Racist at a peace rally?

The zionist smearsite, Engage, has run a story from the Brighton local, The Argus, saying how police swamped an anti-war demo searching for a racist and seeking to allay fears of antisemitism on the part of the local Jewish community. Here's the story:

Hunt for racists at peace protest

POLICE did not release details of a violent racist attack at a peace rally because they feared publicity would prevent them catching the culprits, it was claimed today.

Officers were accused of wasting resources by sending up to 100 officers to marshal a demonstration in Hove last Saturday involving just 150 people.

But Chief Supt Kevin Moore said the presence was a response to complaints of violence, disorder and anti-semitism at a rally in July.

A Jewish man has told The Argus he was attacked by a baying mob and branded a terrorist during the demonstration on the seafront near Palmeira Square last month against the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbolah. Chief Supt Moore said: "We received a number of complaints by residents of Palmeira Square who declared themselves to be Jewish, who felt intimidated and felt some aspects of the July protest were racist and anti-semitic.

"We did not release details of the attack because we planned to take the victim to the march on Saturday to see if he could point out the culprits."

He was accompanied by two police officers but did not recognise anyone.

It also emerged an anti-semitic banner depicting a Jewish Star of David and a swastika was seized from an eight-year-old girl at Saturday's march.

But protest organisers say they are insulted at Chief Supt Moore's claim that the demonstration was an attempt to provoke and incite what he described as a large Jewish population in the area.

Organiser Glenn Williams said: "I am shocked at that.

"There was no racism or anti-semitism on either march to my knowledge.

"If there was then I would be deeply concerned and certainly would condemn it. But I simply do not believe it happened.

"This is a diversion tactic by the police because they simply got it wrong."

A 24-year-old half-Jewish doorman says he was attacked at the protest in July.

He says he was driving along Kingsway with his girlfriend, also 24, when he had to stop because the protest had spilled into the road.

He said: "Somebody clocked I was wearing a Jewish symbol on my necklace.

"All of a sudden, a crowd of people had surrounded the car and were shouting anti-Jewish chants.

"Somebody stuck a banner through the car window and I had to struggle to fight them off.

"They were calling me a terrorist and Jewish scum and insulting my family.

"They were pushing and kicking the car and caused £400 damage to the bodywork.

"This abuse was racist and highly personal and deeply offended me.

"It's not what I expected from a peace protest.

Tony Greenstein tried to post this comment on the Engage site but apparently the moderators felt that it didn't "contribute to the debate"

This is however worrying because it shows how elements of the State are prepared to use 'anti-Semitism', which I've long argued has become the 'anti-racism' of the Right in order to attack democratic protest and the left.

Tony Greenstein was one of the organisers of the march and Charlie Pottins (Random Pottins) posted this to the Just Peace list on Tony's behalf:

Anyone who bought the Argus today will have seen in the letters column an attack by Chief Supt. Kevin Moore on the organisers, including myself, of last Saturday's demonstration over Lebanon. In it he accuses us of having been motivated by anti-Semitism for choosing to march from Palmeira Square!

If Moore had any knowledge of the area concerned he would, of course, know that Palmeira Square is situated in the heart of Brighton and Hove's Arab community as a walk down that part of Western Road would demonstrate. It is doubtful that Palmeira Square contains any higher concentration of Jews than other areas of Brighton and Hove but in any case it is irrelevant. Many Jews marched on both marches because many many Jews are equally horrified by what Israel did in Lebanon on the pretext of the capture of 2 of its soldiers (having itself held Lebanese hostages for years).

The excuse for the Police's swamping of the march was what was termed a 'serious' racist attack on someone who is Jewish. We always thought this was fishy because there was no attempt by Police to ask people at the demo for information concerning this assault. In fact the 'assault' was nothing of the kind. I and others witnessed someone described in the Argus today as 'half-Jewish' (!) shouting out at an obviously Arab demonstrator 'terrorist'. If anything this was racist abuse, but no doubt the pig ignorant Moore wouldn't understand why. The person so abused became angry and in a confrontation with the motorist, which was why Idemonstrators pulled him off before there was any violence. But if Moore is so concerned about racial violence he might now start investigating the murder of Jay Abatan, whose murderers are still free thanks to the negligence and racism of Brighton Police.

It would appear that the Argus didn't bother to check the letter first, or assumed that if it came from a senior Police officer it must be ok. In fact the letter is highly libellous and I've given Chief Supt. Moore 28 days to respond before proceedings are issued in the High Court for defamation. As a Jewish member of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which helped organise the march, the accusation is outrageous. Made even more so because the only Jewish person assaulted was me, by Moore's own officers!

To be continued...