JEWISH TELEGRAPH

Felt I had to publish this opinion column from the Jewish Telegraph.


Bad dream comes true
BNP leader Nick Griffin must still be pinching himself as he comes to terms with the fact that he is now a member of the European Parliament. Not only that but that his colleague Andrew Brons, a man with a criminal record, also gained a seat, representing Humberside. Griffin, of course, would have us believe that he is a changed man; that his own conviction in 1998 for incitement to racial hatred for publishing material denying the Holocaust was all the result of a big mistake - someone had shown him figures which downplayed the scale of the genocide.
He does, however, confess that there are BNP members who still hold antisemitic views. We wonder if he is referring to Brons who, in 1984, was arrested as a member of the National Front for marching through the streets of Leeds chanting "white power" and "death to Jews". This polished gentleman, as a 17-year-old, also signed up for the National Socialist Movement whose members were responsible for an arson campaign against Jewish property and synagogues at that time.
Griffin insists that Jews are welcome to join the BNP - presumably as long as they espouse the party's doctrine entirely, which would include barring Israelis or Jews from any other part of the world wishing to settle in this country.
It is not just Griffin who must still be in a state of disbelief at the naivete of the British electorate, but those voters who understand the reality of returning people like Griffin and and Brons. People like Holocaust survivors who have seen it all before; the knee-jerk reaction to apparent nationalists who blame all the economic ills of a nation on a minority of the population. The name Hitler continually comes to mind.
Those who believe it could not happen here need look no further than the European election results here and in Hungary - and think again. We are perhaps less than 12 months from a General Election. The BNP will be buoyed by its success and is certain to field as many candidates as it can in the belief that it can achieve a real voice at Westminster. The Euro election turnout was poor, allowing the BNP to gain seats by default. It must not happen again.