Camila Turner of The Daily Telegraph contacted IHRC for comment about its letter to the UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper about the recent riots, which included the well documented statement that some of the far-right fomenting the violence are supported by non-UK based pro-Israel / Zionist supporters.
Our response and her initial email are printed below for the public record.
Dear Camila,
Thank you for your inquiry. These matters have already been addressed publicly, and the relevant details can be found in our previous statements, which are accessible via the following links here, here, here, and here. You are welcome to refer to these for our comprehensive position.
Regarding the points you have raised:
Your first point is a false premise – as our correspondence linked above shows that was not the case. The assertion that we blamed the riots on ‘Zionists’ is based on a misrepresentation. As our published statements clearly demonstrate, our comments specifically referenced certain groups or individuals supporting far-right groups and individuals, not all Zionists and certainly not an entire religious or ethnic group.
Your second point starts with a false equivalence leading to an absurd conclusion. Criticising specific Zionist groups or individuals does not imply that we are blaming other individuals or groups, Jewish or otherwise. Furthermore, it is worth noting the majority of the world’s Zionists are Christian evangelicals, yet you seem uninterested in their feelings or exploring that possibility, presumably as this enquiry is based on unfounded accusations of antisemitism.
It appears you not only misrepresent us and those we work with, including many Jewish organisations and individuals, you are also misrepresenting British Jewry per se. It is worth noting that many Jewish writers state that conflating Jewishness and Judaism with Zionism, as you are doing, is a form of antisemitism.
We are not religious leaders; we are a civil society organisation.
It is not divisive to call out those supporting racist far-right groups. That should be obvious, even to an outlet like yours that regularly demonises migrants and Muslims.
With regard to your last two points, it appears you are more concerned with defending the acts of Israel, a genocidal apartheid regime. We have not spoken of or blamed Jews, and we believe this is clear. To accuse us of doing otherwise is a very current and also well-worn anti-Muslim trope.
We are an anti-racist organisation that challenges all forms of racism including and especially Islamophobia, and also antisemitism. We work with many Jewish partners on this and are one the founders of the Convivencia Alliance which brings together Muslims, Jews and Christians to work for a just society.
As a matter of policy, IHRC publish all responses to the media in full so that should they misquote us or leave our response out, there will be an accurate public record of the exchange.
From: Camilla Turner
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2024 10:59 AM
To: Islamic Human Rights Commission
Subject: IHRC / riots
Hello,
I am writing an article about discussions around the causes of the riots.
The article will note that the chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) blamed “Zionist financiers abroad” for the far-right riots which have swept across England.
In an open letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper published on Tuesday, Massoud Shadjareh said: “Enabled by their Zionist financiers abroad, far-right elements have weaponised the tragic murder of three young girls in Southport to incite the country into pogroms against Muslims and people of colour.”
Open letter: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/letter-to-home-secretary-and-44-police-chiefs-in-england-and-wales/
I wanted to ask how you would respond to claims that
– It is “alarming” to blame the riots on ‘Zionists’
– Since 80% of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionist, this is tantamount to blaming the riots on the Jews
– Religious leaders should be trying to ease communal tensions right now, rather than doing “the opposite”
– This sort of language is “extremist and divisive”
– this sort of language creates an image of Israel as “puppeteers”, and puts forward an image of the Jews as “all powerful” which is a classic anti-Semitic trope
– Trying to pin the blame on Israel “reeks of anti-Semitism”
Please could you get back to me by the end of today, 6pm at the latest.
Many thanks,
Camilla
—
Camilla Turner
Political Editor
The Sunday Telegraph
