacy against the Definition has been grossly counter-productive to the fight against antisemitism.

Some universities claimed that, while they have not adopted the Definition, they nonetheless ‘use’ it, including Cardiff University, Edinburgh Napier University and the University of South Wales.

Others insisted that their existing policies already cover antisemitism and therefore adoption is not necessary, such as Kingston University, Robert Gordon University and SOAS University of London.

SOAS, for example, told us: “While SOAS University of London has not adopted the IHRA definition, we stand firmly against antisemitism, as we do against all forms of discrimination. Our SOAS Charter on Racism, Antisemitism and All Forms of Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Chauvinism makes a clear, demonstrable commitment to every member of staff and every student that we will not tolerate any form of racism or religious chauvinism, and that we will maintain an inclusive space for every member of our community.”

Readers will draw their own conclusions as to the strength of SOAS’s commitment to standing against antisemitism, in light of its appalling record.

Some universities have not adopted the Definition, because it does not cover all faith groups. These include Ravensbourne University London, Swansea University and the University for the Creative Arts.

The University of St Andrews has decided not to adopt the Definition because it believes that it is polarising to adopt only this definition of antisemitism. The University of Greenwich has gone further, adopting both the Definition and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. The Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition. Any university that has adopted it alongside the Definition or an amended version of the Definition (for example by omitting the eleven integral examples), such as Greenwich University or Goldsmiths, University of London, cannot be said to have adopted the Definition. Campaign Against Antisemitism recently submitted evidence to an inquiry into antisemitism at Goldsmiths.

The arguments that these universities have deployed to justify their failure to adopt the Definition do not hold water. Those that claim that their existing policies render the Definition unnecessary misunderstand its purpose: the Definition is not a policy on antisemitism but a definition of antisemitism. Existing policies can detail how antisemitism is treated; they cannot identify it. For that, the Definition is needed.

The claim, meanwhile, that the Definition can have a “chilling effect” on freedom of expression or inhibits criticism of Israel are also baseless canards. The Definition, which is context-specific, states clearly that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” Moreover, as Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown, the Definition does not at all conflict with freedom of expression under law, and indeed a 2023 report into antisemitism in higher education found that, of 56 universities asked, none knew of a single example in which their adoption of the Definition had in any way restricted or chilled freedom of expression or academic research.

These excuses are wearing thin, particularly as antisemitism on campuses is rising. CST reported at the beginning of this year that there has been a 22% increase in university-related reported antisemitic hate incidents over the past two academic years, while polling conducted in 2021 by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in British universities is a problem.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend the vast majority of British universities that have chosen to show solidarity with Jewish students and do their part in the fight against anti-Jewish racism by adopting the International Definition of Antisemitism. It is appalling that a minority of universities continue to take the opposite course, and it is astonishing that they persist in providing excuses that have already been debunked years ago. These universities are bowing to pressure by those who either fail to appreciate the gravity of contemporary antisemitism or do not have the interests of British Jews at heart. It is cowardly. They must urgently revisit their positions.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism will continue to monitor the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]

A comedy agent reportedly berated a Jewish comedian about how “Jews exaggerate antisemitism”.

The alleged incident occurred in a bar on the last day of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also known as the Edinburgh Fringe, the world’s largest annual performing arts festival.

Bennett Arron, a Welsh comedian and writer who in 2018 performed at a Campaign Against Antisemitism comedy fundraiser, wrote of his “upsetting” experience on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he said the incident had “really spoilt what had been a wonderful Festival”.

“Bit upsetting. The Agent of some well known comedians decided to scream at me in a bar, in front of my family who had come to celebrate my success at the Fringe, that Jews exaggerate antisemitism and that other minority groups have real justification for complaint but not Jews,” he said.

Continuing, he wrote: “He also went on to scream that Jews should never have been given Israel and that Jews smeared Jeremy Corbyn. When I asked if we could discuss this another time as he was upsetting my family, he shouted “See THEY always do this!” It really spoilt what had been a wonderful Festival.”

Mr Arron was met by support from other comedians.

Geoff Norcott posted that it was “Horrible to read of these kind of comments in 2023,” while Felicity Ward wrote: “This is so awful. The confidence of the abuse given the time and place is even more upsetting. To feel bold enough to do it publicly without fear of any real reprimand is disgusting. I’m really sorry you and your family had to endure this.”

Robert Popper, creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, said: “Nasty. Sorry this had to happen to you. I wonder if his clients know. And what they’d think about it.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jewish comedians should not have to live in fear about being harassed by antisemitism-deniers. It is utterly appalling to hear that Bennett Arron was subjected to such vile abuse, and it is even more concerning to learn that someone within his own industry might be responsible. Individuals working in comedy would do well to remember that racism against Jews is no joke. We have since been in touch with Mr Arron to offer our support.”

Blake Flayton, a columnist for the Jewish Journal and a social media commentator on American-Jewish and Israeli political issues, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about anti-Zionist antisemitism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions about Zionism, whether they come from within the Jewish community or outside the Jewish community,” he said. “The Jews have a right to live in the land in which they’ve always been associated with. We have been known as Jews, and in different languages, it’s just a variation on the word ‘Jew’. We have been named after this piece of land for the last 2,000 years, if not more so.”

Mr Flayton explained how, during the first 30 years of Israel’s existence, neighbouring Arab countries would denigrate the country, even going as far as to assert that they would “push the Jews into the sea” and that “Jews are cockroaches.” 

The activist said how that in the shadow of the just-passed Nazi era, these statements were ones that “nobody in the West who could ever call themselves ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’ could support”.

“Standing up for the Jews was a good, progressive cause overseas. And then, the Soviet Union enters stage-left somewhere in the mid-to-late ‘70s and basically flips the language of anti-Zionism in order to make it more palatable to people in the West, to journalists and academics and activists,” Mr Flayton said.

The Soviet Union would then “make the language of anti-Zionism sound as though it was a progressive fight for justice, a call for righteousness, and it’s been going ever since because it’s believable,” he said.

“They use the lingo, they use the words, that connect with people who style themselves as activists. In reality, it’s the same Nazi-like war against the Jewish right to self-determination that’s been going on since 1948. The goal is the same, and that’s from the river to the sea, there will not be a Jewish state.”

When asked why university campuses have seen an increase in anti-Zionist rhetoric, he said: “This is actually in-line with how antisemitism has worked forever, because the antisemites take advantage of the hot-button issues of the day, and they connect Jews with those hot-button issues in order to whip up outrage among their supporters and get closer to their goals on campus.”

Elaborating on the goals in question, Mr Flayton said that some examples might be the “passing of BDS resolutions or isolating Jewish organisations, or simply just making individual Jews feel uncomfortable.” 

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

Two identifiably Jewish men were reportedly accosted whilst they were on their way to attend a Sabbath service at a synagogue in Finchley on Saturday 26th August.

The alleged victims were two men in their 70s and were both wearing kippot (skullcaps) and and carrying bags containing tallit (prayer shawls). Whilst the men were walking down Chessington Avenue towards Finchley United Synagogue, also known as Kinloss Synagogue, a car, believed to be a small black hatchback, stopped beside them. 

The driver, described as being a man of Middle Eastern appearance wearing a baseball cap who was approximately 30 years of age, was said to have rolled down his window before asking one of the men if he could ask them a question.

He then allegedly proceeded to show them a photograph on his phone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before asking: “You know who this is?” 

One of the men responded to the driver by saying “I haven’t a clue….never seen him before,” before asking his friend to take a look who then gave the same reply.

Seemingly infuriated, the driver apparently began shouting at the pair before speeding off.

If you have any information about this incident, please e-mail [email protected].

A woman from Oxford has been revealed as a contestant for a ‘Miss Hitler’ beauty pageant. 

Sarah Mountford, 42, is alleged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to be a participant in the inflammatory pageant, under the alias ‘Miss Aryan Angel’. Originally from Brighton, Ms Mountford is now understood to be living in Oxford with her three children. 

The competition is hosted by VKontakte, a Russian social media platform. Contestants are encouraged to use pseudonyms when they enter the pageant, in which users can vote for their favourite competitor. 

