Hamas issues statement in “salute” to Jeremy Corbyn, noting its “great respect and appreciation” for his support of antisemitic march
Hamas, the terrorist organisation which seeks the murder of all Jews worldwide, has issued a statement in which it “salutes” Jeremy Corbyn for supporting this weekend’s antisemitic march through London. It said that it had “great respect and appreciation [sic] the solidarity message sent by the British Labor [sic] Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn”.
Only one leader of a British political party could expect to be “saluted” by Hamas, the genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation. Clearly Hamas feels that when it comes to Jews, Jeremy Corbyn is a brother in arms. Who could say that they are wrong after he gave his fulsome backing to this weekend’s chilling antisemitic rally, attended by both the leader of the National Front and known members of the Muslim Brotherhood?
Almost 55,000 people have signed our petition stating that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite and unfit for public office.
Hamas’ statement, which was first reported by Mail Online Global Editor Jake Wallis-Simons, comes in response to Mr Corbyn’s decision to warmly back an antisemitic march through London at the weekend. He sent a statement to be read out by Diane Abbott, which was received with cheers by the crowd, amongst which were Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon, National Front leader Tony Martin, and known members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The crowd began cheering at the mere mention of Mr Corbyn’s name and applause and cheering continued as his statement was read. The cheers were videoed by a Twitter user who is well-known to Campaign Against Antisemitism for sending Jews abuse online.
The march, entitled the “National Demonstration for Palestine: Exist! Resist! Return!”, was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), of which Mr Corbyn is patron. Mr Corbyn has long championed the PSC, attending many of its events, including one of which at which he was filmed applauding antisemitic poetry.
Marchers also cheered as one speaker told them that American Rabbis fuelled the neo-Nazis who shot and killed worshippers at synagogues in the United States, and that Jewish organisations and leaders were “in the gutter with…rats” and “part of the problem”. The speaker was then put in charge of antisemitism training at an official Labour Party event.
Volunteers from Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit went into the thick of the protest to gather evidence which our Crime Unit is already reviewing.
Under a heavy police presence, protesters assembled outside the BBC headquarters and marched to Whitehall, the heart of British democracy, via iconic Regent Street. The BBC is just a short walk from Central Synagogue where many Jews were gathered for the Sabbath.
Various placards and badges on brazen display drew upon antisemitic conspiracy theories. One large placard declared that “Israel provokes antisemitism”. A badge emblazoned with a Star of David with a Nazi swastika in its midst proclaimed “Down with Zionism”. Another placard repeated the rhyme frequently chanted by the marchers; “From the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, Palestine will be free”, which only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the Jewish state and its replacement with a Palestinian state, and is thus an attempt to uniquely deny Jews the right to self-determination. One marcher held aloft a placard suggesting that the BBC is controlled by the Israeli Prime Minister, whilst others hinted strongly at blood libels, carrying a coffin emblazoned with a claim that “Israelis execute Palestinian children” while another held a placard showing a diamond dripping with blood, stating that Israel exports “blood diamonds”, a phrase normally used to refer to diamonds mined by war criminals, usually using child slave labour.
The leader of the National Front, Tony Martin, attended the march, as did known Islamist extremists spotted by our volunteers, including one who was wearing the emblem of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Activists from “Labour Against Zionist Islamophobic Racism” or LAZIR, founded by Pete Gregson, who was reportedly expelled from the GMB Union over his claims that Israel “exaggerates” the Nazi Germany’s genocide of six million Jews “for political ends” and who seeks to drive “Zionism out of the Labour Party”, handed out leaflets claiming that Zionism, the movement to grant Jews self-determination, is “racism”.
Marching alongside them was the antisemitism-denial group, the sham Jewish Voice for Labour. Its Secretary, Glyn Secker, made a speech which was rapturously received, claiming that Jews were “in the gutter” and “part of the problem”.
Holding American Rabbis responsible for fuelling the neo-Nazis behind antisemitic terrorism, including the fatal terrorist attack on Poway synagogue, Mr Secker claimed that they were “unleashing the extreme-right to win key votes in marginal states which determine the presidency”.
He then called 119 Labour MPs who are “friends of Israel” a “fifth column in the Labour Party led by [Dame Margaret] Hodge and [Tom] Watson and the Jewish Labour Movement.” Upon hearing the name of the Jewish Labour Movement, the crowd booed loudly.
“What on earth are Jews doing in the gutter with these rats?” Mr Secker asked, after claiming that the “Zionist Federation embraces the [far-right] English Defence League”, which is a fabrication. The crowd responded with calls of “Ban then from the Labour Party”.
Mr Secker then asked when Jews would fight fascism, before building to a crescendo: “Here’s a warning to the [British] Jewish leadership, while you foment your campaign of allegations of antisemitism against Corbyn and the left to silence Israel’s critics, while you cry wolf month after month, year after year in the Labour Party and remain blind to the explosion of the far-right and Islamophobia, you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” The crowd cheered, by Mr Secker continued: “You serve to protect the poison that would destroy both our freedom and yours. Well brothers and sisters, we are on the side of the Palestinians. We are on the side of the freedom marchers of ghetto Gaza.”
Labour leaders previously intervened to stop Mr Secker from being punished under the Party’s disciplinary process.
Following his speech, Mr Secker has been put in charge of antisemitism training at an official Labour Party event.
Ahed Tamimi, who served almost eight months in prison in Israel for assault, was the star attraction and addressed the crowd briefly. She finished her speech by repeating the antisemitic chant: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit saw no attempt by stewards from the PSC to remonstrate with any of the speakers or marchers.
Richard Burgon, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, who previously claimed that “Zionism is the enemy of peace” having told a court under oath that he had said no such thing, also addressed the crowd. The fact that Mr Burgon and Ms Abbott, such senior Labour politicians, attended an event which saw widespread antisemitism should be a cause for considerable concern.
The marchers, however, did not have the streets of central London to themselves. A brave group of anti-terrorism activists waving Israeli flags confronted the marchers.
The protest was organised by the PSC, Stop the War Coalition, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Friends of Al- Aqsa and the Muslim Association of Britain. It was supported by the pro-Corbyn Momentum faction of the Labour Party as well as trade unions Unite, PCS, Unison, GMB, RMT, ASLEF, UCU, NEU, TSSA, CWU, and other organisations including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Amos Trust charity.
An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst supporters of the PSC. Just this week, an Evening Standard investigation uncovered supporters of the PSC sharing antisemitic posts comparing Israelis to Nazis. The shocking antisemitic posts reportedly included a cartoon comparing Israeli Jews with white power neo-Nazis and an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bathing in Palestinian blood, posing with Adolf Hitler.
The march was a clear example of the coalition of antisemitism that British Jews now find themselves the target of. The far-left, the far-right and Islamist extremists clearly all share a common hatred of Jews.
We are now reviewing the evidence that we gathered at the march. Where crimes were committed, we will work with the authorities to ensure that there are arrests and prosecutions.
As for Jeremy Corbyn, his actions clearly show that he is an antisemite who is unfit for office.
