The Janus Faced Fiona Sharpe of Sussex Friends of Israel

As an Interfaith Representative Fiona Preaches Tolerance but as a Zionist She Defends Jewish Supremacy and the murder of Palestinians

Fiona Sharpe is seen here shouting ‘fascist’ in the ear of Yasser, on a protest outside the Israeli Sodastream shop on the Western Road, which Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign picketed between 2012 and 2014. Sodastream was based at Mishor Adumim adjacent to Ma'ale Adumin in the West Bank, from where Palestinians had been evicted. 



Fiona Sharpe suffers from political schizophrenia. On the one hand she preaches tolerance and mutual respect as part of the One Organisation Inter-Faith Group. On the other she is a staunch defender of any racist crime that the Israeli state perpetrates. Nothing Israel does is too despicable for Fiona to defend it.  She is a founder of Sussex Friends of Israel who are known for belonging to the far-Right of the Zionist movement.

Simon Cobbs - founder of Sussex Friends of Israel, supporter of the EDL and JDL - accused of blackmail by fellow Zionists

As Co-Chair of Sussex Friends of Israel Fiona Sharpe supports an organisation whose members, like founder Simon Cobbs, have no hesitation in standing alongside the EDL. SFI represents the most rabidly racist wing of the Zionist movement. Nowhere on its Facebook group is there even an acknowledgement of the daily racism that Palestinians experience, both in pre-1967 Israel and the West Bank.

While the world is condemning the proposed eviction of Khan al Ahmar - SFI acts as the cheerleader for the ethnic cleansers

For example there is universal condemnation of the proposed eviction and demolition of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar and its famous school, built of tyres, which serves 150 Palestinian children locally. Its is intended to relocate the population next to a garbage dump at Abu Dis because Palestinians are considered no better than human garbage by Israel’s colonial administration. 

What kind of state is it whose Prime Minister reassures his party that a Bedouin village 'will be destroyed' in order to make way for Jewish settlers.

This is not one whit different from the situation in South Africa yet Fiona Sharpe is happy to defend Israel's colonisation of the West Bank with all it entailed. This is also what Brighton and Hove councillors defended when they supported, last October, the IHRA definition of 'antisemitism' which criminalises opposition to Zionism and the Occupation.

It is obvious to most people that the demolition of a Palestinian village to make way for Jewish settlers is racist but not to Fiona.  Imagine that British Jews were told to evacuate where they lived in order to make way for Christians.  How would that not be racist and antisemitic?

Khan al-Ahmar was a Bedouin village illegally evicted in 1952, four years after the establishment of the Israeli state, and forced to move to the West Bank. When Israel conquered the West Bank in 1967 they were described as 'illegal', unlike the Jewish settlements which sprang up around them.  Fiona Sharpe sees nothing wrong in this.

Sussex Friends of Israel make it clear that they support Israel's racist  Prime Minister - a man who took to Facebook on election day to complain that 'droves' of Arabs were voting and that the Jews should get out

At the present time Netanyahu and the Israeli Cabinet have been forced to delay Khan al-Ahmar's demolition. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda warned Israel that the forced relocation of the village was a “war crime.” Yet Sussex Friends of Israel are happy to praise the attempts by Israeli propaganda group BICOM to justify the proposed demolition.  As far as SFI was concerned the campaign in defence of Khan al Ahmar, was simply part of a campaign ‘whose motives are simply to demonise Israel. Crucial that the truth is known!”

SFI and Ms Sharpe argue that the Palestinian village is ‘illegal’ according to the Israeli law but Palestinians in the West Bank have no say in the laws that govern them because they live under military rule. It is for example impossible for Palestinians to get planning permission unlike Jewish settlements.

An example of the racist logic that pervades SFI's Facebook page - A free Palestine, i.e.an end to military dictatorship, racist discrimination etc. really means 'Kill the Jews' - this is the same sick siege mentality that affected the white settlers in southern Africa

SFI’s Facebook Group is a cesspool of hate. It is difficult to know why this Zionist hate group still has charitable status. It seems that the Charity Commission’s anti-Muslim bias which began under its previous Islamaphobic Chair William Shawcross continues.