Ms Mountford has reportedly described herself in a statement on her competitor’s page as, “straight, white, pure-blood female with a longing to return to traditional ways. In accordance with nature. Blood and soil. Ancestors and honour. Our people matter.” 

Photos of Ms Mountford alongside swastikas and other Nazi symbols were also found on her page. 

When Ms Mountford was contacted about her involvement in the competition, she reportedly said: “It was just a bit of fun, really, a spur of the moment thing. I didn’t set out to upset anyone. It’s not like I’ll get a crown – it’s more of a poll. I’ll try to get it taken down. My views aren’t extreme, you hear the same at every bus stop.”

She also said: “He [Adolf Hitler] has been dead a long time. I didn’t think of the impact his name still has.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is not the first time that we have encountered so-called ‘Miss Hitler’ pageants. There is nothing beautiful in the grotesque idealisation of Adolf Hitler, who oversaw the murder of millions of Jews and a world war that brought about immense suffering. The far-right continues to find new ways to attract and engage new and existing adherents, and will readily appeal to people’s baser instincts, in this case their vanity. Participants in these far-right activities should be warned: they cannot hide behind pseudonyms, and they will be found and shamed.”

In 2020, Alice Cutter, a woman who entered a “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant in order to attract new members to the British neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action, was found guilty of membership in the proscribed organisation and sentenced to three years in prison.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

A man has been arrested in connection with vandalism of a cemetery at a Jewish cemetery in Kent. 

The suspect, a 41-year-old man, was arrested in relation to alleged criminal damage to the cemetery adjacent to Chatham Memorial Synagogue, in Rochester, Kent. 

Headstones in the cemetery were found knocked over and smashed earlier this month. 

Kent Police have confirmed that an investigation is still ongoing and encourage anyone with further information relating to the incident to contact them. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is not the first time that Chatham Memorial Synagogue has been attacked. It is a sober reminder that we are in a time when Jews, including their institutions, are five times likelier to be targeted in a hate crime. We commend the police for acting swiftly and making an arrest, and expect that any perpetrators will be punished to the full extent of the law. If anyone has any information about the attack, please urgently contact us or the police.”

If you have any more information, please contact Kent Police on 101, quoting crime reference number 46/152042/23, or Campaign Against Antisemitism at [email protected] or on 0330 822 0321.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

An artist with a history of inflammatory social media posts about Jews is once again exhibiting her work in London.

Anna Laurini is currently showing her art at the Fitzrovia Gallery, having also exhibited elsewhere in London in 2022.

The Italian painter has a history of sharing inflammatory conspiracy theories about Jews on social media.

In one Instagram post, for example, a figure, which appears to be Ms Laurini, poses on a rooftop with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City in the background. The caption reads “Imagine a world without #Israhell”, a reference to the conspiracy theory that Israel was responsible for the terrorist attacks on New York City on 11th September 2001.

In a Facebook post, Ms Laurini appears to have shared an article apparently from the publication, Palestine Voice, which seems to have featured Ms Laurini in a 2020 edition. Ms Laurini captioned the post with the words “From the river to the sea”, part of the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. This chant only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Another online post apparently shared by Ms Laurini features a black and white image of the gates to what looks like a Nazi concentration camp, but replaces the infamous words above the entrance gate, “Arbeit macht Frei” (“Work sets you free”), with the words “Green pass macht Frei”, which compares COVID-19 restrictions to Nazi ideology.

Ms Laurini appears to have repeated the sentiment in this post in another, which features a version of the flag of Nazi Germany. In this instance, the post shows the flag with a green background and the words “green pass”, again apparently comparing Nazism and anti-coronavirus measures put in place by European governments.

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

Additionally, Ms Laurini appears to have retweeted a post that features the image of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who is Jewish, with captions that seem to suggest that the Rothschild family are responsible for a conspiracy that involves the “geo-engineering” of the weather and its “rebranding” as climate change, which allegedly leads to the erosion of democratic freedoms around the world.

The Rothschilds appear in many anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as a sinister, controlling force.

In a further post, she also reportedly appeared to link the Rothschild family to the 9/11 attacks, alleging that the Israeli shipping company, Zim, “broke [a] lease it had held for 30 years and moved out of the World Trade Center.” She continued: “Zim is half owned by the Rothschilds.” The notion that the Jews had advance notice of the attack on the World Trade Centre, often purportedly because the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Mossad, was involved in orchestrating the attack, is a popular antisemitic conspiracy.

In another Instagram post, Ms Laurini reportedly shared photos of herself posing with the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher, David Icke.

She has also reportedly shared material on Gab, a social-media platform that was founded in 2016 with a claim to “champion free speech,” and has become a haven for supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right groups and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.

She reportedly shared a cartoon there that showed a man asking “how are they connected?” as he stands in front of a board on which topics including “pornography”, “banking” and “Hollywood” are connected by string in the shape of the Star of David. The post adds: “If you ignore the JQ you are politically illiterate.” “JQ” is a reference to the “Jewish Question”.

Another post reportedly shared by Ms Laurini described the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a “billionaire Jew pal of the rich and powerful,” and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as a “rich Jew”.

Asked by the JC about some of these posts, Ms Laurini reportedly said: “I cannot now recall the content of the postings that you claimed I share on social media [sic].” She reportedly added that the account on which those posts appeared “closed down over two years ago” and that the comments “do not represent” her views.

In a statement, the Fitzrovia Gallery told the JC: “We simply hire the gallery space for artists and/or their agents to exhibit. We do not get involved with any of their artwork or selection of it. We are simply a space for hire. We have not ‘arranged’ her show.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Waterstones has removed from sale a “Deluxe” edition of Mein Kampf after Campaign Against Antisemitism alerted the bookseller to the listing on its website.

Mein Kampf was the Magnus opus and manifesto of the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.

The retailer explained that it receives title information for its website through an automated feed from Nielsen. Although Nielsen and Waterstones both provides a level of scrutiny for the books that come through, the size of the catalogue reaches tens of millions of titles and some undesirable books make it through the filters.

Waterstones concluded: “This listing has now been removed from our database and the title will not be available to purchase via our website or our bookshops. Once again, thank you for highlighting this issue.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend Waterstones for immediately removing the ‘Deluxe’ version of Mein Kampf from its website after we contacted them. Such vile antisemitic rhetoric has no place on the virtual shelves of a major retailer, let alone being marketed as a superior collector’s item. With websites relying more and more on automations, it falls to groups like ours to ensure that online filters work and that sellers are held to account. To its credit, Waterstones has repeatedly taken antisemitism seriously and removed racist propaganda from sale.”

In 2020, Waterstones agreed to remove all books by the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke.

A Jewish cemetery in Kent was discovered to have been vandalised. 

Several headstones at the cemetery adjacent to Chatham Memorial Synagogue in Rochester were found last week to have been smashed and knocked over. 

Dr Dalia Halpern-Matthews, a Trustee of the synagogue, said: “We shouldn’t be having to put up with the mass destruction of something that should be sacred,

“The cemetery is very special obviously in terms of every individual grave, but when you consider that it is the only shul [synagogue] with a cemetery attached in the country, it is a very significant shul. It has been Grade II listed for many years.”

This is not the first time that the synagogue has been the target of such attacks. According to Dr Halpern-Matthews, the cemetery itself has been attacked five times over the past ten years.

Last year, an attack on the cemetery is understood to have cost the synagogue £19,000 in repairs. 

Other attacks on the synagogue have included graffiti that reportedly depicted “genitalia” with “something about ‘f***ing religion’”. On another occasion, faeces was found smeared onto the building. 

Incidents such as these have reportedly left some of the synagogue’s congregants fearful of attending services in person.

The most recent incident has been reported to Kent Police and is under investigation. 

In a statement, Kent Police said: “At around 12pm on Friday 18th August 2023 Kent Police received a third-party report of criminal damage at a synagogue in Rochester. Officers have since spoken to representatives of the synagogue and this incident is being treated as a hate crime. Enquiries to locate those responsible for the damage are ongoing.”

