George Galloway booed at Brexit rally

George Galloway booed at Brexit rally

Apparently, some Brits, too, are fed up with the anti-Semitism permeating the halls of power in England.

Last week, I wrote about recent instances of anti-Semitism on Britain’s campuses and how it reflects attitudes among the political elite.  I didn’t even mention Respect Party leader George Galloway because he is no longer a member of Parliament.  Galloway was MP from Bradford West from 2012-2015 until losing to the Labor candidate last year.

But Galloway is back in the news.  He has joined with Nigel Farage and the UK Independence Party (“UKIP”) in championing the upcoming referendum to withdraw from the European Union.  Shortened to “Brexit,” the vote is set for June 23.

Prof. Jacobson discussed Galloway’s anti-Israel derangement last May.  He refuses even to speak with an Israeli:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ad-Mk4R7iQ

When Galloway lost his seat, he blamed, among others, the “Zionists:”

UK Media Watch compiled more examples last February:

When Galloway openly calls for “the destruction of the political state of Israel”, he’s not only sanctioning the end of the only Jewish state in the world, but advocating a position which will all but certainly lead to the ethnic cleansing of millions of Jews.

When Galloway expresses support for violent, antisemitic extremist movements like Hamas and Hezbollah, he’s in effect endorsing their insidious Jew hatred.

When Galloway said he was “enthralled” by Gilad Atzmon’s book The Wandering Who? (described by CST as “probably the most antisemitic book published in this country in recent years.”), he was legitimizing – if not outright endorsing – Atzmon’s neo-Nazi style anti-Jewish racism.

And, when Galloway walked out of a debate with an Israeli Jew, declaring “I don’t recognize Israel and I don’t debate Israelis”, as when he declared his district an “Israeli-free zone“, he was not only ostracizing and demonizing six million Jews, but sending a message to the millions of non-Israeli Jews in the world who are Zionists that they are morally beyond the pale. . . .

A Jewish reporter writes how he was treated at a Galloway rally in Bradford last May:

The press officer — whose name I miss — says she has called Bradford HQ and they now “know who I am”: I must leave immediately.

I walk out and onto the sidewalk, and take a picture of the Respect activists and the seven Asian men milling about outside the Church. They have come to see Galloway: The event is described on social media as a rally for supporters.

A burly Asian man in a black suit and sunglasses rushes up and grabs me round the neck, pinning me to a low perimeter wall. “Get out, you fucking Jew,” he shouts. I am being throttled as around ten Asian men surround me. My teeth chatter as a man in a tracksuit punches me in the head.

“Delete, delete,” they shout at me, “delete the photos.”

An older man in a shiny crooner’s suit is shouting. “Let’s call the police. Let’s get him arrested.”

I fumble to delete the pictures and repeat over and over:

“You’re frightening me. Please let me go.”

The older man gestures for me to be released.

I look back at the Respect officials: but they look away.

Elsewhere, Galloway has been accused of implicitly endorsing violence against Jews.

Galloway’s reemergence in the Brexit context is making some waves.  While Galloway’s anti-Semitism may appeal to the nativists among the Brexit supporters, it is apparently alienating others.

Last week, Galloway was the surprise guest at a Brexit rally, and not all in the audience were pleased.  According to Huffington Post:

A huge anti-EU rally in Westminster ended on a controversial  note this evening after more than a hundred people walked out as George Galloway took the stage.

The Respect Party leader was unveiled as the special guest at the end of the Grassroots Out event, prompting cries of “anti-Semite” from some in the crowd.

As people flocked from the hall, organisers were seen by the Huffington Post UK telling security staff to “shut the doors” in fear of a mass walk out.

One man who walked out told the Huff Post UK: “He’s a despicable person: anti-Israel, supporting terrorist organisations, supporting Hamas, supporting Hezbollah.”

Another said: “We need proper people, proper democrats. He won’t do us any good.”

A third man said simply: “I can’t stand the man.”

The rally continued and it seems the the vast majority in the audience stayed.  Even so, it is heartening that some, even among the putative Europhobes, recognize Galloway for what he is.

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