Sussex Friends of Israel’s Code of Conduct – Hypocrisy Writ Large

On the About Section of their web site Sussex Friends of Israel says it is

'dedicated to developing greater support, awareness and understanding of Israel through education, communication and community partnership.'

Nothing wrong with that you might think. I’ve also tried to do my bit to develop greater understanding and awareness of Israel! SFI

 ‘seeks to honour individual, cultural and role differences, including... those involving age, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, language, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital or family status and socio-economic status’

SFI debates calling me a 'kapo' ie. a collaborator with the Nazis in the concentration camps - this is the level of abuse that is the norm in SFI - Fiona Sharpe is perfectly happy with this abuse of Jews who don't agree with Zionism

When the current Trump's US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, called J-Street, a liberal Zionist group, Kapos, he felt obliged to apologise for his disgusting remark as a condition of being ratified by the Senate. Yet this abuse is quite normal for SFI.

SFI also promise to

engage meaningfully with those working towards a peaceful, just, democratic and lasting resolution of the conflict between Israel and its neighbours.’

I leave it to your imagination how ' engaging meaningfully with those working towards a peaceful etc. resolution of the conflict' squares with calling people Kapos

and in a section ‘Respect, Responsibility and Integrity to

‘respect(s) the opinions, knowledge, insight, experience and expertise of all members of the general public.’

Fiona Sharpe's SFI praises the Israeli snipers who opened fire on unarmed demonstrators killing over 200 of them - they are apparently 'brave' - this is Judeo-Nazi territory

According to the twisted logic of SFI, the fact that 'anti-Israel' groups mourn a Jewish MP is proof of 'antisemitism' - the 'logic' is BIZARRE

How then does SFI put its fine and honourable principles into practice? Let us look at a few examples of their touching tributes to Jewish Labour MP, Gerald Kaufman, the Father of the House of Commons on the occasion of his death.

These are just some of the vile comments on the SFI Facebook page when they heard of the death of Gerald Kaufman MP - whether they square with SFI's Code of Conduct which is 'based on the principles of respect, responsibility and integrity' that 'respects the opinions, knowledge, insight, experience and expertise of all members of the general public.'  I shall leave to others to judge.

Sylvia Landman is brevity itself: ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’

Julian Kruger ‘I'm sorry good riddance. These Jews are the worst of the worst’.  

Alex Ian’s view was that ‘every dog has his day’

Michelle Albagli’ expressed the ‘Hope he is now where he belongs’ which I suspect doesn’t mean what most of us would hope it meant.

Reuven Magnes could only muster a ‘what a repulsive man he was’ and

Leslie Ann Rose agreed ‘Repulsive ..... a great adjective to describe Kaufman!  

Stephen Packter believed he was ‘A Jew who brought legitimacy to being anti Semitic’ whilst

Ros Ellis was positively happy, rejoicing in Kaufman's death: “Some days are better than others.”

Tony Lynas was angry that ‘The Labour Council will be splashing the cash on the Muslim voter to buy the vote in the by-election just like in Oldham’ whereas

 Rob Levy wondered whether whether ‘we can anybody find a positive reference to Israel made by Kaufman at any stage in his life?’  

At least Peta Stockton decided to keep shtum ‘On the basis that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, I'll say nothing’

The death of Israeli settlers always receives a tearful mention - the death of Palestinians is either ignored or celebrated since they are all 'terrorists' - indeed those killing them are termed 'brave'

You can read the full list of the hateful comments that Sussex Friends of Israel posted on its Facebook in the post I did on his death: Sussex Friends of Israel – Our Code of Conduct is based on the Principles of Respect,Responsibility and Integrity

We should remember that to his dying days Gerald Kaufman considered himself a Zionist and was proud of his friendship with Israeli Prime Ministers. Yet Kaufman overcame his background as he witnessed Israel’s indefensible treatment of the Palestinians.

Kaufman is probably best remembered for one of the finest speeches that the House of Commons has heard:

My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town in Staszow (Poland). A German soldier shot her dead in her bed. Madam Deputy Speaker, my grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grand mothers in Gaza.’