If you have any more information, please contact Kent Police on 101, quoting crime reference number 46/152042/23, or Campaign Against Antisemitism at [email protected] or on 0330 822 0321.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a music venue in Newcastle has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month at The Lubber Fiend, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCAUnite unionBasildon CouncilNorth Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church, Ludlow Assembly Rooms and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to a Berwickshire-based shop over the sale of Nazi memorabilia. 

Walk This Way Surplus, a militaria shop in Coldstream, lists several Nazi-era items on its website, including Nazi party triangle pennants, listed for £100.

Also for sale are an assortment of Third Reich knives, including a bayonet and a utility knife, that range from £139 to £1,800.

In its on-site shop, it is understood that there is a bronze Hitler bust, listed for £150; a German merit cross with a swastika, listed for £250; an SS helmet, listed for £300; and a Totenkopf [death skull] SS pin, listed for £135. 

Earlier today, we wrote to Richard Winterton Auctioneers Ltd over the sale of Third Reich items. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to a Lichfield-based auctioneer over the sale of Nazi memorabilia. 

Richard Winterton Auctioneers Ltd will be hosting a “Toys and Militaria” auction in Tamworth on 30th August. 

In the auction, an array of items, including Third Reich daggers and an assortment of metal swastika badges, will be sold. 

The auction also features bayonets, swastika and eagle decorations for caps, uniform patches, a belt buckle, and a letter from the senior Nazi figure, Heinrich Himmler, all from the Nazi era.

Campaign Against Antisemitism understands that the sale of the Nazi items has prompted a member of the local Jewish community to withdraw their own listings from the auction house.

Last week, we wrote to Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood over their sale of Nazi-era items.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We wish to express our solidarity with the local member of the Jewish community who is seeking to pull her items from sale by Richard Winterton Auctioneers. The sale of Nazi memorabilia is always repugnant, but here it is in the starkest relief. Such sales are an affront to those who died fighting the Nazis and those who were murdered at their hands. We shall be writing to the auction house.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted evidence to an inquiry examining antisemitism at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Last year, the University announced that it would launch an investigation into racism against Jews at the institution, and earlier this year it was announced that senior barrister Mohinderpal Sethi KC would lead the investigation.

The Inquiry, billed as an “independent review into antisemitism at the College”, invites current and former University students and staff to come forward with their own experiences.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted a dossier of evidence, incorporating the testimony of students and details of incidents, as well as recommendations.

The Inquiry’s report is expected to be presented by next year.

The investigation was announced last year after Dr David Hirsh, a sociologist at the University, was called a “far-right white supremacist” by Goldsmiths’ then-Students’ Union President.

Initially, the Students’ Union refused to investigate Sara Bafo over the social media post, despite being requested to do so by the University.

Ms Bafo’s alleged tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Dr Hirsh, a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

In response to the University’s request for the investigation, Ms Bafo tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

However, despite the Students’ Union denying the investigation on grounds of “free speech”, the University announced that an independent probe will take place.

Dr Hirsh said of the probe: “I am really pleased that the leadership of Goldsmiths is taking this difficult and courageous step. I have been clear that there is a hostile environment at the College for scholars and students who refuse to embrace anti-Zionism.”

Dr Hirch featured in a recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, in which he shared more information about the incident and the investigation.

Last year, the University also announced that it would adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism but “without the case studies”, and that it would be adopting in addition the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, owing to the fact that the University’s “academic community” favoured it.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Ludlow Assembly Rooms has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCAUnite unionBasildon Council, North Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

A judge has described Abdullah Qureshi’s crimes as “terrible events for the entire Jewish community” before handing down his sentence in relation to racially aggravated assaults that Mr Qureshi committed against religious Jews two years ago.

On 7th April 2022, Mr Qureshi, 30, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court to two counts of assault by beating and one count of grievous bodily harm with intent. The charges related to a series of assaults on 18th August 2021 in Stamford Hill in which five religious Jews in the North London neighbourhood were violently attacked.

In one incident at 18:41 on the day of the attacks, an Orthodox Jewish man was struck in the face with what appeared to be a bottle. In another at 19:10, a child was slapped on the back of the head, and in yet another at 20:30, a 64-year-old victim was struck and left unconscious on the ground, suffering facial injuries and a broken ankle. Two further incidents were also alleged.

The incidents received significant media attention at the time, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, condemned “this appalling attack,” adding: “Let me be clear, racist abuse and hate crime, including antisemitism, have absolutely no place in our city.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism then revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had dropped the racially/religiously aggravated element of those charges as part of a plea deal with Mr Qureshi. After we, Shomrim, CST and other communal organisations made representations to the CPS, it agreed to reinstate the aggravated elements, but Mr Qureshi appeared in court to resist the reinstatement of the aggravated element. In August last year, Stratford Magistrates’ Court agreed to reinstate the racially/religiously aggravated element to the charges against Mr Qureshi, and, at a further hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded not guilty. In November 2022, Mr Qureshi was found guilty of the reinstated racially/religiously aggravated charges that the CPS initially dropped, before intervention by Campaign Against Antisemitism and other groups.

In December, Mr Qureshi was expected to be sentenced, but this was postponed following concerns surrounding his mental health. The court heard that Mr Qureshi suffered from anxiety and depression and that he had been hearing “internal voices” which ordered him to carry out the attacks. In February of this year, His Honour Judge Noel Lucas QC ordered an interim hospital order under Section 38 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Such an order is given when a person has been convicted but a court has been advised by doctors that the person has a mental health issue that requires hospital treatment before sentencing should occur. 

On 29th June, Mr Qureshi appeared at Wood Green Crown Court, where the court heard the first of two medical reports on his condition, with a view to hearing the second in August.

Today, Mr Qureshi appeared at the same court via video link. He was asked if he wanted representation and declined, as he has done on previous occasions.

Also appearing by video from elsewhere was Dr Purvesh Madhani, who reported that he and a second doctor had considered sentencing options under the law and concluded that a prison sentence would not be appropriate in view of Mr Qureshi’s mental illness. Instead, they recommended an order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act order, along with a section 41 restriction. Dr Madhani said that “I have come to the conclusion he has symptoms…[namely] delusions and hallucinations that make me feel that a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia [is appropriate].”

Mr Qureshi argued against the s.41 restriction on the basis that he had not reoffended since the original incidents (albeit that much of that time has been spent in hospital). Dr Madhani accepted this but also noted that on one occasion Mr Qureshi had to “receive treatment without your consent”. The doctor also observed that Mr Qureshi does not understand the link between his mental health issues and the crimes that he committed.

Nicki Roberson, appearing via video link for the CPS, revealed that, at the time of Mr Qureshi’s arrest, his father expressed concerns about his mental health. She also read out victim statements. One victim not only suffered trauma himself from the assaults at the hands of Mr Qureshi, but his four eldest children also had to attend therapy for a year. Another victim – a fourteen-year-old who cannot be identified – said in his victim statement that “I felt scared…I said nothing as I was shocked” and that “this must not happen to anyone.” Yet another victim related in his statement that he had been punched by Mr Qureshi in his right ear “with tremendous power” and his ear was “burning for months”, leaving him in “excruciating” pain. He is still “jumpy at the slightest noise” and his GP has diagnosed him with PTSD and referred him to a specialist. One of the victims suffered financial loss due to being unable to work for a period.

It also emerged that Mr Qureshi has two previous convictions, including one under the Public Order Act in relation to violence outside a nightclub in Swansea City Centre. Once locked in a prison cell, he had also grabbed the throat of a police officer.

Ms Roberson described Mr Qureshi’s attacks in Stamford Hill as having involved a “significant degree of planning” and argued that the crimes possessed a “high level of religious aggravation”. She sought a restraining order for an indefinite period for the victims, barring Mr Qureshi from contacting them by any means, prohibiting him from coming within 100 metres of them, and also banning him from the London Borough of Hackney.

Mr Qureshi denied travelling from his home in Yorkshire just to commit the offences, insisting that “there was no planning.” He also expressed contrition several times, saying. “I am deeply sorry for any harm that I have caused” and “My actions were totally unacceptable.” However, he also claimed that “I was drunk and I was angry.”

