Speaking to BBC News, Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) chief Gideon Falter branded people protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine “lawless mobs”.
And in a statement, Gideon Falter appeared to suggest protestors and those opposed to Israel’s conduct were “racists, extremists, and terrorist sympathisers”. He’s also said that “central London is a ‘no-go zone’ for Jews”.
But a group of Holocaust survivors challenged such an account:
Our group was ‘openly Jewish’ in that we all wore placards saying that, as descendants of Holocaust survivors, we oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Every major pro-Palestine demonstration in London has included a large Jewish bloc which has received nothing but support and warmth from their fellow demonstrators.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it “plausible” Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. And Israel has now killed over 14,500 children.
CAA openly equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism on its website. It brands former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as antisemitic for part of a clarification he attempted to issue to the party’s adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Specifically, CAA said the following amendment was antisemitic:
It cannot be considered racist to treat Israel like any other state or assess its conduct against the standards of international law. Nor should it be regarded as antisemitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact, or to support another settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In 1948 Israel established itself through colonising 78% of Palestine. It has occupied the rest of the nation since 1967, as well as Syria’s Golan Heights.
Corbyn sought to protect the right of free speech on colonisation, which the IHRA text questioned.
A parliamentary report in 2015, meanwhile, stated:
it is important that the (CAA) leadership do not conflate concerns about activity legitimately protesting Israel’s actions with antisemitism, as we have seen has been the case on some occasions
A Met officer earlier in April prevented CAA chief Gideon Falter from moving through the anti-genocide and anti-occupation crowd at a London protest because he looked “openly Jewish”.
The notion is bizarre given openly Jewish people attend the marches consistently. The Black Jewish Alliance, part of the Jewish bloc at the London protests, has described the demonstrators as part of an “eclectic and diverse movement of concerned citizens”.
Israel’s apologists would rather smear people than politically engage in constructive discourse. We must uphold freedom of expression over colonialism in the face of those who want to silence us.
Featured image via Sky News – YouTube
