PROGRESSIVE Jews have condemned a “shameful” Israel solidarity rally held on Sunday by the British Board of Deputies (BoD), which attracted far-right Islamophobe Tommy Robinson.
The poorly attended demonstration outside the Israeli embassy called in the wake of Israel’s 11-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which killed 248 people including 66 children was organised by the BoD and the Zionist Federation.
About 1,500 supporters turned up, in sharp contrast to the 200,000 protesters who joined Saturday’s Free Palestine march in the capital.
The rally was addressed by Israeli ambassador to Britain Tzipi Hotovely and BoD president Marie van der Zyl.
Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was among those in attendance.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News s political editor
An Israeli flag was ripped apart at pro-Palestinian march in central London on Saturday.
Only a heavy rain shower had prevented the flag from being set alight after a man climbed onto a traffic light close to the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London.
Elsewhere, young men could be heard chanting “Khayber Khayber Ya Yehud jaish Mohammad Sauf Ya’ud” (“Khayber Khaybar oh Jews, Mohammad’s army is returning”).
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign claimed over 100,000 joined the demo to protest against what they called the “brutal” violence against the Palestinian people.
Jewish News spoke to some of those who decided to attend the protest, which saw banners calling for the destruction of Israel help aloft by thousands.
ACTIVISTS rallied outside the British HQ of Israel’s largest arms firm today in protest against the apartheid regime’s deadly attacks on Gaza that left at least 28 people dead.
Nine children were among those killed in a wave of Israeli air raids on the strip on Monday night, according to Gaza health officials.
Activists in Britain responded with a rally outside the central London offices of Israeli-owned arms giant Elbit Systems, which manufactures weapons used by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Campaign group Palestine Action, which organised the Holborn protest, said that arms produced in Elbit’s British factories are used to carry out abhorrent crimes in Palestine and that campaigners refuse to allow its deadly trade to continue on British soil.