Judge Kalyani Kaul KC observed that there has been widespread coverage of the attacks in the Jewish media, and that this must have caused “a deep sense of shock and insecurity” for the Jewish community. She said that “these sorts of attacks make waves” that are ultimately greater than the attacks themselves, describing the crimes as “terrible events for the entire Jewish community”. The Jewish community, she said, “should not be subject to discrimination or hurt,” adding that attacks such as these “encourage divisiveness…[and] mistrust…from Jewish people to wider society”. She declared that these attacks affect not only the Jewish community “but all of us”.

She noted of one of the victims that “his life has been changed forever, both in terms of his physical health and how he conducts his life” and, with regard to another victim, that it was “only by the good grace of G-d” that he was not injured further. The judge was also not persuaded by Mr Qureshi’s contrition, concluding that “I’m not convinced you fully take responsibility,” and rejected his drunkenness defence: “[it was not] simply a question of being drunk, hitting out and not really knowing what you’ve done.”

Judge Kaul declared that she would have liked to issue a prison sentence but was unable to under law. “If it had been a sentence I could pass,” she said, it would have been in the region of five years’ custody, but “I’m not passing that sentence because I can’t.” Instead, she ruled that “I am satisfied you are suffering from a mental disorder” specifically “paranoid schizophrenia”, and issued orders under section 37 with a section 41 restriction, because “there is a great risk you will commit further offences if you are not detained.” She also granted the restraining order for a period of ten years.

Under this hospital order, Mr Qureshi will be sent to hospital and can only be discharged with the consent of the Justice Secretary.

We are grateful to Nicki Roberson and District Crown Prosecutor Varinder Hayre for helping to bring about today’s outcome.

Varinder Hayre, District Crown Prosecutor and London North’s Hate Crime Lead, said: “Qureshi, who travelled from West Yorkshire, carried out a series of antisemitic attacks on the Jewish community. The only thing which connected his victims was their Jewish faith. Hatred of any kind has no place in society. This sentence should serve as a strong deterrent to those thinking of committing similar crimes.

“I would like to thank the three victims for coming forward and supporting the prosecution. I am very pleased that we have achieved justice for the victims who were badly affected by this unprovoked, antisemitic, religiously aggravated hate crime. Indeed, no one in our society should be targeted because of who they are or what they do. Hate crimes – including antisemitism – have a corrosive effect on society. We will always prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are very satisfied that Abdullah Qureshi has finally been sentenced for crimes committed almost two years ago. Justice requires perseverance, and we worked to help ensure that Mr Qureshi was identified and caught, the correct charges were brought against him, he was prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and he was sentenced appropriately. This sentence helps to redress the serious harm caused to his victims by these awful crimes.

“Today’s sentence also vindicates efforts made by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Shomrim, CST and others to pressure the Crown Prosecution Service into reinstating the aggravated charges after they were initially dropped. The CPS claimed that it did not have sufficient evidence to make out the antisemitic element of the crimes, but we disagreed and the court found that we were right to do so. We are grateful to the CPS for making the case forcefully since then and bringing about this outcome.

“Today a judge has robustly reiterated the impact of these abominable crimes both on the victims and on the Jewish community more widely. The CPS must recognise that victims of antisemitic crimes cannot be made to accept deficient legal outcomes, and perpetrators are on notice that we will not stop until Jewish victims have justice.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to an Exeter-based auctioneer over the sale of Nazi memorabilia. 

Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood will be hosting a two-day “Sporting & Collectors” auction with an array of items, including an assortment of Third Reich daggers and a metal swastika pin

The auction also features swastika and eagle armbands, swords, a bronze Gothe medal and a belt buckle, all from the Nazi era.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Emporium and Canterbury Auction Galleries over the sale of Third Reich items. 

Image credit: Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood

Alma Hernandez, a Jewish Mexican-American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 20th district, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she passionately addressed how she brought Holocaust education to Arizona.  

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

In 2021, a bill that Rep. Hernandez introduced requiring Holocaust education in Arizona public schools was passed by the State Legislature. This made Arizona the sixteenth state in the United States to make Holocaust education mandatory.

“The process was very long. It took about three years to get it done,” she said. “Not because it wasn’t a good policy, and not because I was doing anything wrong. It was really politics, that’s what it came down to. We had people on both sides using this bill to play politics.”

She revealed that certain politicians intentionally held up the process in order to ensure that Rep. Hernandez would cast her vote on specific policies, even if they did not align with her own views. However, Rep. Hernandez refused.

“I said, ‘Look, we can get it done this year. This is what the ask is of me,’ and I had many [Holocaust] survivors tell me, ‘We will wait as long as we need to wait so that you do what you need to do and what is right,’ so at the end of the day, I didn’t have to compromise my values and I didn’t have to do something I was going to feel morally wrong for doing,” she said.

While the bill was eventually passed, the length of time that it took, unfortunately, had severe consequences.

“We were able to get it done, but it took three years. It was a long process…at the forefront of all of this were the survivors. We had three survivors that passed away, unfortunately, during the three years who were very involved but didn’t get to see it happen.

“That was very difficult because I really wish that they could have all been here to be able to witness a historic moment, but because of politics, we couldn’t get it done.” 

Despite this, Rep. Hernandez’s sense of achievement over such a monumental accomplishment was clear, stating: “I’m just really grateful we finally got it done. I’m really proud of it.”

Many of the survivors were close with the Arizona representative even prior to her election, with one in particular — Theresa Dulgov — who was not only a “friend and a mentor” to Rep. Hernandez, but was also her first-grade teacher.

She said: “She used to teach about the Holocaust when we were younger. She was my brother’s and sister’s reading teacher as well, and I just never forgot her story, and as I got older, we kept in touch. I found her on Facebook.

“She had such a big impact on my life because I met her when I was so young and we just kept in touch over the years. We reconnected through the Holocaust survivor’s network here in Tucson and she was able to come testify on behalf of my bill, and that was really moving for me; having her support and knowing that she’s someone who I personally have known literally my entire life now, and has supported me throughout the years…just seeing her, how happy she was to finally see this done, was really rewarding.”

Speaking on how the implementation of Holocaust education in Arizona has been going, Rep. Hernandez said: “I know that the schools have been implementing different curriculums. They’re allowed to select the curriculum that works best for them through the Department of Education…It’s going to start with the children and educating the future generation, because they are the ones who are hopefully going to be breaking the cycle of hate and bigotry in our communities.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

Antisemitic graffiti has been found in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. 

The vandalism was discovered on a sign on Inkersall Green Road, Inkersall, on Sunday. 

The identifiably Jewish member of the public who reported the incident to the police has previously spoken about his experiences of antisemitism in Chesterfield. On one occasion, he reported seeing swastika graffiti and, on another, he said that a young man approached him shouting, “Hitler”.

Of the graffiti in Inkersall, he said: “It’s not the only incident and now I have been diagnosed with PTSD after an incident involving verbal abuse in February. It all is really having an impact on my health and making me ill.

“I saw the Star of David graffiti first time last year and I felt a little bit shaken, but it didn’t really get to me [sic]. The fact that it’s been happening consistently is what really concerns me. I started to wonder if I belong here.”

Derbyshire Constabulary has confirmed that it is investigating the incident. It has advised that anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area between 12:00 and 13:30 on 13th August should contact the police on 101 or via social media and quote the crime reference number: 23*501421.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

The Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has faced antisemitic abuse online over the impending transfer of a key player. 

Daniel Levy has been the target of antisemitic posts online following the negotiation over Tottenham’s Harry Kane with FC Bayern Munich. 

On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, users have said that “Levy is such a Jew,” and “Daniel Levy what a Jew.”

Yet another user said “Daniel Levy is the worst owner ever, just f***in move on and accept the current conditions you fat bald jew [sic].”

Other users wrote “This is the Jew in Levy coming out,” and “Levy my friend this is prime Jew.”

A post on a Bayern Munich fan account read: “Kane wants to join us. We would never sent the bid to that Jew had Kane not cleared to Bayern bosses that he wants to join…even [football journalists] Plettenberg and Fabrizio have confirmed that personal terms are clear. It’s just Levy being a p**** now [sic].”

