Tag Archive for: David Icke

Hope Sussex Community is reportedly due to host the antisemitic hate preacher and conspiracy theorist, David Icke, at an upcoming festival. 

According to its website, the group is “a community that loves, learns and grows together”. 

In the website’s section for “Education & Empowerment”, it reads: “State schools are unfit for purpose, they are increasingly pushing an agenda that is harmful and eroding to our society, while being falsely presented as ‘social progress’.”

It is understood that Hope Sussex Community is currently under investigation by Ofsted as a suspected unregulated illegal school. Earlier this year, the group denied allegations of teaching conspiracy theories. A spokesperson for the group said: “We teach [students] to think critically at all times and to question everything, to investigate themselves and not to believe the often harmful state propaganda peddled on our TV screens.”

Two of the organisation’s founders, Sadie Single and Matthew Single, are reported to be former members of the British National Party who were expelled in 2019 after they leaked personal details of the Party’s membership online.  

The organisation is currently advertising its festival, the “Freedom Music Festival”, for which Mr Icke is a “special guest”. 

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Sainsbury’s has issued an apology after two of its branches were found to have stocked copies of a conspiracy newspaper that has previously come to the defence of Holocaust-deniers.

The Light is an independently-distributed newspaper that was founded in 2020. It has regularly promoted conspiracy theories relating to COVID-19 and vaccines, and has made comparisons between lockdown and vaccine regulations to those of Nazi Germany.

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

The newspaper has also, on at least two occasions, targeted Campaign Against Antisemitism in relation to successful prosecutions against antisemites.

In 2021, it defended the Hitler-loving radio host Graham Hart, who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to eight counts of inciting racial hatred after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed that Mr Hart repeatedly claimed that Jews are “filth”; questioned whether six million Jews were really murdered in the Holocaust; praised Adolf Hitler as “the greatest man of the twentieth century”; said that “is isn’t just the white people who hate the Jews…it’s everyone hates the Jews. Everyone”; claimed that the Jews “run everything”, are “evil” and are “not of this world”; and argued that the Jews have “got to go down, they’ve just got to go down”.

The Light wrote of the sentencing: “While his opinions may seem radical, surely he is entitled to them? How does it harm anybody else for him to have a different view of history?”

Last year, the newspaper expressed support for Tahra Ahmed, a prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker who, after being reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism, CST and others, was sentenced to eleven months in prison after being found guilty of publishing written material in order to stir up racial hatred.

On the Holocaust, Ms Ahmed said: “I’m not a Holocaust denier…unfortunately, six million Jews is a number that has been perpetuated and the actual number has been revised down by experts.” She affirmed using the term “Holohoax”, arguing that “it [the figures] was manipulated and exaggerated at the time” and that, regarding the actual number of deaths in the Holocaust, “The Jewish council [sic] says 3.5 million…the Red Cross says 283,000.” She also baselessly asserted that “Hitler had an agreement with Rothschild to put Jews in concentration camps so Rothschild could transfer Jews to Palestine” and approvingly quoted a known Holocaust denier. She was also pressed on why she described the expulsion of the Jews from England in the Middle Ages as a “final solution to the Jewish problem.”

Her trial was described by the newspaper “a political stitchup.”

Additionally, according to the BBC, The Light published an article by blogger Lasha Darkmoon, in which she argued that individuals should be able to question the Holocaust.

The Light’s website also lists one of its “proud sponsors” as the antisemitic hate preacher and conspiracy theorist David Icke, who has been banned from entering several European countries.

It has also been reported that The Light has endorsed content by the far-right organisation Patriotic Alternative, 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”. Last month, one of its members who said that Adolf Hitler did “nothing wrong” was jailed.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said that the newspaper was left in its Warlingham and Newhaven branches without its knowing, stating: “We do not stock this newspaper and it is removed from any stores where it’s left. We apologise for any upset caused”.

Image credit: Google

As Roger Waters made further comparisons between Israelis to Nazis and embarked on unhinged rants during his London concerts this past Tuesday and Wednesday, Members of Parliament have expressed condemnation. 

The MPs’ criticism came as Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups have placed pressure on the venues hosting Mr Waters.

On Tuesday at London’s O2 Arena, the musician railed against Labour Party MP Christian Wakeford, who last month posted a letter to Twitter in which he said that Mr Waters’ upcoming Manchester performance should be called off.

Mr Waters, stopping during his performance to embark on a rant to the thousands of paying concert-goers, said that Mr Wakeford was “working for his “masters in the Foreign Office in Tel Aviv”, before calling him a “cripple”. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Manchester’s AO Arena over their hosting of Mr Waters next week.

Mr Waters went on to defend the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, shouting: “I’ve watched other people be cancelled. I watched Jeremy Corbyn be cancelled by the Israeli lobby. That was what happened in 2019 and if it hadn’t happened we might have had the first decent Labour prime minister for f***ing 50 years, because he cared about the working classes.” 

This echoed sentiments expressed by Mr Waters’ during a recent concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, when he claimed that “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange” and that the furore was “all coming from Tel Aviv, promise you”.

On Wednesday, members of Campaign Against Antisemitism captured evidence of the former Pink Floyd star comparing Anne Frank, one of the most famous child victims of the Holocaust, to Rachel Corrie, a person killed accidentally by the Israeli Defence Forces.

