6 August 2012

To Whom It May Concern,

It has come to our attention that the al-Quds Day March is being advertised on Transport for London buses. As an advert for a political event, this advert contravenes section 3.1 (p) of the TfL Advertising Policy which states 3.1 ‘Advertisements will not be approved for, or permitted to remain on TfL’s services if, in TfL’s reasonable opinion, the advertisement falls within any of the following categories.’ (p) ‘The advertisement relates to a … a political cause.’

Quds Day is an annual political rally introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. In creating the day, Khomeini said “I ask all the Muslims of the world and the Muslim governments to join together to sever the hand of this usurper [Israel] and its supporters.”

More recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iranian State news that “The Quds Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems; any freedom lover and justice seeker in the world must do its best for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the path for the establishment of justice and freedom in the world”

The particular advert, apparently placed by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), directs people to that organisation’s website for details. The IHRC website’s details on the event make it clear that this is an explicitly political rally.

Their page on the Quds Day rally[1] includes the following quote “Oh Muslims and deprived of the world, rise up in unity and take your destiny in your hands. Lets start from where we live. We should sanction their economy and puppets in our countries. We should deny them any breathing space until we free our nations of their perfidy. It should ever remain in our minds that we can free Quds only when we free our nation of its corrupt elements.”

At previous al-Quds Day Marches in London the flag of the Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, has proudly been on display by participants alongside signs stating “We are all Hezbollah now!” Speakers at previous rallies made inflammatory political speeches calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.

We appreciate that this might not have been apparent when the advertising was first accepted in good faith. However, in light of the explicitly political nature of the event being advertised on TfL buses, we are sure that you will take this opportunity to apply your Advertising Policy consistently and remove the adverts.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Newmark                                                                           Jon Benjamin

Chief Executive                                                                          Chief Executive

Jewish Leadership Council                                                Board of Deputies of British Jews

The Co-operative Group has decided to boycott four Israeli suppliers that have operations in Israeli settlements.  Fair Play and Co-operative members had tried to prevent this policy from passing (see earlier blogpost here). This decision was taken by the Co-operative Group Board, rather than by the membership through their regional meetings (Israel Statement for Regions).

Fair Play has put the following statement out to the media:

The Co-op’s decision to reformulate its policy on settlement goods to include a boycott of four Israeli companies is naïve and a retrograde step.

This extension is significantly less than the full boycott of Israel sought by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. However, the Co-op has not fully understood the Jewish community’s serious concerns with an ever-increasing slippery-slope boycott policy.

Despite the Co-op’s claims that they are applying their policy even-handed, goods from Occupied Northern Cyprus, for example, may still be sold in Co-ops and labelled as “produce of Turkey”.

The Co-op claims that it may buy more produce from other Israeli companies in place of these four. This remains to be seen, and we will monitor the outcome closely.

The following statement was issued by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Community Security Trust and the Jewish Leadership Council:

As British Jewish community organisations, we believe that racism in all its forms must be confronted. We have a history of working together with allies throughout British civil society, to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect where racists are unable to succeed.

We are appalled that the University and College Union brought Bongani Masuku to Britain. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) recently found that Mr. Masuku’s statements amounted to hate speech against Jews and Israelis. Furthermore, the SAHRC found that he “surely intended to incite violence and hatred”.

UCU hosted Mr Masuku, the International Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, as a participant in a ‘private’ conference on boycotting Israel. During his visit to the UK for this conference, Mr Masuku is also touring the country to promote a boycott of Israel on university campuses.

As the largest Union in Further and Higher Education and a self-proclaimed campaigner against racism, it is irresponsible and grossly offensive of UCU to bring Bongani Masuku to the UK, given his track record.

UCU has chosen to connect its boycott activities to antisemitism by hosting a man who was found to have engaged in hate speech against Jews. It was unacceptable for UCU to ignore Mr Masuku’s well-publicised remarks before choosing to invite him. The scornful dismissal by UCU of Jewish concerns over the presence of Masuku on British campuses is simply not good enough.

Every year since it was founded, UCU’s Congress has voted to boycott Israeli academics. As well as harming both Israelis and Palestinians and putting up unnecessary barriers to peace, such a boycott effectively discriminates against Jews, both in Israel and in the UK. UCU’s own legal advice says that a boycott of Israeli academics “run[s] a serious risk of infringing discrimination legislation” and “would be unlawful and cannot be implemented”.

Given this, UCU’s decision to organise and fund an Israeli boycott conference is bizarre in the extreme. A UCU invitation to Mr Masuku, presumably to share his experience and expertise on the boycott is especially troubling as, in addition to the recent SAHRC finding, he has called for the targeting of “any business owned by Israel supporters” in South Africa – a term that includes most Jewish-owned businesses.

UCU’s hosting of Masuku and their refusal to engage with the concerns of the Jewish community follows a pattern: the Union refused to address the resignations of large numbers of Jewish academics from UCU in recent years, and summarily rejected members’ complaints of antisemitism. UCU has allowed its politics on Israel to override the concerns of its Jewish members and students. It appears that UCU simply does not care about the anti-Jewish impact of its activities.

It is now hard to see how UCU can continue to play a constructive role in the Government Group on Antisemitism and Higher Education when its latest actions are likely to encourage antisemitism. The Government should review UCU’s membership of this group as it has failed to oppose antisemitism inside its own structures. UCU cannot credibly be a part of the solution to antisemitism while its activities are encouraging the problem.

**PRESS RELEASE**

The Fair Play Campaign Group today expressed concern at the publication of a report targeting kosher shops in Britain.

The report, commissioned by a SOAS department and written by a Dutch company, purports to investigate “UK economic links with Israeli settlements”.

However, it also lists the names and addresses of four kosher food retailers in Britain, claiming these shops stock foods that might be produced in the West Bank. Although hundreds of small independent retailers stock these goods, these shops are not included; small kosher shops are disproportionately targeted alongside the major supermarkets.

Members of the Fair Play Campaign Group’s Board commented on the release of the report: -

Jon Benjamin, CEO of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said

Kosher shops are disproportionately targeted by this sinister and misleading report. SOAS should never have paid a Dutch company to write what is effectively a handbook for boycotting Israeli and Jewish companies.

Jeremy Newmark, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council, said:

We warned the Government that promoting sanctions against ‘settlement goods’ would encourage those pressing for a full boycott of Israel – this confirms our fears. Worse still, support for this boycott has seamlessly become an attack on Jewish companies and individuals here in Britain. The targeting of kosher shops takes us into very disturbing territory.

ENDS