To Sussex Friends of Israel the chant 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' equals murder of every single Jew.  Zionists simply can't  understand that a state which isn't based on ethnic supremacy - to them that is death

Israel does not hesitate to use the Holocaust in order to demonise its opponents. The Holocaust is shamelessly used to justify Israel’s barbarous attacks as the Palestinians become substitute Nazis. For example Matan Vilnai, Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister threatened the Palestinians with a ‘bigger Shoah’.

Israel, as an ethno-nationalist state, uses the Holocaust as the rationale for its existence but when Gerald Kaufman compared what happened to his grandmother to the treatment of Palestinian grandmothers he was met with an outpouring of venom. It was deemed ‘anti-Semitic’.

Jeremy Corbyn and other examples of SFI’s Bigotry

This poster appears at least twice on SFI's Facebook page - no doubt it was part of SFI's pledge 'to refrain from harassment – unwelcome verbal, offensive, abusive or physical behavior – especially when
 such conduct interferes with another person or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.'

SFI’s Facebook page carries copies of a poster containing a circumcision joke which calls Corbyn a ‘prick’. Usually people who make circumcision jokes are members of fascist and anti-Semitic parties like the NF and BNP. Clearly SFI also enjoy a good ‘Jewish’ joke.

One member calls for Corbyn to be assassinated by Israeli death squads whilst another Sydney Reece tells us that ‘someone should have put him down like an animal he is.’ This is the hateful daily died of abuse that Fiona Sharpe presides over.

It is impossible to avoid the anti-Corbyn venom on the SFI website. Without a trace of irony they carry a front page article from the Daily Mail ‘Proud of Your Party’ in respect of the false story that Luciana Berger needed police protection at the Labour Party conference. The Daily Mail’s anti-racist record, it employed Katie Hopkins until recently, is well known. Its concern for ‘anti-Semitism’ is touching given that it supported Hitler in the 1930's and campaigned against the admission of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.

Islam is about to take over - the cry of Tommy Robinson and his DFLA

The Other Side of Fiona Sharpe

Fiona Sharpe though has another side. She is a member of One Voice, which is part of the Community Safety Forum, as a representative of Sussex Jewish Representative Council. In that capacity Fiona told us that:

“All the residents of our city must feel included and be valued equally for their diverse contributions to the life of our city.  We will continue to work in partnership with the council, police and other agencies to ensure that racist and religiously motivated incidents and all hate crimes are reported, and all victims and witnesses are supported effectively.

"We will continue to support and stand for human rights and are committed to ensure that all residents in our city are treated with respect and dignity regardless of race, religion, gender, disability or sexual identity.  We will work to protect those rights of all our residents equally.

The human rights that Fiona supports do not extend to Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank nor to Palestinians in Israel nor indeed to critics of Israel. Detention without trial, torture, the imprisonment of children as young as 12 does not disturb ‘inter faith’ Fiona. ‘Interfaith’ is something Fiona is passionate about.  As she says:

"We appreciate that there is always more that can be done to help and support each other and in Brighton and Hove we can always do more. Our faiths and diversity are precious to us and we want to build on this for a future which is safer and healthier for all of us.”

These pious platitudes should be read alongside the Islamaphobic comments on SFI's Facebook page and comments such as those above about the 'terrible Muslim way of life' 

In Faith groups unite to combat religiously motivated hate crime Fiona explains that

 “In these times of increasing racial and religious intolerance, I am proud to be part of this initiative, bringing together people of faith to support one another within our City of Sanctuary.  It is particularly important that we are outward facing and I am pleased that a major part of the work we will be undertaking is to go out into schools and colleges to further educate young people about Islam and Judaism.  Religious intolerance is caused, in large part, by fear and lack of knowledge.  We will try to address both of those issues”

One wonders whether Fiona would apply the spirit of the City of Sanctuary to the Israeli state which is, at this very moment, trying to deport 40,000 Black African refugees for the crime of being Black and not Jewish.