Under the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic.

This is not the first instance of Mr Waters breaching the definition in this way. He recently drew criticism for brandishing the name of Frank next to Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.

Towards the end of Wednesday’s performance, Mr Waters’ plunged into another unhinged rant, for which he seems to have become known, this time declaring that he loves all of his “brothers and sisters…irrespective of their ethnicity, or religion or nationality…well with one possible exception.” He then responded to former Pink Floyd lyricist Polly Samson’s charge that he is “antisemitic to [his] rotten core” in a tweet from February, telling his laughing fans: “All I have to say about Polly Samson is: imagine waking up to that every morning.” 

Outside of the O2 Arena, Campaign Against Antisemitism interviewed fans of Mr Waters to find out what they thought about his comments, resulting in accusations of antisemitism being “weaponised” and admiration expressed for Mr Corbyn. The interview can be watched here.

Amidst the news surrounding Mr Waters’ incendiary comments, he appears to have gained the support of known antisemites.

David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, took to the social media platform Gab where he appeared to defend Mr Waters. In a similar fashion, the antisemitic hate preacher and conspiracy theorist David Icke used his own platform to display empathy for Roger Waters.

However, MPs have expressed their condemnation of Mr Waters. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Stamer said that while “many people will think of Roger Waters as famous for being a member of one of the most important bands in history,” he is now “more synonymous with spreading deeply troubling antisemitism”.

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said in regard to Mr Waters’ recent remarks that “antisemitic rhetoric like this is completely shameful and totally inappropriate.”

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, said that Mr Waters fell short of the “societal expectation placed on people with a significant public profile to behave responsibly and not abuse their platform.”

Barbara Keeley, the Labour Party MP for Worsley and Eccles South, also sharply criticised Mr Waters, stating that his “actions and comments are completely unacceptable and are antisemitic”. 

Recently a spokesperson for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that Mr Khan “fully understands the significant concerns from within the Jewish community and condemns the use of antisemitism imagery”.

Additionally, the US State Department  said that Mr Waters’ performance “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimised the Holocaust,” adding that “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

Disgracefully, however, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, praised the musician on social media, tweeting that the criticism of Mr Waters, who she described as “an immense artist and true icon of our time, a champion of human rights and justice” is “absolutely shocking.”

Anti-Israel demonstrators congregating outside of Mr Waters’ Manchester concert were seen chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The chant of “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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level. You can sign the petition here.

In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”

He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”

Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

In 2013, he reportedly claimed that there is a “Jewish lobby” in the music industry.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a ‘smear’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That record has now even attracted the positive attention of the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke. That might have given any other celebrity some pause.

“That Mr Waters’ latest show includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

The antisemitic hate preacher and conspiracy theorist David Icke has been banned from entering several European countries.

The two-year ban came prior to a planned demonstration in Amsterdam, which was scheduled to have taken place this Sunday, after Dutch immigration authorities told Mr Icke that “there are concrete indications that your arrival in the Netherlands poses a threat to public order.”

Following his ban, the rally was reportedly cancelled by the organisers.

Mr Icke’s ban reportedly includes 25 other countries due to it also applying to the EU’s visa-free Schengen area.

Last month, the organisers of the demonstration were called upon by Amsterdam’s mayor, police and prosecutor’s office to disinvite Mr Icke due to his “antisemitic and hurtful statements”.

In a video response uploaded to his website, Mr Icke said that he was “demonised” by “ultra-Zionist organisations”.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

The books section of The Daily Telegraph is continuing to sell books by the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher, David Icke, despite his output being banned by some other retailers.

The website currently lists eleven David Icke titles, available either in hard copy or e-book formats. 

They include the upcoming self-published tract, The Trap: What it is, how it works, and how we escape its illusions, which will be available from 1st September, which the website has put it in the “Philosophy of Mind” category.

Mr Icke has self-published all of his work since the mid-1990s, after his endorsement of the notorious antisemitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in his books The Robots’ Rebellion (1994) and And the Truth Shall Set You Free (1995) saw him dropped by his publisher, Gateway.

This has not, however, prevented Mr Icke’s books being available from some mainstream retailers. Although, in 2020, Britain’s most popular book retailer, Waterstones, said that it would remove all of Mr Icke’s books from sale, WH Smith was still found to be selling his books and DVDs by May 2021.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be writing to The Daily Telegraph.

San Diego Community College District has cancelled an investiture planned for 31st May that was meant to be held in honour of the new Chancellor, Carlos O. Cortez. The district announced the cancellation last week due to concerns about the presence of author Alice Walker at the event.

Ms Walker is best known for her novel The Colour Purple, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, but is also known to have made inflammatory comments about Jews. One example comes from her poem “To Study the Talmud”, which reads:

“Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only
That, but to enjoy it?
Are three year old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?
Are young boys fair game for rape?
Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?”

Ms Walker has also voiced her support for the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, citing with approval his books Human Race Get off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More, which states that the world is secretly run by shape-shifting reptilian humanoids and “Rothschild Zionists”, and And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which promotes the antisemitic conspiracy theories contained in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and questions whether the Holocaust happened.

