Arrested anti-Zionist compares himself to the Suffragettes - The Jewish Chronicle

The anti-Zionist activist Tony Greenstein has compared himself to the Suffragettes after he spent time in prison charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage. The 67-year-old made the comment in a blog about his experiences in HM Prison Birmingham after his arrest — along with five other supporters of the Palestine Action group — in the early hours of 9 March. Outlining how he was interrogated, Mr Greenstein claimed: “Another series of questions concerned whether I was an extremist! “I had much pleasure pointing out to the warder that all those who have fought for democratic rights in the past, such as the Suffragettes, were called extremists in their time.” Mr Greenstein wrote that he and the other five pro-Palestine activists “were all charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage and going equipped to cause criminal damage”. After appearing in court in Wolverhampton, he revealed he was “given conditional bail, a curfew and reporting weekly to the Brighton police”. He alleged his arrest was, he wrote, “part of a coordinated attempt by the police to crack down on any action directed at the operation of Israeli arms company Elbit”. Mr Greenstein claimed that while in Oldbury, the West Midlands Police holding centre, he and the other activists “were separated from each other and given no access to the outside though news of a demonstration outside was leaked to us”. He said that Birmingham prison was in fact “far more tolerable than being in a police cell”. He added: “The food was much better and we had a TV in the cells and association with other inmates, although we were locked in a cell for 23 hours a day because of Covid, which is rampant in the prison.” The JC reported on Mr Greenstein’s arrest last week. A statement issued by Staffordshire Police on Monday confirmed: “A 67-year-old man from Brighton has been charged with possessing an article with the intent to destroy property after being arrested by colleagues at West Midlands Police in Walsall in the early hours of Tuesday 9 March 2021. “Anthony Greenstein of Little Crescent, Rottingdean, has been remanded in custody following an appearance at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 10 March.” The case is listed for 7 April for plea and trial preparation.