The rising tide of Zionism has created an environment of hostility

Though rioters were driven by anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant propaganda, Robinson said in an interview that the riots were not about illegal immigration but rather Hamas taking over the capital, referring to pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Since October 7, members of the far-right have taken to social media to demonise Palestinians and spread Islamophobic hatred. This has been facilitated by biased media coverage, and politicians’ Islamophobic narratives and support for Israel which has not only dehumanised Palestinians, but equated pro-Palestine activism with extremism, vilifying Muslims and enabling the far-right in the process.

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Zionism has been a driving force for Islamophobia in the UK, as Zionists and pro-Israeli groups have supported far-right figures like Robinson, and the far-right themselves have aligned with Zionists under a shared ideology and a common enemy to stir up Islamophobic hatred and violence.

Others have alluded to the way in which Zionism has indirectly fed Islamophobia and the far-right’s hostility towards Muslims. Labour MP Clive Lewis linked attacks on Palestinians in Gaza with rising Islamophobia in the UK following the far-right riots, for which Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, called for his suspension from the party.

Though pro-Israeli lobbies have denied the links between what is happening in Gaza and the UK, data from the Islamophobia Response Unit shows that the UK has seen a sustained increase in Islamophobia since October 2023.

Critique of Zionism has been equated with antisemitism to shut down legitimate debate in support of Palestine. However, it is important to distinguish between the two. There are varying definitions of Zionism, from Jewish self-determination to the colonisation of historic Palestine.

However, when Zionism is used to justify the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, apartheid and the denial of Palestinian human rights, it is highly problematic and open to critique and opposition.

Many Jewish people themselves have marched for Palestine and opposed Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The UK based Jewish movement, Naamod, which describes itself as a non-Zionist movement, explains that for Palestinians, “Zionism has meant expulsion, and oppression” and “materially upholds occupation and apartheid”.

It is for this reason that they “stand in solidarity with those affected most by the impacts of Zionism, particularly Palestinians suffering its consequences”.

According to the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, “criticising or opposing Zionism as a form of nationalism, or arguing for a variety of constitutional arrangements for Jews and Palestinians in the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean” is not antisemitism.

Robinson and members of the far-right have shown their solidarity with Zionists at pro-Israel rallies, with the Israeli flag seen alongside British and English flags at far-right rallies and even during the recent far-right riots.

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Yet the form of Zionism the far-right have come to embrace is not one which advocates for Jewish self-determination but rather the oppression of Palestinians fuelled by a hatred for Muslims.

Far-right groups in the UK have a history of association with Zionists as many sought to abandon their former antisemitic positions when they came to focus on Muslims, such as the far right political groups the BNP and Britain First.

While in operation, the now defunct far-right English Defence League (EDL) attempted to exploit the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict by appealing to Jewish people as well as fostering alliances with Zionists. Robinson himself admitted that the EDL had adopted a pro-Israel stance to attract funding from Zionists.

In 2010, the EDL was registered as the Jewish Defence League UK and The English & Jewish Defence League (EDL) Limited between 2011 and 2014. According to a statement, the EDL opened their Jewish Division to “represent the Jews who are fighting against Islamisation”.

They also partnered with the extremist Jewish Defence League (JDL) Canada who in 2011 organised a rally in support of the EDL, united in their support for Israel and opposition to “radical Islam”.

The EDL also formed a partnership with the Zionist Federation. In 2010, Roberta Moore, head of the EDL’s Jewish Division, was photographed protesting alongside former vice chair of the Zionist Federation, Jonathan Hoffman.

More recently, the far-right, including the remnants of the EDL, have joined pro-Israel rallies and counter-protests against pro-Palestine demonstrations, such as the one organised by Robinson on Armistice Day which led to violent clashes with the police.

As the far-right have shifted their focus from antisemitism to Islamophobia, they have become more visible and vocal in their support for Israel and found an ally in Zionism on anti-Muslim grounds and united in an Islamophobic ideology.

Robinson himself has a history of support from and for Zionists, having been funded by pro-Israel groups and being an outspoken supporter of Israel. Though he distanced himself from the EDL in 2013 after which it fell into decline, Robinson was bankrolled by pro-Israel lobbies and Islamophobic think tanks to continue his fascist activities.