As Netanyahu explained, ‘Illegal African immigrants threaten identity of Jewish state.’ In other words the presence of thousands of non-Jews threatens the demographic majority of Jews. In a Jewish state Jews must be the majority. Religion is turned into a race. This kind of racism Fiona Sharpe’s SFI is more than happy to support even whilst she hypocritically talks about a City of Sanctuary in Brighton.

Events such as Faith communities across Brighton & Hove stand together as One Voice do nothing to combat racism and are a means whereby liberals can assuage their consciences. However they can also be harmful. Interfaith gives cover to supporters of Israel who, under the guise of representing British Jews, demand that non-Jewish religious groups, especially Christians, sign up to the Zionist agenda. And that agenda is conflating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. 

As long as Fiona Sharpe is a member of the One Voice group, other religious representatives should withdraw. Having this bigot on the Committee makes a mockery of the inter-faith group.

The racist Rod Liddle is a hero to the posters on Sussex Friends of Israel site who cannot imagine why the Labour Party has suspended someone who believes suicide bombers should choose Tower Hamlets to blow themselves up in as it is only Muslims they will kill

SFI’s Facebook page is completely free of Fiona’s interfaith verbiage. On hearing the news that Islamophobe Rod Liddle was suspended from the Labour Party, SFI spluttered their outrage on Facebook.  Peta Stockton ventured that it was 'shooting the messenger' to which SFI responded ‘I think that sums it up perfectly’. And what was Liddle’s message? Things like “If you handed over Israel to the Palestinians they would turn it into Somalia before you could say Yom Kippur,” and “For many Muslims the antisemitism is visceral, an ingrained part of their unpleasant ideology,” Racist? Of course not because in the eyes of Fiona Sharpe’s SFI, the only racism that exists is anti-Semitism.

Human Rights barrister Adam Wagner calls Rod Liddle 'head spinningly racist' 

Liddle recently suggested in his Sunday Times column that suicide bombers should blow themselves up in Tower Hamlets since, as is well known, Muslims form a majority of the population there. In Liddle's racist eyes Muslims are all terrorists. To SFI Rod Liddle can do no wrong. See Fury after Rod Liddle tells Islamists to blow themselves up in Tower Hamlets

Martin J Cooke was aghast that Liddle was suspended for ‘pointing out the blatantly obvious intrinsic antipathy which vast numbers of Muslims harbour towards Jewish people is suspended on the spot?’

Mark David Ivan Haley was also in no doubt.  Liddle was

‘spot on. The Labour Party has become the party of Islam in this country... the Labour Party would be left with very little in the way of troops on the ground if their Jew hating Islamist supremacists were banned. The party is run in places like Luton, Bradford, Birmingham and other high density Moslem enclaves from the Mosque not the social club.’

Despite all her interfaith work for tolerance, for some strange reason Fiona Sharpe has not got round to cleansing the cesspit of hate otherwise known as SFI’s Facebook page. And why should she?  She agrees with it.

Nowhere was Sharpe’s hypocrisy more in evidence than in her speech to the Council on the IHRA ‘definition of anti-Semitism’. It is no surprise that she supports the IHRA, which conflates anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism. What is of surprise is that the Council, including even its nominally left-wing members, agreed with her. It’s worth examining Fiona Sharpe’s claims.

First of all she claimed to speak on behalf of the ‘vast majority’ of Brighton and Hove’s 3,000 strong Jewish community. There is no evidence to support this assertion. It is doubtful whether more than 1-2% of them have even read the definition. Her claim that the adoption of the definition gives the Jewish community protection against anti-Semitism is risible. Definitions of racism don't stop racist attacks. 

Today the level of genuine anti-Semitism is at an all time low, compared to Islamaphobia and anti-Gypsy/Roma racism.  Where Fiona Sharpe's dishonesty showed was her claim that

‘like all minority communities and those with protected characteristics are fully entitled to define hate against us. We do not intend to tell other minorities what is or isn’t an attack against them. We see no reason why others should feel better equipped to tell us what is or is not anti-Semitism.... The IHRA in no way limits an individual’s freedom of speech and it is equally clear that robust legitimate criticism against the government of Israel is perfectly permissible but as MP Gareth Snell clearly stated last weekend  “if you are not able to criticise Israel without breaching IHRA it isn’t IHRA that is stopping you it is probably that you are an anti-Semite' ... this in no way affects other minority communities... or any causes they wish to support and champion.’

