A founder of a left-wing news website has said he might “quit” after realising his followers sent antisemitic messages to comedian David Baddiel.
Shlomo Anker, who co-founded The Pileus, which has more than 30,000 followers on Facebook, tweeted on Wednesday: "After seeing the 1,000s of aggressive tweets to @Baddiel maybe it's best I give up politics. People have crossed a red-line.
“The material I make for @thepileus is shared by many of those who send him & other Jews abuse hence I feel dirty to continue so it’s time for me to quit.”
After seeing the 1,000s of aggressive tweets to @Baddiel maybe it's best I give up politics. People have crossed a red-line. The material I make for @thepileus is shared by many of those who send him & other Jews abuse hence I feel dirty to continue so its time for me to quit.
He added that, if he did not quit altogether, he would reduce the amount of work he does.
If I do continue, I'd only spend a fraction of the time that I've spent before. I'd just do those short vlogs about the NHS etc... The videos take 10 to 15mins to make and have a different audience to the people who share my more aggressive anti-tory material.
— Shlomo (@hapoelpolitics) May 23, 2018
He added "many of my other Jewish friends as well as myself" receive abuse, which he described as "the norm now in the UK".
the reason i mentioned Baddiel is just because he is famous. Many of my other Jewish friends as well as myself (who are political active) get the same abuse from others in the Left. The way he is spoken to is not a one-off. Its the norm now in the UK.
— Shlomo (@hapoelpolitics) May 23, 2018
Mr Anker’s decision to stand back from politics was in response to abuse directed at Mr Baddiel from supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, after the comedian appeared on Frankie Boyle’s New World Order show last Friday.
The JC had earlier revealed how Mr Boyle and his guest had been targeted with openly antisemitic hate after they discussed the causes of left-wing antisemitism on the BBC2 show.
A former member of the Jewish Voice organisation, Mr Anker had previously mounted attacks on the Board of Deputies, and denounced Labour MPs such as John Mann for their campaigns against antisemitism.
He has also previously labelled Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” while expressing support for hard-line pro-Palestinian causes.
Earlier this week he wrote: "While I've received some Anti-Semitic tweets I've not reported them to Twitter as I'm not a dirty snitch. Abuse isn't nice but that doesn't mean I'll report any1 to Google, Twitter or Facebook.”
He also stated said he had "called out the fake compassion for Jews from frauds...who use Jews as a political football".
But on May 19, he tweeted: "From the 8 Jewish friends i know who backed Corbyn in 2015, only 1 still backs him. From what they tell me, none think Corbyn is Anti-Semitic & they still like his policies & hate Tories. But they've got so much abuse from supporters on Twitter that was too much so they gave up.”
Mr Anker wrote on his online blog that he was born in London, but has lived in both Israel and Germany.
He joined the Labour Party in 1999 but left two years later “due to my left-wing ideas.”
He re-joined the party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn stood as leader. He has written for the Morning Star and Jewish magazine J-Voice.
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