UKLFI has written to Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, to request that Yisroel Dovid Weiss, a spokesperson for the anti-Zionist Naturei Karta movement, be excluded from the UK.
Mr Weiss has been invited on a speaking tour in April and May 2023, by Pete Gregson, along with Dr Azzam Tamimi, an associate of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Pete Gregson is a former GMB Union shop-steward, who was expelled for behaviour recognised by it as “antisemitic and racist in nature” and “simply unacceptable” Holocaust denial after he issued a press release saying that Israel is a “racist endeavour” and “tends to exaggerate the importance of the Holocaust for its own political ends”.[i] He resigned his Labour Party membership while under suspension.[ii] He is currently suspended and under investigation by the UK Scout Movement.[iii]
Talks are planned in 16 British cities, probably in mosques. Details of the plans are set out here: https://bogusantisemitism.org/rabbi-on-the-road-beyond-israel/
UKLFI has asked the Home Secretary to exclude Weiss on the grounds of public policy, public security and/or that his entry into the UK would not be conducive to the public good.
Yisroel Dovid Weiss
Yisroel Dovid Weiss has a history of making extreme and offensive public statements about the state of Israel, For example, while in Iran he stated:
“Zionism is the greatest factory of causing and exacerbating anti-Semitism around the world … Zionism and Israel is the root cause of all the bloodshed and animosity between Jews and Muslims including Arabs.”[iv]
“Unfortunately, the Zionists have succeeded in getting many countries to support them. They misused the Holocaust and the long history of anti-Jewish persecution to convince people that Jews need their own state.”[v]
“Any inch of the State of Israel is illegitimate and a rebellion against God, a rebellion according to the Jewish religion”[vi]
“So the concept of this Jewish State is a ploy, it is a con job, it is totally false and has no place in the realm of Judaism or in the narrative of the Jewish people”[vii]
“We will never accept this evil entity, this worthless State of Israel. It is forbidden to have a State and it is forbidden to have a State, compoundedly forbidden, because it is created by stealing the homes and the lives of the Palestinian people.”[viii]
“The only way to stop this bloodshed is to remove this sickness, this tumour, the thing that is causing bloodshed … ”[ix]
He has also expressed antisemitic tropes elsewhere, for example on a previous visit to the UK:
“Unfortunately the Zionists have control of the media throughout the world …”.[x]
Although he claims to speak for religious Jews, he is regarded by the overwhelming majority of Jews, religious or not, as a renegade who gives encouragement to our worst enemies.[xi]
Pete Gregson
In 2019, Gregson held a series of public meetings in Edinburgh, which were promoted as “An ideal opportunity to learn about the Palestine-Israeli situation and to improve discussion skills in a friendly and supportive environment”. The following statements by Gregson at the meetings were noted at the time by an attendee:
a) “They’re not the same as Nazis because they don’t use gas chambers. But they have got the same idea about racial purity. And the racial purity that the Jews want is that you have to be Jewish, otherwise you’re the enemy”.
b) “Nobody stops this racist march because we feel guilty because of the Holocaust. This is the card that the Jews in Israel play”.
c) “The Zionists have just as much pleasure killing Arabs”.
Gregson acknowledges that his views may be regarded as extreme:
“Some of you will find my views on Israel to be extreme, but they are my views, evolved through 20 years of reflection and my many close friendships with English Jews, most of who have leant towards Zionism – and my lifelong interest in Genetics and Molecular Biology. My conversations with Rabbi Ahron Cohen of the Naturei Karta have also influenced my views – probably most of all. The Gazans I know support my premise that the present-day Jews are actually, genetically, the Palestinians ….. I honestly do not expect any of you to share my views – some will think them naïve, dangerous – but I’m sorry to say they are my views. I believe that we have lost the argument against the Zionist colonisation of Israel – and must adopt a new tack”.[xii]
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI commented:
“These talks will stir up religious and racial hatred against the vast majority of British Jews who support and associate with Israel. The talks will also serve to promote extremism. We hope the Home Secretary will exercise her power to exclude Yisroel Dovid Weiss from entering the UK, thereby preventing his presence from purporting to endorse this charade on behalf of the Jewish community”.
[i] https://www.thejc.com/news/news/union-expels-official-who-said-israel-exaggerates-the- holocaust-1.477854
[ii] https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snp-mp-appears-alongside-man-27156713
[iii] https://bogusantisemitism.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Scout-Treasurer-Suspended-13.5.22.pdf
[iv] Interview, Tehran Times, 29 June 2011 https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/301640/Zionism-is-greatest-factory-of-causing-anti-Semitism-Rabbi
[v] Interview, Muslim Mirror, 16 May 2020 https://muslimmirror.com/eng/zionists-should-return-entire-occupied-lands-to-palestinians-rabbi-weiss/
[vi] Speech in Tehran, May 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAIhBZ2WZoo at 4:35
[vii] Ib at 6:40
[viii] Ib at 7:18
[ix] Ib at 8:15
[x] http://www.inminds.com/ihrc10years.php#3
[xi] New York Times, 15 January 2007 https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/nyregion/15rabbi.html; Jewish Telegraph 29 July 2022 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159396664642832&set=a.10150360181797832 (the intended tour referenced in this article was postponed to April/May this year)
[xii] www.bogusantisemitism.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Not_a_Jew.pdf