The author reportedly described Mr Icke’s work as “a curious person’s dream come true” and denied that there was anything antisemitic or anti-Jewish about its content.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

Pulitzer prize-winning author Alice Walker, who has previously garnered media attention for her inflammatory comments and support for conspiracy theories, is set to speak at San Diego Community College for the investiture ceremony for its new chancellor.

Ms Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for her novel The Colour Purple. She is, however, also known to have made inflammatory comments about Jews, one example of which can be seen in her poem “To Study the Talmud”. Excerpts from Ms Walker’s poem reads:

“Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only
“That, but to enjoy it?
“Are three year old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?
“Are young boys fair game for rape?
“Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?”

While also receiving little scrutiny from the press about her views due to the forthcoming publication of her journals, Ms Walker has been asked to speak at the investiture of San Diego Community College’s new chancellor, Carlos O. Cortez.

Ms Walker has also voiced her support for the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, citing with approval his books Human Race Get off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More, which states that the world is secretly run by shape-shifting reptilian humanoids and “Rothschild Zionists”, and And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which promotes the antisemitic conspiracy theories contained in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and questions whether the Holocaust happened.

The author reportedly described Mr Icke’s work as “a curious person’s dream come true” and denied that there was anything antisemitic or anti-Jewish about its content.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

Once again, the antisemite Wiley has been able to create an account on Twitter and spout racist hate towards Jews, even directly attacking Campaign Against Antisemitism. Twitter has suspended his account after we called on the platform to do so.

The rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, who is known as Wiley, went on an antisemitic tirade on social media in July 2020, has gone on another tirade this week, culminating today. Using the handle @WileyRecordings, he has tweeted an image of himself in Hasidic garb and a video titled “the Jewish Faces that Control Hiphop and Mainstream Black Music.” He posted a further video “discuss[ing] historical tensions between blacks & Jews” and, in another tweet, asserted: “The more they block me the harder I go and when I get through the door I will stand there and look in their faces with the same look they don’t wanna see….They are just angry they can’t control me…” He also tweeted a video of the antisemitic hate preacher Louis Farrakhan titled “I’m here to separate the ‘good Jews’ from the ‘Satanic Jews’”, and a video of another antisemitic hate preacher, David Icke.

Wiley then went on to target a senior figure in Campaign Against Antisemitism directly, changing his profile picture to an image of this member of our team and tweeting a further picture of him. He then proceeded to taunt him in a series of tweets, including calling him a “coward” and then posting a video on Instagram taunting him.

The rapper, who recently released an album unsubtly titled “Anti-Systemic”, told our member on Instagram this morning: “Don’t hide” and “come outside”. Wiley has recently been charged with assault and robbery. We are in touch with the police over the taunts and are examining legal options.

At this minute, Wiley is currently live on Instagram spewing antisemitic rhetoric, talking about banks that are owned by “Jewish families” and speculating that maybe Jews do in fact control the world. We are in contact with Instagram, calling on the platform to ban him immediately.

In his tirade in 2020, Wiley likened Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claimed that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn” – a slang expression meaning that they should be shot – and added: “Jewish community you deserve it”. He also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews and repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and were imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews in the United States.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and our projection of antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, which then went viral, TwitterFacebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

At the time of Wiley’s original antisemitic tirade, Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police Service, but the police eventually confirmed to us that Wiley was not in the UK at the time of his tirade. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time. Lawyers acting for Campaign Against Antisemitism have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, which is where he was located when he launched his tirade against Jews.

We also called for Wiley to be stripped of his MBE and have his Ivors Award rescinded.

However, barely a year later Wiley was again active on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, notwithstanding their pledges to ban him. Wiley tweeted at the time: “In all my years on earth I realised everyone wants you to care about their stuff like Holocaust etc but not one of them give a f*** about the enslavement and f***ery of black people so it’s hard for me to care for them knowing they don’t care for us #YaGetIt #JusSayin.”

This week, he has gone on another tirade, and only now has Twitter finally removed him, after we called once again on the platform to do so. We are also calling on Instagram, to which he has shifted his attention, to do the same. If these platforms had kept to their word, he would not have been on them in the first place.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has called on several venues over the past year to drop the unrepentant Wiley from their line-ups.

Earlier this year, we published a major report that shows how Twitter fails to implement consistently its own policies on hate. The report showed how Twitter appointed Campaign Against Antisemitism as a partner to monitor anti-Jewish racism on its platform and promised regular meetings, only to cease those meetings and ignore offers of antisemitism training after we began alerting the company to the inconsistent application of its policies by personnel.

Not only were phrases like “f*** the Jews” not considered to breach Twitter’s rules, but other phrases such as “Hitler was right” were sometimes permitted and sometimes removed, without any form of coherent reasoning. Moreover, one of the few areas where Twitter has in the past said that it would take action is over Holocaust denial, pledging to remove “attempts to deny or diminish” violent events such as the Shoah. Our report, however, shows that Twitter personnel repeatedly raised no objection to phrases such as “#Holohoax” and other, more elaborate tweets of Holocaust denial.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The antisemite Wiley has been able to return to Twitter and Instagram to spout racist hate, even adopting the image of one of our personnel as his profile picture and taunting him. We are in contact with the police and are examining legal options.

