Free speech wins: London’s nee-Nazi protest against London’s ‘Jewification’ in photos
The anti-Jew rally was meant to be staged by the delis and synagogue’s London’s Golder’s Green. The demo was againt the “Jewification of London”. It was instead staged at Richmond Terrace in Westminster.
To counter the demo, the group Golders Green Together (GGT) was formed:
It was set up by the London Jewish Forum and Hope Not Hate after the neo-Nazis announced their intention to hold a rally in the London suburb to protest against its “jewification”.
Over recent weeks GGT has leafleted the area, lobbied MPs and the police, and urged local shops to drape their properties with gold and green banners and ribbons as a symbol of defiance.
But police moved the demo.
The Guardian notes why:
Far-right activists had planned their protest for the sabbath in an area with a 40% Jewish population. They planned to burn copies of the Talmud – the book of Jewish law and tradition – and effigies, in private in order to avoid arrest but filmed for sharing online.
But the Metropolitan police decided to impose conditions under the Public Order Act 1986, moving the demonstration to Whitehall and limiting it to one hour. They said senior officers did not have the legal power to ban a static protest, had a duty to safeguard the right to protest and could not impose unreasonable restrictions upon that right.
And how did it go? The Indy reports:
About a handful of people turn up, wave the Confederate flag, and get completely and utterly drowned out by a counter-demonstration of anti-racists.
It’s a triumph of free speech.
Don’t ban it and call it ‘hate speech’ and criminalise free thought. Let is talk and let debate rage. Trust the people
“I think the neo-Nazis have a right to protest but it was the correct thing to do to move them away from Golders Green,” said Esther, a 27-year-old from North London.
“They’re just a bunch of idiots. I almost feel the fact that people turned up [to counter-protest] validates them,” added her friend Eli, 25.
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Posted: 5th, July 2015 | In: In Pictures, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
