NW Friends of Israel, Tommy Robinson and the EDL, are Holding a Demonstration Against ‘Anti-semitism’ in Manchester this Sunday

The Board of Deputies and the JLM are Supporting this racist hate fest!  Support the JVL and Jewish  Anti-Fascist/Anti-Racist Opposition to the March

Tommy Robinson - Friend of the Zionists, Fascist  and anti-Semite

UPDATE

The Jewish and Palestinian counter-demonstration, which had less than a week to mobilise, mustered over 200 people whereas the anti-Semitic Zionist demonstration mustered in the low hundreds.  It would seem that the majority of Manchester Jews (and a couple of coaches were hired from London) don't like being part of a demonstration organised by supporters of Tommy Robinson.

Shame on Louise Ellman MP and other Jewish Labour Movement supporters who prefer fascist supporters of Zionism to antiracist Jews.  One more reason to deselect her

This post is the seventh most popular that I have posted in over 10 years of blogging, attracting to date over 16,000 hits!

You couldn’t make it up.  Board of Deputies President Marie Van der Zyl, the Jewish Labour Movement’s Louise Ellman MP, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mervis and Blairite former Home Office Minister, Beverly Hughes, known for her hatred of asylum seekers, as well as other establishment worthies are taking part in a demonstration against ‘anti-semitism’ organised by a group that is friends of the British far-Right including the English Defence League and Football Lads Alliance.  Step forward the NW Friends of Israel.

This demonstration has nothing to do with anti-semitism and everything to do with supporting Israeli Apartheid. Those organising it stand full square behind a racist ‘Jewish’ supremacist state that bars Palestinians from hundreds of Jewish only communities.

Like most neo-Nazis these days, the EDL combine love of Israel with love of Hitler!  And yet there are some fools who see support for Israel and Zionism as compatible with anti-racism and anti-fascism

Should anyone need any reminding, the EDL, formed by Tommy Robinson aka Steven Yaxley-Lennon, was an organisation of Islamaphobic and racist bigots which managed to combine support for Israel with Hitler salutes. Tommy Robinson himself is popular with Zionists these days and completed a tour of Israel with his Zionist fan Dr Brian. [Why Israeli Fanboys Back a U.K. Far Right anti-Muslim Campaigner]

That NW Friends of Israel welcomed the EDL on their demonstrations is not in dispute.  In its opposition to Palestine solidarity demonstrations outside the Israeli Kedem shop protest in Manchester in 2014, NWFOI worked with the EDL as the video of 6 August 2014 demonstrates.  [See Why the U.K.'s neo-Nazis Are Posing With Israeli Flags]

As a report at the time observed: ‘NWFOI  warmly welcome the English Defence League to their demonstrations.’ The accompanying commentary by Natan Levinson of NWFOI, explained that: “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  

It is probably worth pointing out that these days support for Tommy Robinson and various neo-Nazis extends to the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel.  No less than Hananya Naftali Netanyahu’s, Jews 4 Jesus deputy social media adviser recently tweeted “Free Tommy Robinson!” And why you might ask shouldn’t he.  Steve Bannon another great supporter of Israel and a 24 carrot anti-semite is also a supporter of Tommy Robinson.

And Netanyahu, as is well known, counts amongst his best friends people like the anti-semitic Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban and the Poland’s anti-semitic government.

Robert Festenstein alongside Tommy Robinson and assorted bigots and racists

But it gets worse, much worse.  Solicitor Robert Festenstein of RF Solicitors is also active in NWFOI.  Festenheim is a very busy fellow.  He also formed Jewish Human Rights Watch in 2015. In case you get the wrong idea rest assured that it has nothing to do with human rights. It’s not even a Jewish organisation. It just watches over groups that are concerned with human rights, especially Palestinian human rights (which it opposes).  Suffice to say Festenheim works closely with another far-right group, the ‘charity’ Campaign Against Anti-semitism.

JHRW was particularly active a year ago campaigning with the CAA against Palestine Expo 2017, a 2 day festival of Palestinian culture, politics, art and history which was held at London’s Queen Elizabeth II Centre.  JHRW opposed what it termed a ‘Jew hate event.’