There are a number of lies  in this passage which B&H Councillors, like a group of sheep, swallowed whole. It is worth examining them.

Firstly although Jews in Brighton and Hove are a minority, they are not an oppressed minority. Can anyone seriously claim that Jewish people in Britain today, a mainly White community, are economically oppressed or suffer from state racism (Police violence, Windrush style deportations, Stop and Search?). Billionaires are also a minority should they also be allowed to self-define their ‘oppression’? Racism is not subjective. The whole concept of 'self definition' is bogus. It assumes that Jewish people all see themselves the same.  A thoroughly racist trope.

At the time of the controversy over the Satanic Verses 30 years ago, the novel by Salman Rushdie was held by some Muslims to be blasphemous and anti-Islamic. It was seen as a form of racism. Others of us said that the real issue was free speech including the right to criticise all religions. It was Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa which was the issue. The primary question was freedom from religious coercion. ‘Self-definition’ means you must not critically examine claims which are made by politico-religious groups.  Under ‘self definition’ everything is equally valid and you have to take on trust claims made by charlatans like Fiona Sharpe.

The IHRA was sourced in and written at the behest of the Israeli state. Its purpose from the first was to protect Israel and Zionism. Its author, Kenneth Stern admitted this. In The Working Definition –A Reappraisal Stern described how some Jewish organizations were using it ‘in an inappropriate way, which bastardizes what it was intended’. He accepted that the definition was acting to chill free speech. He also admitted that Dina Porat of Tel Aviv University, a died-in-the-wool Zionist was the inspiration behind the definition.

The IHRA has nothing to do with the self-definition of Jews. Jews in Britain don’t constitute one single community. Probably the majority of Jews are secular and don’t belong to synagogues and are thus not represented by the Zionist communal organisations like the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Others, the large Ultra Orthodox community, do not recognise the Chief Rabbi or the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The second lie was the claim that ‘We do not intend to tell other minorities what is or isn’t an attack against them’. It is a complete lie. The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism contains this example:

‘Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor’

Clearly words do not possess the same meaning for Zionists as they do for most people. What else is this if not telling Palestinians that to describe their ethnic cleansing and continuing discrimination as racist is itself antisemitic..

It doesn’t matter whether it is true or not that Palestinians are racially oppressed, it is anti-Semitic! So the 2014 Acceptance Committees Law that enables Jewish communities to reject Israeli Arabs because they do not ‘fit in’ is deemed not to be racist. Hundreds of communities in Israel are Arab free as a result. But to say this is racist is 'antisemitic'. The expulsion of the original Palestinians in 1948, in order to create a Jewish majority state is thus not racist according to this absurd definition.

We have to forgive the deliberately obfuscatory language. One of the 11 examples of 'antisemitism' is "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor." How can the existence of anything be an endeavour? Perhaps the demolition of Palestinian and Arab villages to make way for Jewish settlements is also not racist? Perhaps giving grants to Jewish students whilst denying them to Arab students is also not racist? 

This debate in the Jewish Chronicle as to whether or not it is racist only to sell or lease land to Jews not all Israelis demonstrates the depth of Zionist racism which the IHRA seeks to ban

Perhaps Brighton and Hove Council leader Daniel Yates could why a situation in which the Israeli Land Authority and Jewish National Fund lease and rent homes to Jews only whilst denying them to Arabs is not racist?

The third lie of Fiona Sharpe was her statement that ‘The IHRA in no way limits an individual’s freedom of speech’. Like Humpty Dumpty Fiona has a strange attitude to the meaning of words. Black equals White. The IHRA states, in another example that ‘Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’is anti-Semitic. What is that if not a limitation on an individual’s freedom of speech? If I compare HaTorah Hamelech, an Orthodox Jewish book which explains how Jews can legally murder non-Jews, children and infants included, to Der Sturmer, the paper owned and edited by Julius Streicher, that is anti-Semitic? Or if I describe the statement of Rabbi Dov Lior, Head of the Yesha (settler) Council of Rabbis that ‘one Jewish fingernail is worth more than 1,000 non-Jewish lives’ as Nazi-like that too is anti-Semitic.