One user reported on X that they had experienced similar rhetoric from a customer who described Mr Levy as a “Jew boy”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

Individuals linked to an Islamist group that describes Jews as “monstrous” have reportedly been speaking at British universities. 

According to a report by The JC, the speakers have ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group that reportedly issued a statement on 11th May 2021 that said: “The monstrous Jews are spreading their brutal aggression on all parts of Palestine.”

In 2004, the group was banned by the National Union of Students (NUS) from British university unions and their societies on the grounds it was “responsible for supporting terrorism and publishing material that incites racial hatred”.

Last month, one of its previous leaders, Anjem Choudary, was charged with three terrorism offences.

Hizb ut-Tahrir was also mentioned in a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change titled “Narratives of Division: The Spectrum of Islamist Worldviews in the UK,” which found that a number of UK Islamic activist groups promote views that align with proscribed extremist groups.

The speakers were hosted by a number of Islamic society events at universities including the University of Birmingham, the London School of Economics (LSE), and the University of Bradford; all of which have adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in full. 

The links to Hizb ut-Tahrir with the speakers were reportedly not publicised during the events and it is unclear whether the societies knew about the connection. 

One of the speakers, Luqman Muqeem, is understood to have shared extremist content online, including a video of himself that incites Muslims to murder Jews and videos of other activists associated with Hizb ut-Tahrir.

He also reportedly shared a video of Belal Mohammed, a Hizb ut-Tahrir activist, calling for a jihad to “wipe out the Zionist entity”.

In February, Mr Muqueem spoke at the University of Birmingham, where he was joined by alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir activist, Taha Hanif. Mr Hanif is said to have tweeted “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud”, a common chant that can be translated in English as “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.”

The “Khaybar” chant is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. The chant has been heard in numerous anti-Israel rallies in Britain and abroad.

Omar Kaykhusrau, who is said to be a Hizb ut-Tahrir speaker studying for a PhD in economics at Kings College London that spoke at Birmingham City University and LSE, is alleged to have asked Allah to “purge the Zionist scum from Palestine” in a now-deleted Facebook post.

Another of its speakers, Rupon Shahidul Haque, reportedly called for the “liberation of filistin [Palestine] via jihad” in 2021 on Facebook. 

He also posted photographs to Facebook of a meeting he had with imam Sheikh Abu Oma Sara, who in 2016 was jailed by Israel after he issued a video saying: “I say to the Jews clearly: it’s time to slaughter you. It’s time to fight you. It’s time to kill you.”

A 1999 leaflet, distributed by Hizb ut-Tahrir, described Jews as “cowards” and called on Muslims to “purify yourselves against the deceptions of the Jews”. It added: “Know that the Jews and their usurping state in Palestine will, by the Help and Mercy of Allah, be destroyed, until the stones and trees will say: ‘O Muslim, o slave of Allah, Here is Jew behind a tree so come and kill him.’” 

A spokesperson for Hizb ut-Tahrir said that he did not know why “university student union societies would choose not to advertise that invited guests are members of Hizb ut-Tahrir,” and “could not speak on behalf of them”, but suggested NUS’ ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir was part of a wider “cancel culture”. He added that “in such an environment of cancelling debate, it takes no great leap of the imagination to determine why organisers may decide to do so.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that almost eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]

A comment made by an LBC host has resulted in a complaint being made to the media watchdog Ofcom.

According to the JC, during a conversation in April about whether Jews count as a race, Richard Spurr asked a listener: “Are Jews a race, would you say?”

The listener replied: “I believe so because…” 

However, Mr Spurr interrupted, stating: “They come from many different countries, don’t they? There’s no such place as ‘Jewland’”. 

The listener replied: “Well, it’s called Israel.”

Mr Spurr continued: “But Jews historically have lived in many countries and have been almost to an extent nomadic.”

Last week, during a conversation with a different listener, Mr Spurr said: “You’re right in saying that in parts of North London – St. John’s Wood, Golders Green, up that way – you do see large groups of Orthodox Jews walking around in their traditional dress and you could describe it maybe as a ‘ghetto’ but certainly as an area concentrated with Jews.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “To describe areas of London that have larger populations of Jewish residents as ‘ghettos’ is tactless, at best. Richard Spurr should apologise and be sure to avoid such crass comparisons in the future.”

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

It has been revealed that the Conservative Party received fourteen complaints of antisemitism in 2022.

The revelation comes a year after an independent report conducted by Prof. Swaran Singh.

A newly published report has been tasked with reviewing “the implementation by the Conservative Party of the Singh Investigation recommendations”.

The review revealed that 55 complaints were made in relation to protected characteristics; of the complaints that cited religion and belief, 43% cited Judaism. 

The review noted that, whilst the Conservatives had provided a new “transparency and reporting policy”, the Party did not “include a breakdown of the outcomes of investigated complaints citing protected characteristics”. 

Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Party in relation to a disturbing pattern of incidents in the Bury North and South Conservative Association. The Conservative Party is yet to respond to us. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Following the latest Jew-baiting outbursts from the disgraced academic David Miller, Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to University and College Union (UCU) demanding clarification on its previous statements of support for him.

Mr Miller was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry.

He is a conspiracy theorist with a history of controversy relating to Jewish students. In one outburst, he asserted that “Zionism is racism”, declared his objective “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world” and accused the Bristol University Jewish Society of being part of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy, adding that it is “fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”. At the same online event, Mr Miller also observed that the Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students are Zionist, thereby implying that Jewish students (and the wider Jewish community) inherently “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.

He also portrayed the International Definition of Antisemitism as an attack on free speech and accused the Israeli Government of engaging in an “all-out attack” on the global Left as part of an “attempt by the Israelis to impose their will all over the world”. In comments reminiscent of the darkest years of the United Nations, Mr Miller insisted that “Zionism is racism” and asked how “we defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice”, “how is Zionism ended” and about the way “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world”.

Earlier this week, Mr Miller tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

He also responded to a Twitter user who asked if could provide “a detailed list with names/positions [Jews] hold re. their being members of an over-represented group” by saying: “Coming shortly!”

His comments drew criticism from Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, who stated that his comments were “unacceptable” and had “crossed a line”.

JVL has previously published numerous articles in defence of Mr Miller.

In June, Jeanette Findlay, President of UCU Scotland, nonsensically claimed that the Union is committed to fighting antisemitism just seconds before rejecting the International Definition of Antisemitism and defending the disgraced academic Mr Miller.

Ms Findlay said: “We are very clear in UCU Scotland in our opposition to the treatment of David Miller by the University of Bristol. I was personally horrified and shocked when I heard that he had been sacked.”

She described Mr Miller as the victim of a “vicious and sustained assault” before stating that “it is [the Union’s] greatest wish that he will be reinstated.”

UCU has a horrendous reputation in the Jewish community, and this is not the first time its Scotland branch has defended Mr Miller. 

In a 2021 statement, UCU Scotland showed little regard for the anxieties of the concerned Bristol University students, dismissing them at the time as “Zionist lobby groups”. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “David Miller’s latest outbursts are yet further proof that we were right to launch a lawsuit against Bristol University on behalf of brave Jewish students, following which he was fired. We were heavily criticised by Mr Miller’s supporters, but now many of his erstwhile defenders are recognising him for what he is. UCU must explain whether it maintains its stance of staunch support for Mr Miller. If it is changing that stance, it should answer whether the price of alienating its Jewish members was worth it to defend such a vile individual.”

Judy Gold, a Jewish comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster whose comedy addresses antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke about fighting antisemitism through comedy.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“You can joke about anything,” the Netflix and Comedy Central comedian said. “I have jokes about the Holocaust, but they’re good, well-thought-out, well-crafted jokes that make you think.” 

On the difference between comedians who joke about antisemitism in a considered way versus those who mock Jews and incidents of antisemitism in a cheap and tactless way, she said: “If you’re going to take the easy way out and just disparage just to disparage people and get a laugh, that’s not comedy to me.”

The comedian and actress addressed the idea that comedians should always “punch up” rather than “punch down”, meaning that a comedian’s jokes should be aimed at those in power carrying out harm rather than the victims of it.