“Twitter has suspended Wiley’s account after we called on the platform to do so, but the company has failed to prevent him joining the platform repeatedly over the past year, despite its pledge to ban him. The company continues to ignore a wide range of antisemitic accounts that we have brought to its attention, presumably because they fail to attract the same degree of public interest and negative publicity as this case.

“We are now in contact with Instagram, asking for his live stream to be ended and his account removed, and we are in touch with the police about some of his deranged output.”

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. We also continue to make representations to the Government on this matter.

WH Smith removed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion overnight last week from its online shop but continues to offer for sale several books and DVDs by the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke to remain on sale.

This comes despite Campaign Against Antisemitism writing to WH Smith last year after it was discovered that the retailer was selling Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

At the time, WH Smith was quoted as saying that it has “strict guidelines on the books it sells, and it is against our policy to stock books which incite hatred. These books have been immediately removed from sale, and we are investigating how this has occurred with our wholesaler. We apologise sincerely for any offence caused.”

That was the third time that WH Smith had been caught selling Mein Kampf, with the book previously found to be on sale in branches in Jordan and Singapore.

However, WH Smith is now selling books and DVDs by Mr Icke.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Brian Rose, a London mayoral candidate and podcaster, has been asked to step down from his run after a video interview promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theorist hosted on his website resurfaced.

A 2020 video podcast featured an interview with the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, who explained to Mr Rose how Israel was was using the COVID-19 pandemic to “test its technology”. He then went on to detail how the Jewish state was supposedly responsible for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks, and that a group of American “ultra-Zionists” were responsible for covering up the story. 

Mr Icke also suggested that there was a hidden hand of “ultra-Zionist extremists” who run the world through a series of shadowy organisations. In addition, he referenced the Rothschild family and its supposed role in the “Illuminati”, another common antisemitic trope.

Mr Rose failed to challenge Mr Icke on any of his points during the interview.

Mr Rose also drew the ire of fellow mayoral candidate, Luisa Porritt. Ms Porritt, running as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats, criticised Mr Rose’s passivity, stating: “No candidate seeking to represent our diverse and liberal city should be giving a platform to sickening, antisemitic conspiracy theories about the tragedy of 9/11. Brian Rose is not only weird but dangerous and he should withdraw immediately.”

However, when questioned on hosting Mr Icke, Mr Rose did not believe he had acted inappropriately. He stated: “When he was on my show we didn’t discuss these things and I don’t allow anything illegal to be discussed. We weren’t discussing what you were talking about. You’re reading off titles, but I’m talking about what content was – I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in people.”

Ofcom sanctioned the television channel London Live for originally airing the video last year.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is very worrying that Brian Rose would see fit to interview the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, let alone not to challenge him when he peddled antisemitic tropes about Rothschilds, 9/11 conspiracies and claims about Israel using coronavirus to ‘test its technology’. London Live was censured by Ofcom for airing the interview, but the fact that it remains on Mr Rose’s website appears to show that, in Mr Rose’s judgement, Mr Icke’s views should be promoted.”

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

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

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke has finally been banned from Twitter.

Twitter’s decision follows similar moves by YouTube and Facebook several months ago. Mr Icke had some 382,000 followers on Twitter.

These decisions by the leading social media companies to remove Mr Icke from their platforms come after years of promoting the antisemitic commentator, much of whose website traffic is directed from social media. Despite extensive dossiers having been provided to the tech giants by Campaign Against Antisemitism in the past detailing Mr Icke’s racist claims about Jews, it has taken this long to ban him – and in each case it was not even related to antisemitism.

Instead, Mr Icke’s YouTube channel and Facebook page – and now his Twitter handle – were removed because of his misinformation campaign regarding the COVID-19 pandemic (although as part of this campaign he has also claimed that Israel was using the COVID-19 crisis to “test its technology”).

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events. Last month, Ofcom sanctioned the television channel London Live for airing an interview with Mr Icke on COVID-19.

Campaign Against Antisemitism will continue to press social media companies and other outlets to bar Mr Icke and other antisemites from their forums.

The conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke led a rally in London over the weekend against the lockdown and other pandemic-related rules and restrictions. He was joined on stage by Piers Corbyn, the conspiracist brother of the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Participants at the demonstration displayed the symbol of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, among other controversial material.

Other attendees reportedly displayed placards promoting the antisemitic QAnon conspiracy theory, which believes a powerful cabal runs the world.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

Recently, Ofcom sanctioned the television channel London Live for airing an interview with Mr Icke on COVID-19 in which he claimed that Israel is using the pandemic to “test its technology” and Facebook and YouTube resolved to remove Mr Icke from their platforms, albeit because of his conspiracies regarding the pandemic rather than because he is a Jew-hater. Waterstones also recently announced that it would remove from sale all of his books.

Piers Corbyn has his own history of controversy in relation to antisemitic conspiracy theories. He has previously retweeted @whiteknight0011, a notorious neo-Nazi who declared that “They will force Trump in to war What do you think happened to Hitler? Bilderberg CIA IMF Banker Gangsters They are the problem” along with four images. The @whiteknight0011 account has since been suspended. One image showed Lord Jacob Rothschild, the Jewish banker and philanthropist, against the background of a Nazi flag, claiming that he controls the world. A second showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a puppeteer controlling ISIS through Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, orchestrating the war in Syria and Paris attacks as Lord Rothschild and the Queen look on approvingly. A third image showed the faces of supposed Jewish conspirators who run the world to society’s detriment, proclaiming: “Know your enemy”. The last image showed a family photo of the Royal Family, claiming that they are in cahoots with these Jewish conspirators in committing “the worst genocides, invasions and theft in all history.”