However there are some Jew haters that Festenheim is quite at ease with. Take Tommy Robinson. Festenheim appeared in a promotion film with Tommy Robinson about a shopkeeper who had been told by the Police to take down an Islamaphobic poster. Festenheim was pictured laughing and joking with Robinson.

Reports simultaneously emerged of a meeting in Manchester between a dozen members of the local Jewish community and Robinson.  A Board of Deputies spokesperson was quoted in the Jewish Chronicle as saying that ‘Tommy Robinson’s record of anti-Muslim provocation means that he could never be a partner of a respectable or mainstream Jewish organisation’.

Which is of course a lie because the Board of Deputies put out a press statement, after Israeli snipers had murdered over 50 unarmed demonstrators in Gaza supporting the action.  That was the action of fascists and they justified it because they were members of a Muslim group, Hamas.

Antony Denison co-chair of NWFOI

The strange thing is that Festenstein represents Prestwich Hebrew Congregation on the Board of Deputies yet they have taken no action against him.  Antony Dennison of NWFOI denied that the organisation had been amongst those meeting with Tommy Robinson but that is not our understanding.  NWFOI is up to its ears in support for Robinson and his new organisation the Football Lad Alliance. Antony Dennison of NWFOI is also an interesting character. He is a former solicitor struck off by the High Court for having defrauded his former partner.  All in all quite a suitable person to chair this far-Right Zionist group.

The demonstration that NWFOI is calling has nothing to do with anti-semitism and everything to do with opposition to Palestinian rights. The fact that Festenstein and his colleagues don’t even recognise the Palestinians as a people should tell you something about their motives.

We are told that Dave Rich's Community Security Trust will be 'securing' the demonstration. This roughly translates as securing it from any anti-fascists and the Left.  Let us hope that the CST don't follow their usual practice and allow the EDL or other fascists on their 'anti-racist' march.  Indeed if the CST were really to do what Dave Rich, their Deputy Director always boasts about, they might consider excluding Robert Festenstein from the march, except they would then have to exclude North-West FOI, the very people who have organised this racist bean feast.  It's a funny old world when racists pretend to be anti-racist!

Please support the Jewish and Palestinian counter-demonstration. Below is a report from a blogger about NW Friends of Israel.

Tony Greenstein

North West Friends of Israel

North West Friends of Israel are a more substantial organisation than SFI, but equally rabid, with an equally casual relationship with anything approaching truth, and with equal contempt for established civil liberties in this country.

NWFOI  warmly welcome the English Defence League to their demonstrations on the grounds that “ the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

See committee member Natan Levinson on the subject……

NWFOI gain their impetus from counter demonstrating outside the Manchester store, Kedem. However, the aims and objectives extend well beyond the fate of Kedem. As they cheerfully admit, the aim is get the Public Order Act “strengthened” to take the sting out of demonstrations against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories, and to have currently peaceful and legal demonstrations, declared illegal. To this end they encourage, and campaign for, the repeal of the Human Rights Act. In this they have the support of the mainstream Jewish Organisations, particularly the Community Security Trust. Further, to this end they look to provoke and have arrested, pro Palestinian demonstrators

Again there is a fair sprinkling of criminal minds in the organisation, notably the Jewish Chronicle’s favoured spokesperson, Anthony Dennison. Dennison is co chair of NWFOI.

He is an ex solicitor that the High Court ruled should be struck off. He was closely involved in the ” no win, no fee” scam, and, essentialy, was held to have defrauded his own partners in the then law firm, Rowe Cohen. Dennison appealed his striking off, and The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that Dennison represented ” a substantial risk to the public”. He certainly does. Not least those pro Palestinian demonstrators he and his comrades manage to get framed.

His fractured character seems to permeate into the most minor details of Dennison’s life .He is the ” manager” of Maccabbi, an under sixteen football team in Manchester. Last year his team were involved in a game they were losing 9-2 with ten minutes to go. At this point there was something of an incident. Two players got involved in a bit of a fracas, common in football games. However, there seems to have been an exchange of racist epithets. Dennison seized the opportunity to haul his team off the pitch, representing the spat between two players, one from each side, as his team being subjected to wholesale anti semitic abuse. The Manchester FA  were less than impressed by Dennison’s antics. The two players were suspended and Dennison was fined and suspended for foul and abusive behaviour.