News
Zionists and anti-Zionists unite to form 'Jewish Bloc' at anti-Donald Trump protest in London
'We will be proudly Jewish in the face of Trump's antisemitism'
July 13, 2018 08:14
'We will be proudly Jewish in the face of Trump's antisemitism'
July 13, 2018 08:14A Jewish contingent will be taking part in the mass protests against Donald Trump, with both Zionists and anti-Zionists uniting to oppose his visit to the UK.
The “Jewish Bloc”, which is expected to number more than 100 people, will be taking part in both the march the central London on Friday afternoon and the subsequent rally in Trafalgar Square.
It will also host a Kabbalat Shabbat service in a London park after the demonstration.
In a statement from the organisers of the Jewish Bloc, Mr Trump was described as having “risen to the presidency on the back of a wave of nationalism, racism, misogyny, transphobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism. Now he thinks he's welcome in the UK.”
President Trump has faced a number of accusations of antisemitism, despite his daughter Ivanka having converted to Judaism and his decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
His final campaign ad before the 2016 US Election spoke about the “levers of power in Washington” and “global special interests” as pictures of prominent Jews appeared on screen.
President Trump was also condemned by a number of Jewish groups for his comments after violence in Charlottesville last year, where he talked about “very fine people… on both sides”.
The original rally in Charlottesville had been organised by antisemitic white supremacists, with slogans chanted including “Jews will not replace us” and signs reading ‘Jewish media is going down,’ and ‘Jews are Satan’s children.’
The Anti Defamation League, America’s foremost antisemitism watchdog, described Mr Trump as “equivocating on prejudice”, while the Jewish Mayor of Charlottesville accused him of having struck a “devil’s bargain” with antisemites.
The Jewish Bloc statement said of Friday's protest: “We will sing, we will pray with our feet and we will be proudly Jewish in the face of Trump's antisemitism.”