“Punching up, to me, is real comedy…Jews have used comedy as a weapon, as a coping mechanism, as a way to disarm people. It’s a powerful weapon. Mark Twain said ‘Under the assault of laughter, nothing can stand,’ because you can have whatever weapon you want but humiliation is extremely powerful.

“I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but during the rise of the Third Reich, it was comedians who were getting on stage and telling the truth about what was really happening in Germany. They were speaking the truth to power, which is one of the things a comedian does, so Hitler passed the Treachery Act — those jokes weakened Nazi propaganda — Hitler passed the Treachery Act of 1934, which made telling or listening to an anti-Nazi joke an act of treason punishable by imprisonment or death.” 

“That is how powerful comedy is,” she added. “It’s a huge part of our culture.”

Ms Gold said: “It is a tool, and people who are full of hate don’t want to be disarmed, because their hate is their armour.”

However, Ms Gold is careful about how she intertwines antisemitism into her act.

Asked about her own craft, she told us: “When I’m doing material, especially about Jews and antisemitism, and I think [the audience] is laughing for the wrong reason, that’s my line. People are like ‘How can you tell?’ You can tell, believe me.

“There’s ways of talking about antisemitism in a way that is hilarious and enlighting.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

A man who downloaded bomb-making material was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment on Monday. 

David Bodill, 29 from Buxton, was convicted and sentenced at Manchester Crown Court after being charged with one offence under section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883.  

Mr Bodill was initially arrested on 2nd March 2022 after police discovered that he attempted to buy potential explosive-making materials.    

Following his arrest, police found chemicals that could be used to make explosives at his home, along with a notepad that contained instructions on how to make such explosives. 

Police also found concerning material on Mr Bodill’s laptop, which contained videos from extremist Islamist terror groups and far-right groups that featured beheadings and bomb-making instructions. 

Mr Bodill was due to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 22nd October the same year but failed to attend. 

It was then discovered that he had fled to Bulgaria, when he told police that he had no intention of returning to the UK. Mr Bodill was arrested by the Bulgarian authorities in January, earlier this year, and was subsequently extradited to the UK. 

Of the conviction, Detective Sergeant Frank Fraser of Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands said: “The substances and downloaded bomb making materials possessed by David Bodill are very concerning. Not only had he researched and written his own notes on bomb making but had also searched for and downloaded extreme footage from various terrorist groups.

“While he did not appear to have any significantly extreme political views his interest in such matters – combined with his bomb making materials and handbooks – makes for a dangerous individual.”

He added: “We welcome both the verdict and sentence and hope it sends a clear message that we will do all we can to ensure the safety of our communities. We have seen an increasing number of people being exposed to extremist material online and I would urge anyone who has any concerns about any of the family or friends who may be exhibiting concerning behaviour to report it.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Derbyshire Constabulary 

Following reports that a psychiatrist has posted numerous incendiary tweets about Zionists, Israel, and Nazis, Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to the General Medical Council (GMC).

According to GnasherJew, British-Libyan psychiatrist Dr. Ahmed Sewehli — a director and co-owner at Youmna Services Limited who may be treating NHS patients — has posted tweets in which he has compared the Nazis to Israel.

A screenshot appears to show a tweet from 26th Feb in which Dr Sewehli wrote: “Hitler also had a democratically elected government. So please don’t go there. Democracy does not stop fascism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing. All occurring in Israel.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Dr Sewehli also made several other incendiary tweets relating to Israel.

Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be submitting a complaint about the doctor to the GMC, the regulator of the medical profession.

Earlier this year, we submitted complaints to the GMC in relation to a prominent junior doctor with a history of inflammatory posts on social media and a doctor who made references to “Jewish supremacy”.

Image credit: Brett Jordan via Canva.com

Comments parroting antisemitic tropes about Jewish wealth and greed were hurled at a barrister on Friday afternoon.

Barrister and author Jamie Susskind stated on Twitter that he experienced an antisemitic incident in a dry cleaner in the North London area of Highbury, which left him “shaking with anger”.

According to Mr Susskind, as he requested the cost of an alteration, a man in the shop shouted: “You’ve all got enough money haven’t you?” 

Mr Susskind said that the man then said: “And you lot already own half of Manhattan. That not enough?”

When Mr Susskind asked if the man was referring to Jewish people, he “responded by making the shape of a large hooked nose with his hand”.

Mr Susskind wrote of the incident on Twitter but implored people not to assume which shop it was.

“There are two dry cleaners in that stretch of road so please do not leap to conclusions about which one it was. If you live locally and would prefer to know, so you can avoid it, please DM me,” he tweeted.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has worked with Mr Susskind in the past.

Earlier this year, we assisted a Jewish victim of unfair dismissal to vindicate his complaint against his former employer and achieve a major compensation package. The victim was assisted by Jamie Susskind, as counsel, and by Asserson Law Offices, as solicitors.

In 2018, the neo-Nazi leader Jeremy Bedford-Turner was sentenced to twelve months in prison after being unanimously convicted by a jury of incitement to racial hatred over a speech he gave in 2015 at a demonstration called to protest against the “Jewification” of Golders Green.

The verdict was a humiliation for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after they blocked Mr Bedford-Turner’s prosecution for two years, forcing Campaign Against Antisemitism into a long legal battle which culminated in the CPS having to reverse its decision not to prosecute. Campaign Against Antisemitism was represented pro bono by Mr Susskind, as well as leading counsel Brian Kennelly QC and solicitor David Sonn, to whom we are immensely grateful, and without whom Mr Bedford-Turner would have escaped justice.

A man from Weston-super-Mare is facing terrorism charges which police have said are linked to extreme right-wing ideology.

Gabrielle Budasz, 23 of Drove Road, appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday where he was charged with collection of information containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 (1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000 and dissemination of terrorist publications to encourage people to engage in terrorism, or provide information that could be useful to terrorists, contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Mr Budasz is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 1st September.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

A Chelsea Football Club supporter who sent antisemitic tweets to a Jewish journalist has been given a lifetime ban by the club.

Kerry Hardwell, 35 from Bognor, was found to have targeted fellow Chelsea supporter Dan Levene with abusive tweets. 

Mr Hardwell pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates’ Court to three charges of sending communications with offensive messages and one charge of sending an offensive message by a public communication network. 

The tweets were sent during a ten-year span from 2012 to 2022.

Mr Hardwell was handed a three-year Football Banning Order by the court, which restricts his access to attending professional football matches in England. However, the Club has confirmed that he has received a lifetime ban from attending Chelsea games.

He was also ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work, which was uplifted from 120 hours owing to the religiously/racially aggravated nature of the crime.

According to Mr Levene, an investigation revealed that Mr Hardwell had published over 50 antisemitic Twitter posts, which included referring to Jews as ‘vermin’ and ‘parasites’. In one tweet, he allegedly called businessman and television personality Alan Sugar a “Yid c***”.

In his witness statement read out to the court, Mr Levene said: “The ‘Y-word’ is three letters that are often thrown away by people who may claim they don’t fully appreciate their collective meaning; with some football fans among that number.

“But everyone, most notably the defendant here, should be aware that it is a racially offensive word – and its use in a pejorative sense, as in this case, is a hate crime. This word, and variants of it, have been used throughout history by extremists to demonise and persecute a minority. My minority. This history is relevant, because it explains the pernicious nature of the word’s usage today.”

A spokesperson for Chelsea Football Club said: “Chelsea FC condemns antisemitic abuse and hate speech in all its forms and we have no tolerance for it at our club. As soon as Sussex Police made us aware, Mr Hardwell was suspended pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. 

“Subsequent to Mr Hardwell’s conviction, we can confirm that he has been issued with a lifetime ban from Chelsea FC. We commend Dan Levene for coming forward. Nobody should have to be subject to the type of disgusting abuse he has had to endure.”

Sussex Police’s Dedicated Football Officer PC Darren Balkham said: “The vitriol in the messages were sent in the belief that because the person was behind a keyboard, they wouldn’t be identified. The defendant was wrong, and Harding will now have learned this lesson. There is no place for antisemitic and racist abuse, either in football or in society.”

