The Iranian threat is right here at home
One Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of spying on the Jewish community in London on behalf of Iran.
Eight others have also reportedly been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
They were reportedly detained at locations across north London and Hertfordshire.
We are grateful to the police for foiling this alleged plot, however it is incredible that the Iranian threat, long recognised by British Jews and those paying attention, like the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament in its report last summer, is still not being taken seriously by the Government.
That is why, for the past week, we have not stopped hearing from Islamist extremists and far-left fanatics defending the regime, and trying to convince Iranians who suffer under its yoke that they are wrong to yearn for freedom.
In Birmingham, at a vigil for the deceased Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, pro-regime protestors were recorded burning Israeli flags, calling to bomb Tel Aviv and chanting more of Bob Vylan’s “death death to the IDF” slogan, demonstrating just how normalised extremist rhetoric and incitement to violence are becoming in our country.
And this Sunday, when the annual Al Quds Day march returns, we will see this rhetoric emboldened on the streets of London.
These marches are notoriously sympathetic to the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies. Organised by the so-called Islamic Human Rights Commission, past marches have featured signs reading “We are all Hizballah”.
The Al Quds Day marches have been banned in some European countries.
There is no excuse for them still being permitted in the UK.
There is a risk that whilst they are, we could see a repeat of scenes like the one in this video, which feature a variation on the “Khaybar” chant, 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.
In this video, “Zion” is interchanged with “Jew” in the classic formulation. This interchangeability will come as no surprise to anyone except agenda-driven activists and stubborn observers who continue to insist that there is a distinction between anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish activism on our streets.
The pledge to the new Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, is particularly harrowing. He has reportedly assumed the position after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed by Israeli forces.
Mr Khamenei has long been linked to the Iranian regime’s brutalist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The new Supreme Leader may have also established a substantial financial foothold here in the UK.
Mr Khamenei, who was sanctioned by the US in 2019 for his senior role in service of his father, the late Supreme Leader, allegedly has links to a thriving global property empire, valued at over £100 million in the UK alone, including eleven luxury properties located in North London.
You can read more about those allegations here.
The UK Government has already frozen these assets, but it must now immediately investigate, and if the allegations are borne out the properties should be seized.
It gets worse, however. It has recently emerged that he owns two luxury apartments a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace and overlooking the Israeli Embassy in London.
There is every likelihood that these properties were also purchased with sanctions-busting oil sales and stolen from the Iranian people.
The UK must not be a haven for antisemitic terrorists to hide and launder their money.
His is not the only newly emerged link between the UK and the Iranian regime.
The Government’s former independent extremism adviser is publishing a new report titled Undue Influence, claiming that Iran is using a network of charitable and civil society institutions to maintain its “influence and interests” here in the UK. It is also plotting violent attacks against Jews and Iranian dissidents, allegations that have repeatedly been raised.
Of the 30 institutions mentioned in the report, eight of the ten charities are understood to be subject to ongoing investigation by the Charity Commission, but their spokesperson has noted that “it is not presently open to the Commission to remove charitable status as a sanction, and in the absence of proscription of the IRGC the Commission can only act where there is clear evidence of a breach of charity law.”
This is yet another reason why the Government’s inactivity in pushing the proscription of the IRGC is of increasing concern.
Thankfully, others seem to agree – and we are grateful to the Lib Dems for their recent announcement that they will be introducing legislation to urgently proscribe the IRGC, which the Government promised to do but has failed to deliver.This measure cannot come soon enough. Sign your name at antisemitism.org/BanTheIRGC, and urge our Government to action.
More Palestine activists face the courts
This past week has seen pro-Palestinian activists around the country face consequences for their actions which time and again reveal their rejection of British values and institutions.
In Newcastle, three pro-Palestine activists have been found guilty of criminal damage, in relation to an incident that took place in February 2025 targeting Pearson Engineering factory which resulted in damage costs of some £6,800.
In a separate case, another activist appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court where she was found guilty of causing harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, and assaulting a police officer. During the incident in question, which occurred at a Palestine Action protest in Parliament Square last year, the defendant reportedly shouted “You f***ing terrorist” and other profanities at a police officer.
In yet another case, which CAA reported to the police over two years ago, Hanin Barghouthi, then a women’s officer at Sussex University, is alleged to have described the 7th October massacre as a “success” and a “victory” at a rally in Brighton the very next day.
Ms Barghouthi is on trial at Kingston Crown Court, where she has been accused of expressing an opinion or belief in support of a proscribed terrorist organisation.
There is no place for this kind of rhetoric in Britain.
We are glad to have seen numerous cases of offenders being held to account this week.
Our legal team works tirelessly to support that effort — if you would like to get involved, then we are seeking a Paralegal to join our team.
For more information, click here.
Jews are being threatened in every corner of the UK
We are seeing vandalism and intimidation, disguised as so-called “activism”, across our major cities.
