I wrote last week about the celebrity-endorsed protest due to take place in London in a couple of weeks time to commemorate the Six Day War, and - rather more ominously - ‘Israel’s military occupation of Palestine.'
The website of the ‘Enough’ coalition states that they ‘[oppose] all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Holocaust denial or Nakba denial, in forwarding the work of the coalition.’
Apart from the unpleasant implication of this statement that the ‘Nakba’ and Holocaust are two sides of the same coin, the coalition may be interested in knowing the nature of just one of the self-described ‘charities, trade unions, faith and other campaign groups who have come together’ because, they say, ‘we want peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.’
The group MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Committee) was part-founded a few years ago by one Asghar Bukhari, a fairly vocal young activist who has frequently been taken up by the BBC as a ‘moderate’ Muslim. MPAC are a signatory group of the ‘Enough’ coalition.
Which is of interest because in November last year the Observer newspaper learned that Bukhari had been writing letters of support, and sent a donation, to convicted Holocaust-denier David Irving. The contents of one of the letters in particular seems interesting
Bukhari wrote to Irving:
'You may feel like you are on your own but rest assured many people are with you in your fight for the Truth.' (Note that capital ‘T’).
Having pledged to make a donation to Irving's fighting fund, Bukhari says that he has asked 'a few of my colleagues to send some in too'. He also offers to send Irving a book by Paul Findley, a former US Senator, who has attacked his country's close relationship with Israel. Bukhari reports to Irving that Findley 'has suffered like you in trying to expose certain falsehoods perpetrated by the Jews.’
In a follow-up letter, Bukhari writes:
'Here is the cheque I promised. Good luck, if there is any other way I can help please don't hesitate to call me. I have also asked many Muslim websites to create links to your own and ask for donations.'
It seems that ‘Enough’s disapproval of Holocaust denial isn’t really all that strong.
‘Enough’ may be happy with the people who make up their coalition, but are they really being honest with the British public?