Fascist Tactics as the Zionist Far-Right and Christian Fundamentalists Unite
to Silence the Palestinian Voice

In 2014,
after two years of demonstrations, Israel’s Sodastream shop in Brighton closed.  Sodastream had intended the Brighton shop to be the first of many. However so unhappy was their experience, it being both a financial and public relations disaster, that they thought better of it.

Sussex
Friends of Israel, which had been formed to defend the shop, was at a loss. Not
knowing what to do, some of them relocated to Brighton’s New Road handing out
leaflets persuading people to oppose ‘anti-Semitism’.

In fact it
was mainly the Christian fundamentalists of SFI who continued the battle,
replete with Israeli flags.  Most people
who encountered these god botherers realised very quickly what they were about
and either ignored them or, it would seem, gave them a hard time. Earlier this
summer SFI had had enough in New Road. They complained that because the Police
wouldn’t protect them from the public they would relocate to the Clocktower in
order to harass us.

Brighton
and Hove PSC has had a stall at Brighton’s Clocktower for nearly two decades.
Every Saturday between 12 pm and 2 pm we hand out leaflets and mount
exhibitions to demonstrate the plight and oppression of the Palestinians. This
has been a source of continuing annoyance to SFI who have nothing positive to say
about Israel and find it difficult to defend things like house demolitions,
shooting unarmed demonstrators and gaoling children. For the Christian zombies all
and every injustice if part of Gods plan to return the Jews to the holy land!

So once
every 2 weeks for the past few weeks, SFI have turned up in the same place as
the PSC stall, with the specific intention of trying to disrupt what we were
doing. This has included standing directly in front of our stall or as was the
case last weekend blowing whistles and making as much noise as possible to
prevent conversations, coupled with a few individuals who tried to snatch leaflets
from people. They have even employed someone who is mentally ill to harass
people.

This is not
unique to Brighton. It is clear that as part of Israel’s counter-BDS strategy, groups
of Zionist activists nationally have decided to try and harass and disrupt Palestine
solidarity activities. I have covered this in a number of posts and identified
many of the individuals involved.

Many of
these same people have taken to picketing and trying to disrupt Palestinian solidarity
meetings, led by one particular individual, Jonathan Hoffman, a former
Vice-Chair of the Zionist Federation. These Zionist activists are on the
far-Right, many of them involved in Tommy Robinson’s DFLA.

Brighton
& Hove PSC has maintained a stall at Brighton’s Clocktower for nearly two
decades.  In that time we have distributed
thousands of leaflets, help in the education of many people concerning the
world’s only Apartheid state – it has been almost completely incident free.

There is no
doubt that with the level of provocation and deliberate disruption that SFI are
already causing a public order problem will develop.  Indeed SFI are going out of their way to
provoke incidents. SFI are not interested in persuading people of their cause
because they don’t have one.  And as they
have found out from New Road people are not interested in apologetics for
racism and apartheid.  That is why they
are intent in causing as much disruption and as many incidents as possible in order
to prevent Brighton PSC holding its stall.

Although a
couple of Police have been posted in the vicinity of late that is just a
palliative.  It is therefore important
that supporters of the Palestinian, anti-racists and anti-fascists and those on
the Left in Brighton and Hove show their solidarity and support the right to organise
and hold anti-racist/anti-imperialist stalls and activities without attempts by
supporters of Apartheid to disrupt and close down free speech and the right of free
assembly.

Tony
Greenstein