Guardian whitewashes extremism at London Al-Quds Day event as a ‘pro-Palestinian rally’.

The fact that the article completely omitted any mention of the extreme anti-Jewish rhetoric during al-Quds Day represents yet another example of the Guardian's broader failure to acknowledge the antisemitism that is endemic within much of the pro-Palestinian movement. 

On early Monday morning, 49-year-old Darren Osborne shouted “I want to kill all Muslims” as he drove a van into a crowd of worshipers at a north London mosque, killing one and injuring eleven.  The deadly assault – the third terror attack in London since March – occurred hours after Osborne was thrown out of a local pub for reportedly threatening violence against Muslims.

According to more recent reports, Osborne had also uttered hateful remarks about Muslims who were going to attend London’s Al-Quds Day rally, the subject of a Guardian report on June 20th titled “Finsbury Park suspect made abusive remarks about Palestinian march’.

Here’s how the Guardian characterised the Al-Quds Day rally.

The suspect in the Finsbury Park mosque attack allegedly made abusive and aggressive comments about a pro-Palestinian rally that took place in London hours before he drove into a crowd of worshippers.

However, Al-Quds Day is not merely a benign “pro-Palestinian” rally.  

Al-Quds Day, originally introduced to the calendar by the late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, is a hate-fest characterised by calls for Israel’s destruction and marchers routinely carrying flags of Hezbollah – a terror group that advocates the annihilation of Jews worldwide.

The Guardian continues:

Darren Osborne is said to have made the remarks about the al-Quds Day march, which is often targeted by far-right activists, the night before he drove from Cardiff to London.

The far-right English Defence League has targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrators during previous al-Quds rallies

These sentences are extremely deceptive.  

First, the link about English Defence League takes you to an article from eight years ago.  The Guardian fails to note that most of the energy animating opposition to Al-Quds Day rallies in recent years comes not from “far-right extremists” but from the mainstream Jewish community, due to the event’s yearly promotion of extremism, terror and antisemitism.

Further into the article, the Guardian quotes a statement from al-Quds Day organisers.

Before the march the organisers put out a statement saying the event would go ahead regardless. It said: “Despite the misinformation and lies currently being put out and the demonisation of the event that is taking place, the annual al-Quds Day march will still be going ahead.” 

The Guardian doesn’t ask what “misinformation and lies” the group is referring to, but it’s likely a reference to opposition to the rally by mainstream Jewish groups in the UK due to the extremist views expressed at past events, including ubiquitous calls for Israel’s annihilation.

Indeed, the concerns of British Jews were clearly vindicated, as reports and videos published by bloggers and activists attending this year’s counter-demo – documenting antisemitic rhetoric by al-Quds Day speakers – demonstrate.  

Here’s a good compilation published by blogger David Collier: 

Tellingly, the speech you heard somehow linking the ‘Zionists’ to the deadly fire in Grenfell, west London, and claiming “everyone knows that  Zionist Israel and ISIS are the same” was actually given by the lead al-Quds Day organiser (and director of the Islamic Human Rights Commission) Nazim Ali.

The fact that the article completely omitted any mention of the extreme anti-Jewish rhetoric during al-Quds Day represents yet another example of the Guardian’s broader failure to acknowledge the antisemitism that is endemic within much of the pro-Palestinian movement. 

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