Man in London Threatened with Arrest for WWOJ

Walking While Openly Jewish.

According to The Telegraph:

Scotland Yard has suggested the presence of “openly Jewish” people near pro-Palestinian marches is “provocative”, after a man wearing a kippah was threatened with arrest for “antagonizing” protesters.

Let's get all the foofaroo out of the way to start with, lest I be accused by anyone here of hiding the facts or jew-washing the situation:

The Jew in question, Gideon Falter, is a well-known activist and CEO of the group Campaign Against Antisemitism. He's been in the UK news many times over the past several years, probably most recently for writing about the extremist views of the recently (re)elected George Galloway, notable bigot and anti-Semite, to a seat as the Member of Parliament for Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the site of 0ne of the most infamous teenage-girl abuse sex rings (almost exclusively the provenance of Pakistani Muslim men) in the United Kingdom to date. (Many other cities, including Rotherham, Telford, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford, are vying for the top spot in this regard. Apparently figuring out the win-place-show order is hard. Stay tuned.)

So Gideon Falter is a flat-out, known, Jewish activist.

Hold that thought.

Today, Gideon Falter, wearing his kippah and carrying his prayer shawl, was pulled aside by a member of London's Metropolitan Police (don't get me started, they've their own set of--yuuuge--problems that has less to do with Jewishness and more to do with sex) as he was about to walk through an area in which pro-Palestinian protestors were doing their thing and blocking the street. (To be clear, it's probably more difficult to find areas in London these days where such things are not happening. And if you're so naïve as to believe that all this unrest is grass-roots and organic, you might want to look here: https://www.a15action.com/. Clearly, there's a plan. And it doesn't include people like Gideon Falter.)

Here's Mr. Falter's encounter with the cop (emphasis mine):

Metropolitan police officer: ...and at the moment, Sir, YOU ARE QUITE OPENLY JEWISH, and this is a pro-Palestinian march...and I am worried about the reaction to your presence.

Shortly thereafter, Falter was threatened with arrest:

Falter: [questioning, in response to remarks from police] If I remain here, you will arrest me?

Metropolitan police officer: Because your presence here is antagonizing [unclear] and we can't deal with all of them if they attack you...."

Oddly, what sprang immediately to my mind were the ads, many decades ago, for Hefty garbage bags.

Hefty, Hefty, Hefty....

Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy...

"Don't send a Wimpy bag to do a Hefty job...."

PS: On a brighter note, a British judge has told the selfsame Metropolitan Police that it cannot stop a dissident from waving a sign branding members of Hamas as terrorists (which is the official UK government position) at pro-Palestinian protests. Telegraph article is here. The guy waving the sign has already been arrested three times for doing so, and was in danger of being banned from going anywhere near any demonstrations in London related to Israel or Gaza. (As noted above, staying out of the orbit of such things is increasingly hard to accomplish.)

Police attempts to impose prohibitive bail conditions on Mr. Ghorbani, or of preventing him from standing other than anywhere he's instructed to, have been thrown out.

Glory be.

PPS: Katherine Birbalsingh--you go, girl! Maybe there is hope after all.