“I see Israel as an ally in every value, and I’m coming to show my support because I see too many people afraid to speak up on behalf of Israel,” Tommy Robinson told The Jerusalem Post exclusively on Saturday night.
The conversation followed the announcement that Robinson will be traveling to Israel next week on the invitation of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli. He is set to visit the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Gaza border communities, Yad Vashem, and the Jabotinsky Institute.
News of the visit has led to significant anger from some members of the British and Israeli Jewish community, who view Robinson as an extremist figure.
Robinson, however, told the Post he is ignoring the backlash.
“I’ve had backlash for 15 years because I’m standing on the right side of history.” Throughout the interview, Robinson stressed that his visit to Israel, and indeed support in general, is a matter of principle and not a publicity stunt or money maker.
“I’ve never had any financial benefit from Israel,” he said, confirming that he will not be paid for the trip.
Robinson seemingly draws parallels between the “propaganda and disinformation war [being waged] against Jews and Israel” and what he sees as a “massive wave of campaigns of lies and smears” against him.
Countering such disinformation is a significant part of his mission.
“So when I meet people who disagree with me, I say, ‘What is it?’ And they say, ‘Well, you want to do this. You want to deport everyone.’ And I say, I’ve never said that. I don’t have those beliefs. So you’re mischaracterizing anything I’ve stood for.
“So I say to anyone who takes the time to actually sit and listen to a long-form discussion with me, listen to one of my podcasts, listen to one of my interviews, or my presentation [at] Oxford University, they find out that the person they listen to is a different person to who they thought I was.”
Similarly, he sees education as the key to countering antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
“I guess I am a leader of our movement, [whose role is] to educate them on this absolute propaganda.”
Robinson took aim at the British education system for indoctrinating students to hate Israel: “Everyone coming out of the education system unfortunately hates Israel and hates Jews and is pro-Palestine.” He told the Post that “the reason that we’re seeing the hatred and the venom against Jews and against Israel is because our university campuses have been taken over by Islamists,” and now “normal people are too scared to speak out.”
Among the influential campaigns in UK education systems are those of Qatar, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hizb ut-Tahrir.
“I don’t want to be involved in party politics,” he added, “but I want to play my part in waking people up and bringing them together, which is what we do as a group.”
Robinson does believe that a revolution is “brewing” in the UK and that “British people who have been silenced and fearful and scared” are now waking up. He cited the September 13 Unite the Kingdom protest in London, which he organized, which saw over 100,000 protesters waving British and some Israeli flags and defending British values.
The protest was strongly criticized by many as racist and anti-immigrant, but Robinson views it as galvanizing British people [especially working-class men] “to oppose extremism on our streets.”
“We need to politicize and electrify the people who don’t vote and give them something to believe in and give them an identity again. And the reason why they don’t vote is because they’re like me and everyone I know who doesn’t vote because we were told that our vote didn’t matter. But if we continue to sit and believe we don’t matter, we’re going to get tyranny and governments who totally betray us and betray Israel.”
Robinson is optimistic that a “cultural revolution” is afoot in Great Britain.
Where does this fit in with Israel?
“It fits in with Israel because [the Labour government] has betrayed every value that Israel stands for as a country, and they’ve betrayed us.” This is part of the reason he believes Reform UK will “absolutely sweep” the next election.
“So I see Israel as an ally in every value that we stand for, and I see all that the Israeli government stands for, even if obviously there’s a percentage of the Jewish community in the UK that does not.”
Robinson does not mince his words about the percentage of British Jews who he says are “too scared” to stand up for Israel.
“You’re on the front line of this fight. You’re not going to get anywhere through being weak or scared. You need to stand up for your values.”
He also directed criticism to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who he says “act like they’re the voice for all British Jews when they are so weak and so cowardly in any support of the State of Israel.”
“The same way we’re betrayed by our leadership in the UK, the Jewish community have been betrayed by theirs.”
This will not be Robinson’s first visit to Israel, having travelled to the Jewish state once before in 2016.
“Last time I came, it was the most fascinating week I’ve ever had. I came and asked a lot of questions, and everything I thought I knew was the opposite.”
It was during his previous trip that Robinson first learned about the Palestinian Authority’s Pay for Slay policy.
“I couldn’t believe that my country’s taxpayers’ money funds the Palestinian Authority, who then fund people to go and murder Israelis. And that same Palestinian Authority has now just been rewarded with recognition of the state,” he said.
“I’m absolutely disgusted with the betrayal of my government and what they’re doing to Israel and the way they’ve turned their back on Israel and the appeasement they’ve shown to jihadists. I’ve watched as my country has appeased this ideology, and they’ve turned their back on our main ally and our main people who share our love for freedom, and I love democracy. And they’ve taken the side of the aggressor. They’ve taken the side of the terrorist.”
This anger is fueling his need to come and see Israel again for himself and then educate the people back home who he believes are not given a voice.
“I’m a poor boy, and many in Britain are. And the only people in Britain who are given a voice are the vocal, woke, far-left, anti-Israel, anti-Jew voice. And they have been allowed to take over my capital city every single week since October 7.
“So I’m not going to back down, I’m not going to apologize, and I’ll speak my mind on every issue, regardless of what,” he concluded.