Piers Corbyn has also claimed that “Zionists” were conspiring against his brother: when Jewish then-MP Louise Ellman complained of antisemitic attacks against her, Piers accused her of using it as a cover for political attack, tweeting: “ABSURD! JC+ All #Corbyns are committed #AntiNazi. #Zionists can’t cope with anyone supporting rights for #Palestine”.

It is ironic that Jeremy Corbyn, agreed with and defended his brother over that statement, citing the fact their mother had been at Cable Street, a 1936 clash between Mr Mosley’s British Union of Fascists and his Jewish and non-Jewish opponents.

Image credit: Joe Mulhall

Waterstones has announced that it will remove from sale all books by the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke.

The bookseller reportedly made the announcement after one of Mr Icke’s books, titled ‘Everything You Wanted to Know But Have Never Been Told’, was found at a branch in Southport in a section marked “alternative histories and conspiracies”.

A spokesperson for Waterstones told the Jewish News newspaper: “Most of the selection is done at a local, shop-floor level. We will look into this immediately to ensure any stock is removed from sale.”

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

Recently, Ofcom sanctioned the television channel London Live for airing an interview with Mr Icke on COVID-19 and Facebook and YouTube resolved to remove Mr Icke from their platforms, albeit because of his conspiracies regarding the pandemic rather than because he is a Jew-hater.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke has finally been banned from two social media platforms – but not over his antisemitism. Meanwhile, a third platform has yet to take action against Mr Icke.

Facebook and YouTube resolved to remove Mr Icke from their platforms in recent days, but it comes after years of promoting the antisemitic commentator, much of whose website traffic is directed from social media. Despite extensive dossiers having been provided to the tech giants by Campaign Against Antisemitism in the past detailing Mr Icke’s racist claims about Jews, he has only now been banned – and it was not even related to antisemitism.

Instead, Mr Icke’s YouTube channel and Facebook page were removed because of his misinformation campaign regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been viewed some 30 million times (although as part of this campaign he has also claimed that Israel was using the COVID-19 crisis to “test its technology”).

It is, however, understood that at least one other Facebook page relating to Mr Icke is still live.

Regrettably, another social media platform – Twitter – has yet to take any action against Mr Icke. Twitter did, however, find time and cause to suspend the account of Michael Oren, the esteemed historian and former Israeli ambassador to the United States, for reasons that have reportedly not been disclosed by the company.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events. Last month, Ofcom sanctioned the television channel London Live for airing an interview with Mr Icke on COVID-19.

Campaign Against Antisemitism will continue to press social media companies and other outlets to bar Mr Icke and other antisemites from their forums.

It has emerged that two Brexit Party MEPs and a prospective parliamentary candidate have appeared on The Richie Allen Show, a radio programme with links to conspiracy theorist David Icke that has served as a platform for Holocaust denial.

It is understood that Ann Widdecombe MEP appeared on the programme three times between August 2017 and April 2019, David Bull MEP appeared on the show on 30th April 2019, and Stuart Waiton, a prospective parliamentary candidate in Scotland and formerly an unsuccessful candidate for the European Parliament, appeared five times in 2018 and 2019.

Ms Widdecombe’s first appearance on the show was on 15th August 2017, when the programme was still being broadcasted on Mr Icke’s website. She recently courted controversy when she defended a former Nazi camp guard who is currently on trial in Germany. 

The Richie Allen Show has featured antisemites such as Alison Chabloz and Gilad Atzmon, conspiracy theorist Kevin Barrett, who believes Israel was behind 9/11, and Holocaust deniers including Nicholas Kollerstrom. The host has himself apparently questioned the number of Jews that were murdered in the Holocaust, telling Mr Kollerstrom that “there’s a big lie there somewhere, I don’t believe the numbers are anywhere near as great as they’re saying, you know…I’m with you with respect to the numbers and the way that it’s been exploited ever since.”

Mr Allen is considered to be a protege of Mr Icke. Mr Icke preaches to large audiences that the world is run by an evil group mostly consisting of prominent Jews whom he calls “Rothschild Zionists”. He tells his disciples that these “Rothschild Zionists” are in fact inhuman “reptilians” conspiring to cheat all of humanity, with governments, media and banks in their grasp.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

The Athena in Leicester has cancelled a show by David Icke following contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council. He has now made a terribly dull 17-minute video haranguing us, the venue, a local counter-terrorism police officer and the Council.

Mr Icke preaches to large audiences that the world is run by an evil group mostly consisting of prominent Jews whom he calls “Rothschild Zionists”. He tells his disciples that these “Rothschild Zionists” are in fact inhuman “reptilians” conspiring to cheat all of humanity, with governments, media and banks in their grasp.

We contacted the Athena in Leicester in August last year to alert them to Mr Icke’s views. Subsequently, representatives from Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council approached the venue and made their views clear.

