In Photos: When The English Defence League Came To Bradford, Twinned With Palestine

WHICH group is more violent – the English Defence League or Unite Against Fascism? The groups met in Bradford earlier today. On the UAE side, someone waved a Palestinian flag? Why they did this is unclear – although the trouble and the wall were evocative of the Middle East front line.

Is the flag being used as a symbol of Islamism? The EDL have in the past unfurled the Star of David? Why? Israel is not at war with Islam. Not all Palestinians are Islamists. Is the trouble in Israel – with the involvement of Iran-backed Hizbollah and Hamas – two wholly racist Islamist organisations – seen as something that could happen in the UK?

Can anti-fascists be Islamists?

So. What occurred? And did the police antagonise the violence with heavy presence, giving the protestors a target?

The fight in the city’s Urban Gardens began at 2 p.m. local time when EDL supporters threw objects at their opponents, the news service said – Bloomberg

At one point, a group of about 30 from the EDL demonstration got into a nearby area of waste ground, where they threw half-bricks at police before they were dispersed. – Sky

Supporters of the English Defence League (EDL) threw bottles, stones and cans at Unite Against Fascism protesters in the multi-ethnic city of Yorkshire on Saturday. Fears of scenes of race riots seen in the city nine years ago had been raised by the proposed rallies. – Al Jazeera

Sky’s North of England correspondent Mike McCarthy said: “Part of the programme was to keep these two groups apart.But a very threatening situation developed when a group of UAF supporters and their associated groups managed to get very close to the EDL, despite the heavy police presence here.” – Sky News

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