British ‘Jewification’ Rally Planner Busted for Tweets
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The organizer of a planned far-right protest of the “Jewification of Great Britain” was arrested for posting a series of allegedly abusive tweets aimed at a British Parliament member.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine, 22, was apprehended Friday for allegedly writing anti-Semitic tweets to Luciana Berger of the Labor Party. Berger is a former director of the Labor Friends of Israel parliamentary group.
A Scotland Yard spokesman told the Jewish Chronicle that Bonehill-Paine was arrested for “two visual and written publications on the Internet.” He has since been released on bail.
Berger, who represents a Liverpool district, said in December that she had been the target of 2,500 hateful tweets in three days.
Bonehill-Paine, a self-described “Nationalist, Fascist and supporter of White Rights,” denied the allegations on Monday.
“Whats[sic] funny is that despite agreeing with what was said against that MP, I never made any of the alleged tweets,” he tweeted.
In a blog post about his arrest, Bonehill-Paine wrote that he was banned from traveling on the M25 roadway through London, which could prevent him from attending the Liberate Stamford Hill march planned for March 22, the Independent reported. Stamford Hill is home to the highest concentration of haredi Orthodox Jews in Europe.
Announcements of the march criticize Shomrim, the volunteer Jewish security group.
Bonehill-Paine asserted on Twitter that the protest march will go on as planned without him.
“I have it confirmed with secondary organizers,” he tweeted Monday.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