A Leicestershire Police spokesman told the Leicester Mercury: “Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council were made aware of an event due to be held by David Icke and that a number of letters and e-mails from concerned members of the public had already been received by the venue in Leicester. Representatives from both organisations met with the venue’s owners to discuss these public concerns and to ensure the owners of the premises were aware of their obligations under licensing legislation. The venue subsequently decided to cancel the event.”

We commend Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council for stepping in, and the management of the Athena for making the right decision.

The Athena joins a long list of venues which have recently cancelled Mr Icke’s bookings, including Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, Central Hall in Southampton, St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich, the Lowry Hotel in Salford, Sheffield City Hall and the Gladstone Theatre in Wirral.

The last time Mr Icke’s event was cancelled at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, he was forced to cram his followers into a strange half-built cellar.

However other shamelessly help Mr Icke to reach a wider audience, such as viral social media video company Unilad which made a special ten-minute video in which Mr Icke spoke about his views, albeit not his invective about “Rothschild Zionists”.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government.

You may wish to join Campaign Against Antisemitism by sending thanks to the Athena by e-mailing [email protected], and also thanking Leicestershire Police using their website and Leicester City Council by e-mailing [email protected].

The controversial viral social media site Unilad has produced a propaganda video for conspiracy theorist David Icke, whom Campaign against Antisemitism exposed in our own video last year.

The video, entitled “David Icke: Conspiracy, Illuminati & Lizards” is a ten-minute long monologue documentary which Unilad has promoted hailing Mr Icke as “the man whose life mission is to expose the nature of reality, inform on what is really happening behind the news headlines and who is really running the world. Full of conspiracy, the illuminati and lizards, we talk to him about his theories and incredible life story.”

The fact is that Mr Icke’s conspiracy theories are not harmless nonsense: they preach a world view in which the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists” who are the product of an alien “reptilian” bloodline. Mr Icke cites many prominent Jews around the world as evidence of “Rothschild Zionist” infiltration of global power structures.

His disciples believe his antisemitic theories about Jews and when we have drawn respectable venues’ attention to his views they have cancelled his appearances, but Unilad decided that he was worthy of a special video documentary.

Unilad’s video has been viewed 1.2 millions times on Facebook alone. It is atrocious that Unilad has decided to broadcast the repugnant views of Mr Icke to an even wider audience.

Complaints should be sent to [email protected].

It is “game over” for modern-day antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, as Manchester United has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that it has decided to cancel his event at Old Trafford this evening.

The venue of “An evening with David Icke” had been a closely guarded secret until two tickets with a face value of £85 each were spotted on eBay and reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism by actor Marlon Solomon and Sussex Friends of Israel.

We immediately wrote to the club alerting them to Mr Icke’s views, following which they cancelled the booking.

A reporter for the Jewish Telegraph learned that the event had been booked through an agency without mentioning that Mr Icke would be speaking, but as soon as management received the information that Mr Icke was the speaker, they stopped the event. This was then confirmed to us directly by a source at the football club, followed by an official statement that “The booking was made by a junior member of staff who was unaware of Icke and his objectionable views. The event has been cancelled.”

Mr Icke is a modern-day antisemitic hate preacher who uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred towards Jewish people. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”.

His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic in the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government, including: “making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” and “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.”

Mr Icke’s antisemitic views have resulted in some venues cancelling bookings for his show in 2018. Central Hall in Southampton and St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich have both taken a highly principled stand. North West Friends of Israel have also been successful in causing the cancellation of Mr Icke’s events at the Lowry Hotel in Salford, Sheffield City Hall and the Gladstone Theatre in Wirral.

We commend Manchester United for immediately reacting to our letter by cancelling Mr Icke’s event.

You may wish to join Campaign Against Antisemitism by sending thanks to Manchester United by e-mailing [email protected].

At the eleventh hour, it has emerged that tomorrow, Friday 17th November, Manchester United will welcome antisemitic conspiracy-theorist David Icke. The location for “An evening with David Icke” had been a closely guarded secret until two tickets with a face value of £85 each were spotted on eBay and reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism by actor Marlon Solomon and Sussex Friends of Israel.

David Icke is a modern-day antisemitic hate preacher who uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred towards Jewish people. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”.

His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic in the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government, including: “making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” and “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.”

David Icke’s antisemitic views have resulted in some venues cancelling bookings for his show in 2018. Central Hall in Southampton and St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich have both taken a highly principled stand. North West Friends of Israel have also been successful in causing the cancellation of Mr Icke’s events at the Lowry Hotel in Salford, Sheffield City Hall and the Gladstone Theatre in Wirral. It is disgraceful therefore that one of the country’s pre-eminent sporting institutions is willing to provide him with a platform. The Premier League is a funder of Kick It Out, professional football’s equality and inclusion organisation.

It is shocking that Manchester United, one of the country’s most iconic sporting institutions is willing to give Mr Icke a platform, whether he intends to use it to promote his repugnant views about Jews or not. The directors of Manchester United have claimed to back the Kick It Out campaign to kick racism out of football, and if their words are to be believed then they must now act to cancel this event.

Even at this late stage, it is not too late for Manchester United to make the right decision and cancel Mr Icke’s event. We call on the club’s directors to search their consciences and act accordingly.

You may wish to join Campaign Against Antisemitism in sending complaints to [email protected] and [email protected].

Central Hall in Southampton and St Andrew’s Hall in Norwich have confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that they have cancelled the bookings for shows by modern-day antisemitic hate preacher, David Icke, on 27th and 30th April 2018.

