BDS activists plan JW3 protest over Israeli film showing
Expelled Labour member Gerry Downing leading demonstration against Jewish community centre, claiming it's trying to 'recruit young people' to the IDF
Pro-Palestinian campaigners are planning to protest outside JW3 community centre over a film it is showing as part of Seret, the Israeli film festival.
Camden Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other far-left activists accused the festival of hosting a fundraiser for the IDF by showing a film called The Other Story.
JW3 was accused by the pro-Palestinians of trying to help recruit young people into the Israeli army to “kill children, medics and people with disabilities”.
Gerry Downing, who was expelled from Labour over alleged antisemitism, and a member of the left-wing extremist Socialist Fight group, said: “We are calling a picket of the JW3 [Jewish community centre] which is hosting a fundraiser to recruit young people in the UK to join the Israeli army – the same barbaric army that deliberately kills children, medics, press and people with disabilities.”
Writing on Facebook about the planned protest, JW3 Chief Executive Raymond Simonson said: “In case you’re wondering what heinous crime we have committed, we are showing an Israeli film, that a partner organisation has now purchased all the tickets to, and has resold them at a mark up to raise money for the Israeli Scouts association.
“You know, the Jewish youth movement with those Israeli teens who go into our Jewish schools and teach our kids Hebrew songs, and run ceremonies for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Rabin across the community.”
He told Jewish News: “We have had a protest outside before, when we hosted [former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak. It was the same seven or eight people with big banners.
“We have to be prepared of course, on the assumption that something might happen. However, we have liaised with our own security, the CST and the Met to ensure people can feel safe.”
Simonson added: “I respect people’s right to protest, as long as they are not violent abusive or prevent people from entering the venue.
“It’s a shame, however, that of all the venues where this festival is taking place, it is only the Jewish community centre which has been singled out. Make of that what you will.”
A spokesperson for JW3 told the JC: “The Jewish Agency bought all the tickets out for the film and resold them as a fundraiser for the Tzofim, the Israeli Scouts in the UK, not the IDF.”
According to Seret’s directors, this year it highlights films and documentaries which “comment on the plight of ‘the other’ through examining immigration, sexual transition and disability”.
They said: “We have chosen films which examine fatherhood and family trauma with heart and soul; which open the lid on suppressed political intrigues, which share religious and spiritual journeys, and which demonstrate the effects of the wars of yesterday and today.”
Simonson called on people to show their support for the festival. “I’d love for each screening to be completely sold out, showing that boycotts of culture in a Jewish Community Centre have no place,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