Douglas Mackay of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “These antisemitic tweets were extremely upsetting and deeply offensive not only to the victim, but also to all those within and outside the Jewish community. Hatred of any kind has no place in society. Wherever there is sufficient evidence and in the public interest, the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those who engage in such abhorrent and reprehensible behaviour.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jewish football fans deserve to enjoy the beautiful game free of vile antisemitic abuse. We commend Chelsea Football Club for giving a lifetime ban to this racist online troll, and also Dan Levene for having the courage and tenacity to report this case and see it through.”

In 2021, the Club announced that it had banned Sam Mole, an abusive online troll, from its matches for ten years after he hounded Mr Levene who came forward and received support from Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to report on and act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.

A teenager who allegedly conducted online research into the Hove Hebrew Congregation synagogue has pleaded not guilty to the charge of possessing an article for terrorist purposes.

Mason Reynolds, eighteen from Brighton, has been charged with eleven terrorism offences comprising five counts of collecting information which could be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, five counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, and one count of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism.

Mr Reynolds, appearing at the Old Bailey earlier today via video link, denied the charge of possessing a “note detailing a plan to attack a synagogue” between 7th May and 27th June.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, presiding, set a provisional trial at Winchester Crown Court for 10th April 2024.

A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing Southeast said the charges against Reynolds were linked to an “extreme right-wing ideology.” 

In a statement, the CST said: “The threat of terrorism faced by Jewish communities is the reason why security remains an essential part of Jewish communal life. 

“We have been working closely with counter-terrorism police, Hove Hebrew Congregation and Sussex Jewish Representative Council to ensure appropriate measures are in place.” 

Senior commanders from the antisemitic Islamist terrorist group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have been addressing students across university campuses, it has been revealed.

The JC has reportedly discovered eight IRGC leaders who, since 2020, have spoken to students nationally, using the Islamic Students Association of Britain to arrange the lectures. 

The Islamic Students Association of Britain has branches on university campuses in Bradford, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Cambridge.

Saeed Ghasemi, reported to be a former general in the organisation, allegedly told British students that the Holocaust was “fake”.

“The one that the Jews say happened is fake. The real Holocaust happened in my country in the First World War, 1917-19, when the UK occupied Iran,” he reportedly said during an online talk.

He also is reported to have encouraged his audience of students to join “the beautiful list of soldiers” who would fight and kill Jews in a coming apocalyptic war. 

Hossein Yekta, another person believed to be a high-ranking IRGC member, is said to have accused Jews of having “created homosexuality”. He allegedly told students they should view themselves as “holy warriors”, promising them that the “era of the Jews” would soon be at an end. 

In the wake of the shocking revelations, numerous politicians have voiced concerns. 

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative Party MP for Rutland and Melton and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: “In organising such despicable talks, the Islamic Students Association of Britain acts at best as a willing propaganda arm of the Iranian regime, and at worst as an agitator for state sponsored terrorism. To broadcast the jihadist and deeply antisemitic ideas of senior members of the IRGC to students across Britain is a brazen act of radicalisation. We must pursue and prosecute those responsible trying to incite violence here in the UK.” 

David Lammy, the Labour Party MP for Tottenham and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said: “The invitation of IRGC commanders and other speakers who glorify its actions to speak to British students is incredibly concerning. Robust action is needed now.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The reports that IRGC commanders are addressing students on British campuses are alarming. This is an antisemitic Islamist terrorist organisation that has repeatedly targeted Jewish people and institutions in Britain and around the world and sponsors practically every major terror group in the Middle East. The IRGC cannot be allowed to disseminate its propaganda in the UK and radicalise impressionable students. What further evidence does the Government need to see before it heeds calls from us and others to ban the IRGC once and for all?”

A statement from the Union of Jewish Students stated that the group was “disgusted” by the news.

“UJS is disgusted that senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps have been speaking on several campuses across the UK,” the statement said. 

“These commanders boasted that the Holocaust was ‘fake’, that they trained al-Qaeda terrorists, and urged students to join ‘the beautiful list of soldiers’ who would fight and kill Jews in an apocalyptic war. We are deeply concerned for Jewish student welfare. This can never be allowed to happen again. We will seek urgent meetings on behalf of Jewish students with senior university leaders and the Government to ensure Jewish students can be safe on campus, free from this hatred that has no place in our society.”

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal to proscribe the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We provided the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and appalling record of promoting antisemitic propaganda, including Holocaust-denial, and funding and orchestrating violence against Jews. This is in addition to being the world’s biggest state-sponsor of terrorism more generally, the effects of which are not only profound in the Middle East but felt on every continent in the world. According to our nation’s security chiefs, Iran directly threatens the UK.

But what is less known is that it is specifically the IRGC that is one of the principal instruments through which the Iranian regime carries out these endeavours.

Founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRGC is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the radical regime. Its purpose is to serve as a praetorian guard for the theocracy at home and to advance its interests abroad. That includes training, arming and supporting terrorist groups and encouraging strategic acts of terror against targets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC has a paramount role in cultivating antisemitic sentiment, giving succour to antisemites and backing terrorism against Jews.

The IRGC is a vital organ pumping out antisemitic propaganda in Iran and through the Middle East, it emboldens those who wish harm to Jewish people in the name of extremist religion, and it is the indispensable patron of such antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups as Hizballah and Hamas, both of which are proscribed by the UK.

David Hirsh, an expert in antisemitism and the Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly about his experiences of being called a “far-right white supremacist” by the University’s then-Students’ Union President.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Initially, the Students’ Union apparently refused to investigate Sara Bafo, its now-former President, following allegations of antisemitism, despite being requested to do so by the University.

She is to said to have tweeted: “D*vid H*rsch is a far right white supremacist. All you have to do is read his work and tweets and that’s all the confirmation needed.” 

Ms Bafo’s tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Mr Hirsh which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

Ms Bafo later tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

Shortly after, an “independent review into antisemitism at the College” was announced by the University.

Mr Hirsh revealed on the podcast that when he brought up the incident to his department’s union at Goldsmiths, little was done about it.

“There was a little bit of sympathy and warmth and support. I mean, there’s always a little bit, there are always people who are solid. It’s not unanimous by any means.” he said. 

However, he added that after department representatives said that they would speak to members of the union branch, a period followed “where there was a fight going on about whether it was legitimate to say David Hirsh is a far-right white supremacist or not.”

He said: “Just the fact that there’s a fight going on between my colleagues about that is already utterly humiliating, and even more humiliating is that my department colleagues in the union lost, and the union stood firm and refused to do anything about it.

“When I’m at a union meeting now, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘The official position of this branch is that I’m a Nazi’.”

When the topic of mental health arose, he stated that “evidently, it must have” had an impact on him.

“I’ve been dealing with this stuff for twenty years now, for the main part of my adult life, and the main part of my career, and sometimes it’s really hard,” he said. “Sometimes, I get treated with great respect. Sometimes I get treated with nothing but contempt.”

Speaking on the University’s antisemitism investigation, led by senior barrister Mohinderpal Sethi KC, he said that it was “really interesting” and “a real surprise”.

“We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what evidence emerges. We’ll see what the report says. I hope that people who have had experiences of antisemitism at Goldsmiths make submissions,” Mr Hirsh urged. 

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently delivered training at Claremont Senior School in East Sussex.

The training came in response to a request from the parent of a child at the school after their child had experienced a number of incidents of antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism delivered the training in two sessions: one for staff and one for students. The sessions covered Jewish identity; the origins of antisemitism; how to recognise antisemitism; conspiracy theories; and how antisemitism might find expression in the classroom and how it can manifest in daily life. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism regularly provides antisemitism training to schools, university societies, police forces, regulators and public bodies, and recently gave training to the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

If you would like to arrange antisemitism training for your organisation, please e-mail [email protected].

If you wish to report an incident of antisemitism at your child’s school, please e-mail us at [email protected] or call +44 (0)330 822 0321.

A man who called for the extermination of Jewish people and whose house was adorned with Nazi paraphernalia, including a portrait of Adolf Hitler, has been jailed.

