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EXCLUSIVE: Secret tape from inside Palestine convoy revealed

One month after the notorious London drive-by, the JC exposes a second wave of activists

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An audio recording obtained by the JC from inside the leading coach of Saturday’s Palestine convoy reveals activists calling Naftali Bennett “Satan” and claiming that the UN was being manipulated by a shady network in favour of Israel.

In an impassioned rant, the demonstrators, who left Forster Square in Bradford at 8.30am, claimed that members of the supposed network were Islamic mythological demons called “Dajjals”.

They even praised North Korea for its support for the Palestinians, demanding that the dictatorship send warplanes to destroy Israel.

It comes a month after a convoy notoriously drove through Jewish areas of London, with activists shouting “f*** the Jews, rape their daughters” out of car windows.

Four men were arrested after that incident, though none have so far been charged.

Jewish groups have called on the police to take tougher action to stem the tide of antisemitism that has swamped British streets at pro-Palestine demonstrations in recent weeks.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), said: “The organisers of the convoys claim that their purpose is not to drive across the UK inciting hatred and instilling fear.

“They claim that those who called for Jewish children to be raped are an isolated case.

“This secret recording reveals the demonstrators’ true colours.

“Thinking that they were among friends, the mask slipped. Nobody else on the bus could be heard objecting when these things were said.”

In the JC’s exclusive recording, activists are heard speaking a mixture of English and Urdu. The first speaker says:

“You know that new guy who’s come [new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett]? He’s a bigger Satan than the other one, you know, Ben Net’yu (sic) or whatever his name is.

“This one that has come is a blatant one. I have seen his videos where he said killing children and Arabs is minor, it’s nothing.”

A female companion replies: “I don’t understand why are they getting away with that? I don’t get it.”

The first speaker explains: “Because you know the UN, they are full of sh**, right.”

Another man interjects: “The UN and the ICC (International Criminal Court) and the organisation of Islamic countries, they haven’t done jack for 73 years, they haven’t done any sanctions, nothing.

“They haven’t put any pressure to say that you are committing atrocities. They are scared. Because they are all interlinked.

“Because they are tied with each other, they are friends with each other. They watch each other’s back.”

The first speaker adds: “Freemasons.”

The second male activist claims: “This is that Dajjal’s error. This is Dajjal’s piece.”

The female protester concludes: “They are all Dajjals. It’s evil, innit?”

Saturday’s convoy gathered at 8:30am outside Bradford Forster Square railway station. Vehicles included one coach – believed to have been hired in Keighley, near Bradford – and about eight private cars, including sports cars and Range Rovers.

A flyer advertising the convoy had promised two coaches, one for men and another for women. But only one materialised, meaning that activists of both sexes travelled together.

While the owners decorated their vehicles with Palestinian flags and slogans, organisers were heard expressing their disappointment at the turnout, which they had hoped to number at least 50 cars.

Almost all of the activists joining the convoy appeared to be second and third-generation British Pakistanis, who spoke English mixed with broken Urdu.

The driver of the coach was employed by the coach company and not involved with Palestine activism.

Up to a dozen people – mostly men – went on the coach. Before the convoy reached Leicester, two police cars started following it without activating their sirens.

Officers stopped the convoy after reaching the city. They checked the drivers’ papers, ran registration searches and inspected the vehicles before allowing them to proceed on their way.

Organisers reflected that the police had stopped them because of the protestors who had shouted antisemitic comments in Jewish areas of London in May.

During the rest of the journey to London, those on the coach made general conversation about British politics, Palestine and football.

This time, the activists avoided north London and headed straight into the city, where they mixed with thousands of other demonstrators from left wing groups, filmed each other, posed for selfies and shouted anti-Israel slogans.

As was the case at other recent pro-Palestine rallies, extreme anti-Israel sentiment was on display.

A placard depicting Benjamin Netanyahu as Hitler and calling Israel a “Nazi state (sic)” was among the controversial images present. Another homemade poster asked: “What is antisemitic is saying that all Jews support violence and imperialism”

A man covered in fake blood and clutching a mutilated and bloodstained doll was seen in the crowd as those around him denounced Israel as an “apartheid state”.

Loud chanting recorded by the JC included the refrains, “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terror state”, and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a slogan that calls for the obliteration of Israel.

Speakers made repeated claims that Hamas was a legitimate resistance force rather than a terror group, and made furious calls for the British Government to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made a speech in which he repeatedly referred to Israel as an “apartheid” state.

He told the crowd that he wanted to “pay tribute to our courageous Jewish comrades who have stood with us in this struggle”, and called on bankers and the City of London to “stop funding the apartheid regime in Israel”.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, now sitting as an independent MP after the Labour whip was removed, also addressed the rally.

He said: “We are coming together because we are united in our support for the Palestinian people.”

He added that he was “proud” to include recognition of Palestine as a state in the 2019 Labour manifesto, concluding that “we must stand together for the freedom for the people of Palestine”.

The Bradford activists arrived home at 10pm.

The bombshell audio recording raises serious concerns over growing levels of radicalism and conspiracy theories in British Pakistani communities.

Last week, the inquest into the death of London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan – who was of Pakistani heritage – concluded that he had been lawfully killed by police after stabbing two Cambridge graduates in 2019.

Other British extremists, including ISIS-supporter Anjem Choudary and 2017 London Bridge attacker Khuram Butt, are of Pakistani origin and had links to radicals in the country.

The disclosures follow a JC investigation last week revealing Urdu-language Jew hatred on YouTube, in videos that have reached millions of people.

In one clip, watched by hundreds of thousands of Urdu-speakers in Britain and around the world, firebrand Pakistani YouTuber Zaid Hamid said:

“Hitler was an angel, the way he took action against Jews, the way he killed Jews.”

Other online broadcasters railed against the “Jew lobby” which “strangled America” and accused the JC of being part of a Jewish “cabal”.

YouTube has since removed the footage.

In earlier version of this story a placard was described as reading: “What is antisemitic in saying that all Jews support violence and imperialism?” The word 'in' should have been 'is' and has now been corrected, with the question mark also removed.

 

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