In 2018, the right-wing Islamophobic Middle East Forum (MEF) provided legal assistance and spent £60,000 on demonstrations in London defending Robinson.

Robinson found much support in the transatlantic Islamophobia industry, where pro-Israel groups have supported him. The Gatestone Institute, an Israel-focused think tank, and the far-right David Horowitz Freedom Center have published articles defending Robinson.

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Both the MEF and Gatestone have been generously funded by the self-described “ardent Zionist” Nina Rosenwald, dubbed the “sugar mama of anti-Muslim hate”.

From 2017, he also received funding from the pro-Israel multi-millionaire Robert Shillman, who sits on the Board of the Friends of the IDF and the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

Besides receiving financial and moral support from pro-Israeli entities, Robinson himself has publicly expressed enthusiastic support for Israel. He himself has attended pro-Israel rallies alongside hundreds of Zionists draped in the Israeli flag.

Robinson has also been invited on sponsored trips to Israel where he visited illegal Israeli settlements and has proudly described himself as a Zionist.

According to Middle East Eye, Robinson’s more recent activities are “part of a broader trend of the far right in Europe that see Israel as a defender of Western civilisation against perceived Muslim threats”.

While Robinson’s pro-Israel stance previously earned him significant financial and moral support, he has used the recent Israeli assault on Gaza to continue his support for Zionism and alongside it, justify his Islamophobia.

Influential far-right figures have also fed into the ideologies of both the far-right and Zionists. Douglas Murray – known for promoting Islamophobic conspiracy theories to suggest a Muslim takeover of Britain – justified the far-right riots as a fight against immigration.

Murray encouraged violent action against immigrants saying “the public will have to sort this out themselves, and it will be very, very brutal. I don’t want them here … we don’t want them here”. Murray himself has defended Robinson and the EDL.

Murray also has links to Zionism and since October 7 has vociferously promoted pro-Israeli propaganda. In May 2024, he was flown to Tel Aviv and became a prominent apologist for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

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Murray was presented with an award for his defence and staunch support for Israel by Israeli president Isaac Herzog. He called pro-Palestine protesters “Hamas supporters” adding fuel to the far-right fire.

He further stoked tensions ahead of Armistice Day, saying: “If such a march goes ahead, then the people of Britain must come out and stop these barbarians.”

Murray’s far-right views and Zionist sympathies combine to push an Islamophobic agenda and promote the perception of a Muslim threat which justifies far-right hate towards Muslims.

Under the previous Conservative government, a number of politicians themselves promoted Islamophobic conspiracy theories to raise anxieties of a Muslim threat and equate pro-Palestine supporters and Muslims with “extremists”.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman sought to criminalise pro-Palestine protests and demonise Muslims as “Islamists”.

Braverman herself has close Zionist links. In her support for Israel, she said: “We have close family members who serve in the IDF” and described her husband as a “proud Jew and Zionist”.

It was her very divisive rhetoric of pro-Palestine “hate marches” and critique of the police being too lenient with protesters that emboldened the far-right to take to the streets in an actual “hate march” organised by Robinson.

Braverman herself has endorsed far-right views. She previously expressed support for Douglas Murray and told Parliament that he holds “mainstream, insightful and perfectly decent political views”.

Alongside the media, the inflammatory rhetoric and pro-Israeli positions of some politicians have not only enabled the far-right but legitimised their Islamophobic ideologies resulting in violence towards Muslims.

Zionism as a form of anti-Palestinian prejudice has been used to demonise Muslims and has provided the far-right with a new vigour.

While the recent riots were driven by anti-Muslim and anti-migrant propaganda, the rise in Islamophobia more broadly has partly resulted from pro-Israeli sentiments and messaging from influential figures and the far-right who have used the situation in Gaza and pro-Palestine activism to falsely claim the existence of a Muslim threat.

This has created an environment of hostility towards Muslims in which Islamophobic hatred has been allowed to spread and cause the carnage we saw over August, which has left many Muslim communities in fear of further violence.