Samuel Doyle, 40, had also called for the extermination of the LGBTQ+ community online, and had Nazi flags and fridge magnets and fascist and racist manifestos and books, as well as the Hitler portrait, at his home in Glossop, Derbyshire.

Mr Doyle was arrested in February 2022 after his online activity was uncovered. He was charged and later pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing or publishing written material to stir up racial hatred.

He was jailed for three years at Manchester Crown Court.

DI Chris Brett, of Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands, said: “Freedom of speech is an important part of our shared British values – and something that is enshrined in law. However, those freedoms are not without limit and it is clear that the views Samuel Doyle expressed online stepped well over the line into criminality.

“The posts he wrote are abhorrent – calling directly for violent action to be taken against a number of minority groups. Some may say that posting online is different to expressing these views in person, but that is absolutely not the case. We have seen across the world how online posting of this nature has had serious ‘real world’ outcomes – including, sadly, fatalities.

“In recent years we have seen an increasing number of cases involving people who have been pulled into online hate speech and extremist views, and I would urge people who are concerned about family, friends or colleagues to come forward and report their behaviour.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Derbyshire Police

It has been revealed that Homeland, a splinter group of former Patriotic Alternative (PA) members, has applied to become a political party. 

According to The Ferret, the Home Office contacted the Electoral Commission to alert it that the group was attempting to register with the Commission “by stealth”. 

It is understood that the Home Office has said that if it obtains any “relevant intel” about Homeland and its methods of application in the future, the ministry will contact the Electoral Commission.

Kenny Smith, Homeland’s leader, is alleged to have said in a secret meeting in April that members of the group who are not “on the radar” of the authorities were applying for party status under a different name on behalf of Homeland.

Homeland reportedly made its application under the name, “Homeland Party”; it is understood that the application remains under review. 

Homeland is said to comprise every former Scottish member of PA, as well as a number of former members from across the UK. The group’s leader, Mr Smith, the former organiser for PA’s Scottish branch, has allegedly claimed that over half of PA’s membership has now defected to Homeland. 

PA is a UK-based group headed by the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP, Mark Collett. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

PA is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

A Labour Party MP is facing a backlash after inviting Jeremy Corbyn to speak at an event.

Kate Osamor, the MP for Edmonton, has been criticised following a post on her Facebook page about her “political summer school”.

The post read: “Really pleased to be joined by Jeremy Corbyn at my Political Summer School. Without exception the students remain inspired and excited by Jeremy and the politics of hope that he represents.” 

It is understood that a number of Ms Osamor’s constituents have written to the MP to express their concerns. One constituent said: “There are still pockets in the party who are problematic. Kate should be helping fight back against these people, rather than pandering to someone like Corbyn who can’t bring himself to fully accept the recommendations of the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] report.”

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, two Labour councillors have come under fire following accusations of denying or engaging in antisemitism. 

Cllr Raymond Moon, of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, has been suspended from the Labour group on the Council after he sponsored the screening of Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie at the Tunbridge Wells Forum.

The antisemitism-denial propaganda film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Of his suspension, Cllr Moon said: “I was extremely upset and it’s my own party members that have instigated it. It was a blow, not having been a councillor very long. I try to represent people and this was nothing to do with the party as far as I saw it, it was just giving a personal view.”

Another councillor was suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly sharing antisemitic content online.

Even after his suspension, Cllr David Morton, who sits on the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, liked a tweet questioning the number of Jews who died during the Holocaust, although he claimed that he had misunderstood it and has since blocked the account that had originally tweeted it.

Cllr Morton said of his suspension: “I’m absolutely stunned by this. I do not hold any antisemitic views and I’m certainly not racist. I was shocked because of the allegations of antisemitism and racism. I am probably the last person to be accused of that. My father-in-law was Jewish and I was involved in the report on Kindertransport.”

Labour reportedly opened an investigation, and in the meantime, Cllr Morton resigned from the Party, citing a disagreement within the Council regarding the Clean Air Neighbourhood project as the reason for his departure.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

A Holocaust centre has apologised for the language that it used in a press release for a managerial training course that it offered. 

The Holocaust Centre North, in Huddersfield, launched a programme last month which is designed to teach “modern leaders” how to learn from twentieth-century dictators about office culture and inclusion.

In a press release, the charity said of the course: “Exploring the leadership traits of Hitler, Stalin and others, as well as the dangers of being a bystander, the half-day course highlights the dangers of ignoring inclusion. It offers a challenging look at equality, diversity and inclusion at a time when cases of toxic workplace culture are rarely out of the headlines.”

Hannah Randall, Head of Learning at the organisation, is quoted in the press release as saying: “Participants are shocked to see that some of their leadership traits are similar to dictators. Stalin was an extreme micro-manager and this style is familiar to a lot of people. So too is Hitler’s hands-off and unaccountable approach that relies on his force of personality to get things done. It’s very much the blueprint of populism.

“We are using extreme scenarios but it serves a dual purpose. It makes people question their leadership style and it makes them confront relatable experiences that some would rather forget. So, for example, most people have seen discrimination in their organisation, which is stage three on the ten stages of genocide. A good number of people have seen colleagues not allowed to share their ideas or be valued because they’re a woman and some have seen colleagues wearing a hijab openly mocked and singled out for abuse.”

The organisation’s Director, Alessandro Bucci, said: “It’s now widely accepted that modern leaders must embrace EDI [Equality, Diversity, Inclusion], and organisations cannot afford to pay lip service to it. By exploring the grey areas of the Holocaust – and recognising that it’s too simple to reduce it to just good and bad guys – we are having real success in getting people to think about how they can create more inclusive workplaces. In the last year alone, allegations of bullying in employment tribunals have risen by 44 per cent to a record high – so there’s clearly a need for a more forceful approach to make people think about what they can do differently.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism subsequently wrote to the charity. 

The Centre has now apologised for the language that was used in the press release.

In a letter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, the charity said: “At Holocaust Centre North we pride ourselves on working tirelessly to make sure the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten. With this in mind it is with genuine remorse that we apologise for the plainly inappropriate language used in the press release about our equality and diversity course.”

The Holocaust Centre North was founded in 2018 by the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association, a group of refugees and survivors who have delivered education about the Holocaust since 1996. Its permanent exhibition and learning centre is based on the University of Huddersfield’s campus, and receives funding from the Association of Jewish Refugees, the Pears Foundation, and the Department for Levelling Up.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend the Holocaust Centre North for its unreserved apology over its poor and insulting choice of language. We hope that future communications from the Centre will reflect a more considered approach to marketing the important educational work that it carries out.”

Image credit: Holocaust Centre North

Campaign Against Antisemitism has produced a video addressing the television personality and YouTuber Pearl Davis, who recently posted and deleted a song to Twitter in which allusions to antisemitic conspiracy theories were expressed.

You can watch the video here.

Pearl Davis, a content creator with over one million YouTube subscribers who has been called the “female Andrew Tate” by TalkTV owing to her condemnatory views on feminism, posted a song in which she sang: “Why can’t we talk about them without getting kicked off of YouTube?”

She continued: “Now, I’m not saying Hitler was a good guy, but I kind of want to know why.

“Now, there’s all these conspiracy theories and the more they talk I think maybe they’re right. But I can’t even listen to the convo, I can’t even have the conversation, without getting cancelled by the left and the right.”

The YouTuber finishes the song by singing: “Now really, I’m not trying to be rude, but why can’t we talk about the J- I didn’t say it.”

The white supremacist and Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, who has previously argued that Jews should not be allowed in politics, endorsed the song, claiming that Ms Davis “dropped a diss track on the Jews.”

Ms Davis then appeared on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ where, after being given the opportunity to apologise, she refused and joked about the situation, claiming that she simply wanted to have a discussion about “cancel culture”.

Following this, she took to Twitter where she doubled down on her excuse, this time going on to defend the antisemitic rapper Ye, who has said that Adolf Hitler was “a cool guy” who “didn’t kill six million Jews.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Pearl Davis barely attempts to hide her disdain for Jews in this song. The frequent allusions made to the age-old trope of Jewish control and power are disturbing in themselves, but even more so when sung with a smile. The endorsement of the song by Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes tells you all you need to know.”