To add yet more weight behind the fact that Zionists are not real Jews –
Plans by an Israeli government minister to host the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson have sparked a furious backlash from leading Jewish bodies in the UK, who have labelled him “a thug” who represents the “very worst of Britain”.
The controversy erupted after Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, announced on Friday that he had invited Robinson—whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon—to Israel. The invitation was extended in the wake of a recent terror attack on a Manchester synagogue.
In a post on the social media platform X, Chikli described Robinson as “a courageous leader on the front line against radical Islam.” Robinson subsequently confirmed he had accepted, stating the Israeli government would cover his flight and hotel costs for a visit planned for after a court appearance on 13 October. He said his itinerary would include meetings at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and a visit to the West Bank, which he referred to by the term favoured by right-wing Israeli politicians, “Judea and Samaria”.
A Unified Front of Condemnation
The response from mainstream British Jewish organisations was swift and unequivocal. In a rare joint statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council issued a damning rebuke of both Robinson and Minister Chikli.
They described Robinson as “a thug” who represented the “very worst of Britain,” and stated that his presence in Israel “undermines those genuinely working to tackle Islamist extremism and foster community cohesion.”
Their criticism was directed squarely at the Israeli minister, accusing him of ignoring the community he is meant to represent. “Minister Chikli has proven himself to be a diaspora minister in name only,” the statement read. “In our darkest hour, he has ignored the views of the vast majority of British Jews, who utterly and consistently reject Robinson and everything he stands for.”
The condemnation was not limited to communal bodies. Labour Friends of Israel, a group encompassing MPs and peers, also called for the invitation to be withdrawn. They pointed to Robinson’s multiple criminal convictions, stating, “He’s no friend to the Jewish people. Amichai Chikli should withdraw this invitation now.”
A Pattern of Opportunism and Antisemitic Tropes
The outrage stems from Robinson’s long and well-documented history of extremism. Critics have consistently accused him of cynically weaponising a self-proclaimed role as an ally against antisemitism as a means of stoking anti-Muslim sentiment. This tactic, they argue, creates a false binary that pits Jewish and Muslim communities against each other for political gain.
Furthermore, Robinson has a record of promoting far-right conspiracy theories with deep antisemitic roots. He has repeatedly referenced the “Great Replacement” theory, a white nationalist conspiracy which purports a plot to replace white populations with non-white immigrants, a narrative often laced with antisemitic insinuations of Jewish orchestration.
His association with antisemitic movements is also part of his political history. Robinson was a former member of the far-right British National Party (BNP), a party with a foundational history of Holocaust denial and overt antisemitism.
Perhaps the most damning evidence of his engagement with antisemitic ideas is a 2022 article published on his media platform, Urban Scoop, titled “Tommy’s Statement: The Jewish Question”. Although the piece appears to have been subsequently buried and is no longer easily accessible on the site, its contents were widely reported.
In it, Robinson attempted to analyse the antisemitic comments of rapper Kanye West. He wrote, “[W]e should be able to discuss this elephant in the room now that Kanye has opened the door,” and claimed that “powerful Jewish people, claiming to be Zionists, have their fingers on buttons of power in the entertainment industry, in big tech, in mainstream media… and in governments.”
In a section headed “Do Jews control the media?”, Robinson drew on pseudoscientific sources to argue that “Jews (generally speaking, at least the white European Jews) have an average IQ of 110,” implying this was the reason for their success—a classic antisemitic trope that perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Jewish power and influence.
A History of Rejection
This is not the first time Robinson has been rejected by the mainstream Jewish community in Britain. In 2023, organisers of a major national march against antisemitism explicitly urged him to stay away, fearing his presence would taint their cause. Similarly, in 2018, the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged the Trump administration to reject a visa application from Robinson, highlighting his history of hate speech.
The current controversy highlights a significant schism, with a right-wing figure in the Israeli government embracing a man who is overwhelmingly repudiated by the diaspora community he is officially tasked with engaging. For British Jewish leaders, the invitation is not only a profound misjudgement but a direct insult that undermines their consistent efforts to combat extremism in all its forms.
