“Slap in the face of Jewry” British far

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who recently organized a large rally in London called “Unite the Kingdom,” has become the target of anger. During his visit to Israel, Robinson spoke at a rally in Tel Aviv, which caused a storm of indignation. The minister who invited Tommy Robinson was called on to apologize for what was called a “slap in the face of British Jewry”.

The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, traveled abroad during his trial in a case that could see him jailed for up to three months if found guilty.

However, Westminster Magistrates’ Court recently heard that Robinson will be in Israel until next Saturday as a guest of that country’s government.

But now it is unclear whether these plans will be thwarted, because anger has flared in Israel over the invitation of such a dubious guest. The Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Scicli himself was forced to apologize for this invitation.

Scicli previously insisted he was “proud to host British patriot” Robinson, who has also sparked controversy in recent days by suggesting he would attend the match against England’s Aston Villa to support Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Robinson shared a video of himself performing at an event in Tel Aviv with his 1.7 million followers, adding the caption “Making history.”

The invitation to Robinson came after the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Jewish Congregational Synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.

Mr Sheakley described Robinson as “a courageous leader at the forefront of the fight against radical Islam”, but the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Governing Council responded by saying Mr Robinson “represents the worst in Britain”.

Jewish leaders said Mr Schickley’s actions struck the British community at its “darkest hour”.

The Knesset has now passed a resolution condemning Robinson’s reception and calling on Mr. Sheakley to apologize for it.

He was criticized for failing to consult either British Jewish organizations or the Israeli Foreign Ministry regarding the proposal by the Knesset Diaspora Jewish Relations Committee.

Gilad Kariv, chairman of the Knesset’s Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Committee, said: “Robinson’s visit was a slap in the face to British Jewry.”

The committee devoted a meeting on Tuesday to discussing the visit, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General Yakov Livne said “to the best of my knowledge” they had no contact with Shikli about the invitation.

And Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the committee: “If Schicley had asked us whether it was appropriate to invite a man who calls himself Tommy Robinson to the Knesset, we would have given him an unequivocal no.”

He added that by “rolling out the red carpet” for Robinson, “Israel has embarrassed both us and itself.”

It comes after Robinson supported Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans who were banned from attending a match against Aston Villa by wearing one of the club’s shirts – a move the Israeli club described as the “last straw” in its decision not to sell tickets to its fans.

The Israeli team feared that even if Birmingham police turned around and allowed fans into Villa Park for the upcoming Europa League match, Robinson’s supporters might follow suit and pose as Maccabi fans to incite violence.

That led to the club deciding not to sell tickets to its fans for next month’s away match at Aston Villa – after an international row erupted when police banned Israeli fans from attending the game, citing security concerns.

Robinson, who organized the “Unite the Kingdom” rally of thousands in September, caused a stir on social media last Friday when he posted a photograph of himself smiling wearing an Israeli club shirt.

A source said: “The danger posed by anti-Israel protesters was significant, but we thought we had a plan to prevent them from winning. But everything changed after Tommy Robinson intervened.”