Tony Greenstein online posts pulled over claim antisemitism rally backed by EDL

Posts by a Jewish blogger in London have been removed from US-based writing platform Medium after he alleged that the antisemitism rally in Manchester last month was supported by the far-right.

Following a complaint from the Board of Deputies, the site took action against Tony Greenstein, who has been expelled from the Labour Party. He currently co-chairs Labour Against the Witch-hunt, which argues that the party’s antisemitism scandal is purposefully overblown and counts MP Chris Williamson among its supporters.

The Board drew attention to Greenstein’s article titled: ‘NW [North West] Friends of Israel, Tommy Robinson and the EDL [English Defence League] are Holding a Demonstration Against Antisemitism in Manchester.’

A Board spokesperson said: “This is a complete lie with no factual basis… There was absolutely no involvement of the EDL and Tommy Robinson, indeed the organisations involved have denounced Tommy Robinson multiple times.”

It added that speakers included the Chief Rabbi, Board president Marie van der Zyl and MPs such as Ivan Lewis, Lucy Powell, James Frith, Kate Green, Chris Green and Mary Robinson, and was supported by Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

A spokeswoman for Medium said: “We have reviewed the case in greater depth, and found the account to be in violation of our rules. It has been suspended.”

Greenstein had urged support for a counter-protest to the Manchester rally, promoting Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), and said this mustered 200 supporters.

In his article, which remains on his blog, he said the Board and MPs were “taking part in a demonstration against ‘antisemitism’ organised by a group that is friends of the British far-right including the EDL and Football Lads Alliance… Step forward NW Friends of Israel.”

He added: “This demonstration has nothing to do with antisemitism and everything to do with supporting Israeli apartheid.”