Calling for an intifada can lead to your arrest in London and Manchester, but not necessarily elsewhere in Britain. That means that the speaker in the video here, who shouted this in Bristol, can call for an intifada to their heart’s content with impunity.
The lack of consistency here is astonishing. Calling for an intifada – which have always been campaigns of terrorist violence, including suicide bombings, which targeted Jews – in one place results in repercussions, but if you drive down the road to do it, you’re off the hook.
What about the rest of the country?
Do the lives of Jews in Bristol not matter as much as those of Jews in other cities?
Authorities must recognise that Jewish lives matter everywhere, a sentiment shared by Alec Shelbrooke MP, who spoke in Parliament of the concerns of the Leeds Jewish community in relation to antisemitism and urged for more action to be taken – you can watch this here.
It was also the topic of discussion when our Director of Investigations and Enforcement, Stephen Silverman, appeared on LBC News, which you can watch here.
Down south, the following is a section of now-deleted comments left underneath a Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign Facebook page:
- “It’s about time to target local synagogues and Jewish businesses with over ripe fruit and stink bombs.”
- “Let’s all buy a pack of 6 eggs and pelt the local synagogues.”
- “Does anyone have a good recipe for roasted synagogue?”
We are pleased to hear that the person allegedly responsible for these abhorrent comments has been arrested.
These are not empty threats – as we have seen in Archway in London, where a new branch of Gail’s bakery, a chain with tenuous links to Jews and the Jewish state, was recently vandalised.
We hit the streets to hear what people really think about the incident. Not everyone was happy to speak to us, however. You can watch what happened here.
Jewish pupils targeted
Over two years, a Jewish pupil was victimised with antisemitic abuse such as “Heil Hitler”, “Yid”, and “Jewish scum”, by his classmates.
The parents reportedly complained to the school multiple times and were told that the boy simply needed to be more resilient. When the boy told his abusers to “f*** off”, he was the one given detention.
This is appalling.
Not only has the school failed to discipline racist bullies, but by its inaction and victim-blaming, it has effectively condoned their conduct.
Meanwhile, students from London’s JFS were playing in Norwich in a quarterfinal match in the U15 Schools Football tournament against Thorpe St Andrew School, when they were allegedly subjected to vile abusive chants from the opposing team’s supporters, including: “Jews, Jews, dirty Jews”, “Zionists, dirty Zionists” and “Go back to the gas chambers”.
How revolting.
It appears that the concerns raised about the chants were not dealt with at the time of the incident, and so the complaints have rightly been elevated to the police.
There is no excuse for this kind of outrageous and potentially criminal behaviour.
There is clearly a problem in our schools. We therefore welcome the Government’s announcement of an independent investigation into antisemitism in British schools and colleges. We intend to contribute a submission to this review.
Schools and educational institutions have a responsibility to make Jewish students feel safe and valued, not vulnerable to the threat of antisemitic abuse.
If you want to help hold the education sector to account and educate the next generation, then our Campus and Schools Educator role might be for you.
For more information, or to apply, please click here.
Celebrating Purim with Campaign Against Antisemitism
It was great to see celebrations up and down the UK for Purim this last week.
Our CAA Student Ambassadors proudly collaborated with JSOCs at Leeds and London universities, who each hosted Purim parties for their university students.
Though Jewish festivals are being hijacked by hate crimes, that must not stop students and the wider community from rejoicing, celebrating our festivals and being proud of our Jewish identity – thank you to all who got involved!
Intimidation at the airport
A Jewish Israeli author says that he was detained for 90 minutes at London Luton Airport.
Why?
For wearing a t-shirt that read “End Jew Hatred” and carrying a sign about the victims of Hamas’ October 7 attacks.
Alon Penzel was travelling to Tel Aviv some months ago after a book tour when airport security stopped him. He was carrying an A3 sign displaying the title of his book, ‘Testimonies Without Boundaries, Israel: October 7th 2023’, which he had used as part of his promotional display.
According to Mr Penzel, a security guard called the sign “offensive”. Three more guards and two police officers then arrived, and he claimed that he was accused of ‘protesting’. Despite explaining that he was simply walking through the airport, he says that he was detained and questioned for around 90 minutes.
Mr Penzel later described the experience as “pure antisemitism”.
In an apology, Luton Airport said his experience “fell below the customer service standards we expect” and confirmed that it has now introduced enhanced staff training.
This past week, Jews celebrated Purim by reading the Book of Esther, which recounts the heroism of a Jewish queen of Persia.
How apt that this festival fell in the same week as International Women’s Day, which we marked by shining a light on the heroic women past and present who have joined the fight against antisemitism.
From ancient figures like Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim story who bravely stood up for and saved the Jews of the Persian Empire, to German Jew Marianne Cohn, murdered by the Nazis for her role in the Resistance smuggling hundreds of Jewish children out of France, to present-day pillars of the community, like Tracy-Ann Oberman and Rachel Riley, there are so many Jewish women to champion who have dedicated themselves to combatting the world’s oldest hatred.
They are an inspiration to us all, and continue to encourage us never to give up the fight.