Campaign Against Antisemitism contacted them and other venues in the UK where Mr Icke is scheduled to perform in November this year and April next year.

Some venues have not yet cancelled their planned events with Mr Icke, including The Caves in Edinburgh on 13th November 2017, The Troxy in London on 15th November 2017, Athena in Leicester on 20th April 2018 and Komedia in Bath on 24th April 2018. Their contact details are below, should members of the public wish to politely add their voices to calls for the shows to be cancelled.

We alerted the venues that Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred towards Jewish people by repeating centuries-old libels, as well as conspiracy myths that were used by Nazi Germany to justify the Holocaust.

We explained that Mr Icke’s repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic in the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government, including: “making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” and “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.”

Mr Icke is also listed to appear at “Top Secret” locations in Manchester on 17th November 2017, Southport/Liverpool on 14th April 2018 and Sheffield on 17th April 2018.

Campaign Against Antisemitism thanks the management at Central Hall and St Andrew’s Hall for taking a principled stand and cancelling the bookings. We trust that the other venues will follow their example and lead.

We also commend and thank North West Friends of Israel for successfully intervening to get events with Mr Icke cancelled at the Lowry Hotel in Salford, Sheffield City Hall and the Gladstone Theatre in Wirral.

The venues that have not yet decided to cancel Mr Icke’s shows are:

13th November 2017
The Caves, 8-10 Niddry Street South, Edinburgh EH1 1NS
Telephone: 0131 510 1122
E-mail: [email protected]

15th November 2017
The Troxy, 490 Commercial Road, London E1 0HX
Telephone: 020 7790 9000
E-mail: [email protected]

20th April 2018
Athena, Queen Street, Leicester LE1 1QD
Telephone: 0116 262 6556
E-mail: [email protected]

24th April 2018
Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath BA1 1EP
Telephone: 0122 548 9070
E-mail: [email protected]

It has been discovered that Philip Rose, the UKIP parliamentary candidate for Amber Valley, in Derbyshire, in the general election that has just closed, has tweeted the views of David Icke, and his theories about what he calls “Rothschild Zionism”. Mr Icke claims that a secret cabal of “Rothschild Zionists” has subverted democracy and secretly runs the world, writing in his book: “I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World War. This Jewish elite used the First World War to secure the Balfour Declaration and the principle of the Jewish State of Israel (for which, given the genetic history of most Jewish people, there is absolutely no justification on historical grounds or any other).”

Mr Rose has repeatedly voiced his support for Mr Icke’s various theories on Twitter and Facebook, including claiming that: “Fabians a part of the elite communitarian agenda – Rothschild-Zionist clean sweep. Perhaps real division = liberty or [New World Order]?”

It is disturbing that UKIP should have selected a parliamentary candidate who subscribes to antisemitic conspiracy myths. Recently we discovered that another UKIP candidate, Captain Paddy Singh had tweeted: “At times I ask myself were the Nazis right in herding the Jews into concentration camps”.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” is antisemitic.

Campaign Against Antisemitism put it to Mr Rose that he believes antisemitic conspiracy myths, however Mr Rose decried Campaign Against Antisemitism as the real racists, pointing out that his father’s mother was Jewish and that not all Zionists are Jews, so “Rothschild Zionists” is not a racial term. He added: “I am not familiar with the ‘International Definition of Antisemitism’ but from what you write it looks like a catch-all for anyone who may question anything about Jewish people or institutions.”

David Icke is a modern-day antisemitic hate preacher who uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred towards Jewish people. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”.

Earlier this week we asked Manchester City Council to impose a fine and licence conditions on the O2 Apollo theatre for providing a platform to antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, who delivered a twelve-hour sermon on his world view, including his notorious segment on the supposed conspiracy he calls “Rothschild Zionism”. We asked witnesses to the performance to e-mail us, and interestingly Icke’s associates urged his disciples to contact us. We have received numerous e-mails from Icke’s devotees unanimously reassuring us that Icke is no antisemite, and his message is one of love and compassion.

We decided to publish extracts below, unedited save for the grammar and spelling.

While their comments are patently risible, they are also highly dangerous. They illustrate how easy it is for a demagogue like Icke to convince people that age-old antisemitic conspiracy myths are real. Icke passionately warns his followers that the “Rothschild Zionists” have the world in their grip, and that even the antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion should be heeded. It is perhaps unsurprising that people who are willing to pay up to £80 to be lectured for twelve hours straight by Icke are susceptible to his views. It is, nonetheless, extremely alarming. He preys on ordinary people who are suggestible, and persuades them that he is revealing a hidden truth, and that they cannot trust anybody else to be honest with them. Like a cult leader, he “wakes them up” from the “dreamworld” they were living in before they met him.

Take David Wright for example. He resoundingly endorsed Icke’s philosemitic credentials, telling us: “Just because he believes a Jewish elite run the world doesn’t make him an antisemite.” In a separate e-mail, he assured us that: “David Icke is nothing like an antisemite,” reinforcing the point with a link to David Icke’s “Rothschild Zionism” speech.