If words retain any meaning then the above must include a limitation on freedom of speech. Not only do words mean nothing to Fiona Sharpe but it would appear that 46 of Brighton and Hove’s councillors also share Fiona's learning disability.

The fourth lie is that ‘robust legitimate criticism against the government of Israel is perfectly permissible’. Here the lie is cleverer. The IHRA states that ‘criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic’ The only problem is that Israel is not like any other country. It is different in that it is a state of its Jewish citizens not all its inhabitants.

 If you question the fact that Israel is a Jewish state rather than a democratic state then the IHRA brands you as an anti-Semite. Instead of admitting this Fiona Sharpe quotes Gareth Snell MP that ‘if you are not able to criticise Israel without breaching IHRA it isn’t IHRA that is stopping you it is probably that you are an anti-Semite.’ It may be a good soundbite but it is also a wholly circular argument. Snell’s argument rests on the idea that the IHRA is concerned with anti-Semitism and not anti-Zionism.

Only SFI could quote Theresa 'Windrush' May in a discussion of racism

If you can’t criticise Israel without breaching the IHRA it’s not because you are anti-Semitic but because the definition, which is not even a definition, was devised in order to prevent any systematic criticism of the world’s only Apartheid state.

The fifth and final lie of Fiona Sharpe is the statement that ‘this in no way affects other minority communities... or any causes they wish to support and champion’. It prevents Arabs and Palestinians in Britain, to say nothing of Jewish anti-Zionists, criticising Israel’s racist and apartheid laws because it brands them ‘anti-Semitic’.

What is surprising is that all but one of the 47 councillors in the Council chamber (7 were admittedly absent) bought into these lies.  But maybe that too is not surprising.  Fiona Sharpe is a clever and astute operator.  She has inserted herself into the Safeguarding Communities anti-hate agenda whilst at the same time she is co-chair of the most bigoted and hateful of all organisations of all, Sussex Friends of Israel. Its Facebook pages are proof of the fact that they cannot even stop themselves spewing hate against a dead Jewish MP.

Whereas other Jewish groups and synagogues cancelled Kedar's speech when they heard about his reputation SFI insisted he go ahead and speak

Some measure of just how racist and misogynist SFI is was demonstrated by the speaking invitation they extended, in December 2014, to Mordechai Kedar. Kedar is an Israeli reserve officer and professor at Bar Ilan University who advocated the rape of Palestinian women in war.

In her devotion to supporting the Israeli state there is no lie and no action that is too much for Fiona Sharpe. That is why, when a member of Brighton and Hove PSC, Yasser, was charged with public order offences, Sharpe was happy to be swear on oath that Yasser had been aggressive and threatening.  Fortunately there was video evidence of the incidents she had been describing. Yasser was acquitted and Fiona Sharpe was show to be a cheap liar and perjurer. That she should have been accepted as a bona fide representative of the Jewish community demonstrates how useless these interfaith partnerships are and also how unrepresentative the Sussex Jewish Representative Council is.

There is of course a very simple definition of anti-Semitism that Brighton and Hove Council could have adopted.  It is to be found in the Oxford English Dictionary.  Anti-Semitism is defined as ‘hostility to or prejudice against Jews.’

One thing is for certain and that is if British Jews experienced even a fraction of the racism that Palestinians experience then they would indeed have something to complain about.

Tony Greenstein

Below is a report of the trial of Yasser on the blog of ‘book burner’. It describes in detail how Fiona Sharpe lied on oath in order to frame a member of Brighton PSC.

Sussex Friends of Israel - SIMON AND FIONA

Simon (Cobbs) is not the only criminal mind in  the tiny ragbag that make up SFI. Meet Fiona Sharpe.

