Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations in Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, is giving a speech on Tuesday at a Jewish community center in London suggesting British Jews are the “canary in the mine” that should serve as a warning against the loss of freedoms in the UK.
“When Jewish people are under threat, all our freedoms are threatened,” Gove plans to say. “It is time for the political world to catch up with the real world and view extreme protest movements as an unacceptable threat to our democracy, not an extension of it.”
Jew haters in London tried to attack Jews who were near a pro-Hamas protest pic.twitter.com/r449ZTY1Qt
— Michael Weingardt (@Michael_Wgd) November 20, 2023
Based on reports in the British media, Gove’s speech will blame the organizers of pro-Hamas marches across the UK for failing to prevent the display of anti-Semitic symbols, and will publicly name and shame extremist groups the Government says seek to subvert democracy and spread hatred.
“Many of those on these marches are thoughtful, gentle, compassionate people – driven by a desire for peace and an end to suffering,” Gove plans to say. “But they are side by side with those who are promoting hate. The organizers of these marches could do everything in their power to stop that. They don’t.”
“Growing antisemitism is a fever which weakens the whole body politic. There is one thing which – increasingly – unites the organizations and individuals which gives cause for extremist concern: antisemitism. It is the common currency of hate. It is at the dark heart of their worldview. Whether Islamist, far-right or hard left,” Gove will say. “It is the common currency of hate. It is at the dark heart of their worldview. Whether Islamist, far right or hard left.”
This isn’t the police. This is a London pro-Hamas protestor in full riot gear carrying a shield that reads: “Resistance is justified when your land is occupied.”
But tell me more about how this is a peaceful protest.
via @IncMonocle pic.twitter.com/ibeonYhg5Y
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) March 9, 2024
Three Muslim organizations are facing investigations over concerns of extremism after Gove named them in the House of Commons while vowing to take action against divisive Islamist groups. Gove also identified two far-right organizations as sources of “growing concern” and pledged to publicly identify and condemn extremist organizations that seek to undermine democracy and promote hatred.
The Communities Secretary stated that the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), which is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and Cage, an Islamic human rights group, have given “rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and views.” He further stated that Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), an organization that promotes the participation of British Muslims in voluntary bodies and institutions, is the third Muslim group that will be investigated for potential extremism.
Considered one of parliament’s most pro-Israel MPs, Gove will make his speech ahead of the publication of a report by the government’s independent adviser on political violence, to be released on Tuesday, which recommends a new category for proscribing “extreme protest groups.”
The 240-page report, written by former Labour MP John Woodcock, will recommend that groups that use protests to “create mayhem and hold the public and workers to ransom” should be banned. The report will offer more than 40 recommendations on ways ministers and public entities should deal with violent and disruptive protests.
The document will be submitted to Members of Parliament under the designation of a “motion for unopposed return,” involving the full publication of the report as an official House of Commons paper. This approach will confer parliamentary privilege upon the report, preventing any individuals or entities mentioned within its contents from claiming defamation based on the report’s statements.
Gove will also urge peers to support his bill banning British public entities from boycotting Israel.