Kevin Whittle sent us an equally impassioned rebuttal of the accusation that Icke is an antisemite: “Mr Icke did indeed mention the Rothschild Zionists and global elite who are factually running things in this world. He also gave proof of this in his presentation. More and more people understand what the Rothschild Zionists have done to the world […]. Problem is they have 80% of the lobby in the UK and practically own the US congressionals. When talking about Zionism David always referred to the Rothschild Zionists to make it clear to the thought police he was talking about a particular faction hiding behind the Jewish faith.”

Kaya Davidson expressed her indignation at the notion that Icke is an antisemite thus: “It is my understanding that he believes, upon conducting extensive unbiased research, a group of Zionists control the media, many political decisions that affect us all. How is that antisemitic?”

Bob Alford suggested that broadening our choice of reading matter would help us to understand Icke better: “May I recommend you read a book called ‘The falsification of history’ by John Hamer. Here you will find documented and remembered proof about the Hitler myth. (I am NOT a neo-Nazi, by the way, before you start accusing me of causing all the s*** the ‘Jews’ bring on themselves for self pity. Check it out, they even have a word for it.)” In order to leave us in absolutely no doubt that he is “NOT a neo-Nazi”, Mr Alford added a postscript: “There’s a great video on YouTube called ‘Adolf Hitler – the greatest story NEVER told’. If you are non-biased, give it a look, you might learn something you’re not taught to believe. Then, who knows, you might even find some self respect and pack in your well-paid job of attacking ‘antisemites’ for your Zionist masters.” The Greatest Story Never Told is a virulently antisemitic film that seeks to rehabilitate Hitler and his policies, while blaming Jews for the circumstances that led to World War 2.

A fan writing in under the name “Tym R”, in his defence of Icke, adds Holocaust denial to classic antisemitic conspiracy theory: “…a nefarious cabal of Khazar-Ashkenazi ersatz Jews of convenience control the world to the global society’s detriment and have hijacked the term ‘antisemitic’ (as per the six million Holohoax fiction).”

These sentiments expressed to us by Icke’s fans are representative of the vast majority of those who contacted us after attending his show. They insist that Icke, an advocate for love and compassion, cannot possibly be antisemitic because he is only telling the truth about Jews. We would urge them to acquaint themselves with the International Definition of Antisemitism, recently adopted by the British government. It cites various examples of antisemitism, including:

  • Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions; and
  • 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).

Many correspondents allowed their enthusiasm for defending Icke to lure them into another antisemitic conspiracy theory, insisting that accusations of antisemitism only exist to shut down criticism of Israel. The International Definition of Antisemitism identifies these practices as antisemitic, especially:

  • 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);
  • Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis; and
  • 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.

But Kate Coley e-mailed us to inform us that: “David Icke may use a different definition of Zionism to the one that you use.” There is only one useful definition of Zionism: it is the aspiration of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland — an ideal that has always been central to Judaism. Other definitions of Zionism are almost always manufactured by antisemites. Icke can be found on video clearly distinguishing between the Jews he approves of (those who disavow Israel) and those he regards as objectionable (Zionists). Over 90% of British Jews identify as Zionists.

A man calling himself “Neil” was scathing about the the Jewish right to self-determination: “I have come to learn a lot about Zionism and find it repulsive. All my friends and family understand the sickness that is Zionism, and all their friends and family have been duly enlightened.” Wendy Steele went further: “I have lived long enough to see the Israelis behave worse than the Nazis. On that, it was a great number of Jewish bankers who brought that pathetic wee man, Hitler to power.” A correspondent who identified himself only as “hocusfocus” agreed wholeheartedly: “It is evident to many of us now that the Israeli regime is akin to Nazi Germany”

A fan e-mailing under the name of “scousepies” was convinced that Israel is behind far-right extremisim: “Zionism is not Judaism. It bears no resemblance to it — it only hijacks the religion as a front for other activities. Same as the Vatican does with Christianity, same as the KKK does, same as any extremist minds warp their views and goals into a more acceptable front…Exposing a group of people who claim to be ‘Jews’ when in fact they are only using that religion as a front to hide the fact they are Satanists is not hating Jewish people.”

Max Johnson reminded us of a more modern conspiracy theory that is popular among antisemites: “The sad realisation that 9/11 was an inside job carried out by Israeli dual nationals in the Bush administration brought me to the conclusion; over the last 15 years we have been lied to and manipulated which is absolutely disgusting.”

E-mails continue to pour in from the many people all over the world that Icke has convinced that “Rothschild Zionists” are behind many of the world’s ills.

Icke is a modern-day antisemitic hate preacher who uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred towards Jewish people by repeating centuries-old libels, as well as the same conspiracy myths that were used by Nazi Germany to justify the Holocaust. His appearance at the O2 Apollo in Manchester was the only UK appearance of his international tour. Not only did the O2 Apollo allow Icke to address their packed venue for twelve hours, they profited from it. Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Manchester City Council asking that they fine the venue an amount in excess of the profits from the evening and impose licence conditions so that this does not happen again.

You may wish to contact O2’s Chief Executive, Mark Evans, at [email protected] to let him know how you feel about the decision by the O2 Apollo, which O2 sponsors, to host a modern-day antisemitic hate preacher to address a sell-out audience for twelve hours. You may also want to contact Manchester City Council’s Licensing Unit at [email protected] setting out how you feel about the venue hosting speakers of this nature.