Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Plague Rats invade North London

AS if we did not have enough racists and fascists crawling out of the woodwork to exploit conditions of austerity and decline, accompanied by the fears and hatreds stirred by government and media, the eastward expansion of the European Union has brought to these shores not just decent workers and people fleeing persecution, but some of the very bigots and thugs responsible for that persecution.

In the past, it must be said, British intelligence connived at bringing in East Europeans who had served in the wartime SS, and similar units, perhaps with the intention of putting them to use again against the Soviet Union. Later we had several Italians wanted in connection with bombings and the "strategy of tension" in their own country, for whom London seemed like a magnet and a safehouse,

While successive Home Secretaries pretended to know nothing, MPs were fobbed off or stopped asking questions, and Italian extradition requests seemed to disappear in the post, these fascists were able to coach British admirers, and one ran a business and fundraising "charities" here, till it became safe to return home without facing more charges and enter "respectable" politics as a fascist.

But the new breed of migrant fascist is brasher and more open about conducting activity here. We have had the Hungarian organisation Jobbik running fundraisers at a London pub in spite of local protests. Jobbik has risen to be a major party in Hungary, apparently unimpeded, if not boosted by its fondness for uniforms and attacks on Jews and Gypsies.

Considering that Nazi racism regarded Poles as an inferior species, only to be used as slave labour until they could be dispensed with like the Jews, it must take a peculiar mentality among some youg Poles today to not only adopt traditional antisemitism but form groups seeking to emulate the Nazis. But such groups exist, apparently, and one of them has carried out an organised racist attack in London.   

The gang identified as Polish neo-Nazis attacked people attending a music festival in Tottenham.
 They appear to have particularly singled out Jewish people for attack.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/man-stabbed-during-violence-as-polish-neonazis-storm-tottenham-music-festival-9556346.html

Whether or not the Polish group was encouraged to launch this raid by our 'own' British Nazis we can bet they will take inspiration from it, and that it will be used by those in the media and elsewhere who make it their business to spread antagonisms, not least hostility to Polish immigrants.

So I am glad to hear there was a quick response by figures from the Polish and Jewish communities joining to condemn the attack, and by other local minorities in and around Tottenham, particularly Black and Muslim people, siding with the Jewish people who were attacked.

The Unite Against Fascism (UAF) campaign managed to call a vigil at very short notice last night at Tottenham Green.  The organisers were also able to read out a statement from the Jewish Socialists' Group. 

 :
"Greetings and congratulations from the Jewish Socialists’ Group on calling this solidarity vigil at such short notice. Unfortunately we cannot be here tonight with our banner but have spread the word through our networks.
We express solidarity with all communities in our multicultural city who experience abuse, intimidation and violence from the enemies of our common humanity.
This weekend Neo-Nazis are attacking Jews; a few weeks ago Britain First were abusing and intimidating the Bengali community in Brick Lane. Every day the right wing press are targeting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. They do not distinguish between their targets. We should not distinguish between ourselves in fighting back.
We must stand united and proud of all who make up multicultural London. If we can deepen our commitment to each other across the divisions the racists and neo-Nazis wish to create, they are the ones who will remain small, marginalised and isolated,
Far right groups have been emboldened by the successes of racists in recent elections – whether UKIP in Britain or the ragbag of racist, antisemitic and fascist groups across Europe, but remember, London bucked that trend.
Ours is an anti-racist and anti-fascist city. We have an anti-racist and anti-fascist majority. When we have united, we have defeated them in the past and we will do so once again. No pasaran!

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1 Comments:

At 12:50 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Sad to say, all peoples and faiths are capable of producing their bigots and thugs. We Jews too have some, even wearing the kipa of religion while trashing its ethics, ("oppress not the stranger, for ye were strangers") and as you know there are some very intolerant Hindus.
Poles were our fellow prisoners at Auschwitz, which was set up by the German occupiers and companies who used inmates as slaves.
Today Poles are both exploited and scapegoated by racists, and it is sad that some have so forgotten or remained ignorant of their history as to seek to ape their oppressors.
But fortunately these are but one group, and there are others whom we can be glad to welcome as comrades.
It is folly and worse to brand entire peoples or faiths as enemies. The bginning of wisdom is to distinguish friend and foe.

 

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