Even Zionist propaganda acknowledges London as the "Hub of Hubs" in the international campaign to delegitimise Israel.

A constant theme of the Zionist hasbara (propaganda) machine is that the BDS movement is built on a foundation of lies and hate, doomed to fail and is no threat to Israel.

Which leads one to ask if the Zios are so confident that BDS will be consigned to the rubbish heap of history, why then do they devote so much time, effort and resources to try to counter it?

In May, BICOM (the Britain Israel Communication and Research Centre) staged the We Believe in Israel conference in London that brought together the usual group of factually challenged oddballs and misfits along with some Israel embassy puppets and several political whores from Westminster seeking to feather their nests.

And in July, a highly controversial law was passed by the Israeli Knesset that made it an offence for any individual or organisation to call for a boycott against the State of Israel. 

I’m certain I wasn’t the only one who noticed an event called The Big Tent for Israel scheduled to take place in Manchester on November 27^th which is yet another Zionist propaganda exercise promising to deliver a strategy against the successful delegitimisation campaign against the racist, apartheid state.

The remains of the tent in Sheikh Jarrah torched by Zionist settlers. (Photo: Ben Lorber - AIC)

It’s unlikely that the Big Tent name was inspired from the shelters that many Palestinians are now forced to live in after either their homes were bulldozed or were (il)legally taken over by Israeli settlers.

Nor was it likely that the organisers came up with the name after news broke in September that the tent used by solidarity activists in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah district was torched by Zionist settlers.  

Most blurbs for the Big Tent proclaim that “London, UK is the ‘Hub of Hubs’ of the international campaign to delegitimise Israel”, echoing the well-deserved title that Israel’s Reut Institute gave to London in its 2010 report  entitled: The Assault on Israel’s Legitimacy: London as a Case Study. However some publicity eliminates the London reference and states that the UK is the ‘Hub of Hubs’ in a desperate attempt to entice more people from a wider geographical area to pay the £28.00 registration fee, which also includes a kosher lunch. 

The UK is now the "Hub of Hubs"

But just as in the case of the Zionist state, the rainbow hasn’t come out and the birds haven’t started singing. Problems under the big tent started to appear almost from the beginning.

Big tent political events usually seek to bring together people with a diverse range of views and opinions. However,  Orthodox ‘Rabbi’ Jonathan Guttentag, the leading organiser, at first refused to allow ‘progressive’ (ie: Reform) rabbis to speak – which drew the ire of the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies, who both threatened to withhold official recognition unless progressive Jews were also given time on the podium.  

‘Rabbi’ Guttentag was forced to bow to strong pressure to avoid yet another embarrassing and divisive rift within the Zionist community and eventually changed his mind about his ban on progressive rabbis.

'Rabbi' Jonathan Guttentag: An embarrassing and humiliating reversal.

Ironically, the Manchester Big Tent event is scheduled to take place at the same time as the Reform Movement’s Northern Communities’ Weekend conference, another major event.

Coincidence or what?

There also have been problems with BICOM. According to the Jewish Chronicle, the Big Tent event was intended as a follow-up to BICOM’s We Believe in Israel conference in May, but disagreements caused BICOM to pull out of any involvement in the Manchester event.

Yet another controversy.

A sister event in London called The Mini Big Tent for Israel was held on Wednesday, November 9th at Edgware United Synagogue – the secretive location emailed to attendees just two days before the event.

This unsavoury (and unsuccessful) ploy of keeping the venue of any Zionist event closed and secret is often dismissed under the pretext of ‘security’, but everyone knows the actual purpose is to deter any opposition. 

Contrast that with Palestine solidarity events which are openly publicised and welcome to all - including Zionists. 

The speakers at the London Mini Big Tent included ‘Rabbi’ Guttentag, Michael Weiss, Alan Mendoza, who’s Executive Director of the neoconservative Henry Jackson Society and Douglas Murray of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, an Israeli think tank that’s also affiliated with the Henry Jackson Society.

The presentations included: “Hub of Hubs – The Challenge to UK and London Jewry – the findings and recommendations of the Reut Report”, “The Media Angle – Just how much is Hamas being sanitised in the UK media?”, “The Case for Israel – The Broader Perspective” and “UK, Eye of the Storm – where do we go from here?” 

I registered to attend through The Big Tent for Israel website, but on Tuesday, one day before the event, this arrived in my inbox:

I am emailing you to inform you that your application to attend the Mini Big Tent for Israel, taking place this Wednesday 9th November has been declined and your e-ticket that was sent to you earlier today has been withdrawn.

Regards,

Debbie Marks

Conference Organiser | The Mini Big Tent for Israel

I replied, asking for a reason why my ticket was withdrawn, stating that I’m Jewish, as well as a longstanding campaigner for a democratic Israel.

I didn’t have to wait long for an answer:

I am afraid your request to attend this event has been declined, we are not obliged to give a reason.

The reason is simple: No matter what is discussed, no matter what strategies to win hearts and minds for the apartheid state are planned, they are all doomed to fail because people, no matter what their religion, culture or background, will always recognise injustice, discrimination and oppression –  be it in apartheid South Africa or apartheid Israel.

So let them pitch their big tent. We all know which way the political wind is blowing.