When it was realised by the Hasbarafia ” high ups ” that it was better to have the likes of SFI inside the tent rather than outside it, and that, carefully managed, they could be quite handy as  useful idiots , they also realised that, in Simon, they had a huge presentational problem. His energy was indispensible but he was, and remains, a public relations disaster.

Hitherto, Simon, as SFI  founder, had been the one that was quoted. As well as being commander in the field, he was the spokesperson, and one much favoured by the Jewish Chronicle. Indeed Simon and Sandy Rashty were very much an item, and were an entertaining double act  that we are sorry to see go, now that Sandy is going up in the world. The way that they lined up the pins for each other on twitter was hilarious.

The suits knew better, and when Simon had his twitter account pulled for threatening Hannah Weisfeld,[a liberal Zionist] something had to be, and was, done. Unfortunately, SFI being a very small and meagre gaggle, the options were few. Fiona was the best in the way of an ” acceptable face” they could come up with. Fiona is easier on the eye than Simon but not easier on the ear, as those that stood outside Ecostream can testify. As can the judge that threw out the charges in the  recent court case, on the grounds of Fiona’s false testimony, and that heard her calling the alleged aggressor a “ fascist cunt”.

However, she is being carefully minded and is certainly an improvement in print and typescript. Unfortunately, when it comes to principle and veracity, she is scarcely any improvement at all.

Rather Fiona is an habitual liar, as a perusal of her comments re Southampton University conclusively demonstrates. She is very fortunate not to have been prosecuted for perjury in respect of her false testimony before a Brighton judge, referred to above.

The whole business originated in a demo and counter demo outside Ecostream in Brighton. Following the demo Fiona and Sandra Gross  went to Sussex Police, and made complaints of racially aggravated harassment against one of the anti Ecostream demonstrators. Sandra Gross is disabled and confined to a wheelchair. This is presumably why she was selected for the role, the sympathy card and all that. Racially aggravated harassment  is likely to be seen as so much more despicable when directed against a disabled person.

Be clear, the scam, as the SFI FB  page makes clear, was a conspiracy on the part of the whole of the, admittedly small, SFI  collective.

As a result of this complaint, it was decided, by the Directer of Public Prosecutions, no less ( !!!!), that there should be a prosecution. This despite there being no evidence except the shaky word of these two women. (or so it was thought at the time.)

The two women made written statements to  the police alleging that……

The defendent had called  them ‘nazis’, in a personally threatening and abusive way that caused them deep alarm and distress ‘as jewish women’. They alleged that he had come over to where they were positioned, called them both ‘fucking nazis’ and shook his finger at them in a menacing way.

They repeated these statements to their lawyers and to the court, both verbally and in writing.

Unfortunately, unknown to the simpletons of the  SFI gaggle, the whole ” incident” had been captured by video cameras both inside and outside the store. The defence lawyers were in possession of the video material and chose not to make its existence known to the prosecution. A choice they were perfectly entitled to make .

When the defence informed the judge that there was video evidence, Sandra Gross burst into tears. She perfectly well knew what it was going to show.

What it showed was ……..

That, throughout the period of time in question, the defendant  was standing several yards from the ‘victims’. At no point did he stand anywhere near them. On the video he was heard to say ‘You’re all nazis – all the zionists are nazis’.

The prosecution accepted that this video evidence captured the entirety of the incident.  With the witness statements directly contradicted by video evidence, the prosecution case collapsed.

The judge therefore ruled that the defendants behaviour had not been threatening, that his words were not personally directed at the witnesses, that his words alone in this context had not caused alarm or distress, and that the video footage showed that no one else at the demo had taken any notice of what he said – let alone been distressed. Therefore: ‘No case to answer.”

The interest here is that this scam was part of a general strategy of attempting to frame pro Palestinian demontrators, a strategy that North West Friends of Israel have adopted with particular enthusiasm

For example, they noisily demanded that an anti Kadem demonstrator be arrested for making a Nazi salute when he was perfectly clearly waving at the camera. Even the ultra compliant Greater Manchester Police were too embarrassed to run with that one..

https://vimeo.com/87202369