Revealed: The Catholic Worker Movement backs the antisemitic Palestine Action group

The Jewish Chronicle revealed earlier this month that Palestine Action UK was launching a nationwide campaign targeting Israel-linked firms. As part of our collaboration with the JC on this story, we conducted OSINT research to highlight the unholy nexus between these pro-Palestinian activists, Extinction Rebellion, Holocaust deniers, and high-profile celebrities.

During our investigation it also became apparent that the London Catholic Worker provides housing to Palestine Action co-founders Richard Barnard  and Huda Ammori (remember these names).  The London Catholic Worker also supports and aids the controversial Palestine Action and “Apartheid off Campus” groups.  Sarah Wilkinson, a notorious antisemite and Holocaust denier, is among Palestine Action’s activists. 

We find it extremely concerning that a group like London Catholic Worker,  who claims to be “ecumenical, pacifist, and anarchist in the spirit of gentle personalism” is supporting violent antisemites and Holocaust deniers. It is not surprising, given that this group promotes on its Website and Twitter account antisemitic lies, like the screenshot below which states that “Elbit arms: tested on children”. This is a false accusation, a modern antisemitic version of an old medieval Catholic antsemitism that states that  Jews use children’s blood for rituals.  For the record neither Elbit nor Israel has “tested arms on children”.

In September 2020, a statement by Staffordshire Police gave Mattison Road,  London as the address for Palestine Action co-founders Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard.  

The London Catholic Worker owns Giuseppe Conlon House on Mattison Road. We also discovered that Richard Barnard is a member of the London Catholic Worker Movement and is a live-in volunteer at Giuseppe Conlon House.  

Richard Barnard, Huda Ammori and other Palestine Action activists have a history of occupying and vandalising Elbit factories in the UK and promoting antisemitism and Holocaust denial. Many of them have a history of arrests and court appearances. Seven activists from Palestine Action have been arrested this week in connection with a protest at an Elbit drone factory in Leicester.

It is no surprise that London Catholic Worker seems to support the violence perpetrated by their activists and volunteers, as we showed they promote antisemitism and appear to be motivated by hatred of Jews, rather than any real concern for the Palestinians.  The London Catholic Worker states they are “ecumenical, pacifist and anarchist in the spirit of gentle personalism”, this is obviously a big fat lie.  We suggest that “The London Catholic worker activists and volunteers are peculiar, violent antisemites and that Cardinal Vincent Nichols the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster should distance himself from them and explain the Catholic Church’s relationship with their organisation. Perhaps our supporters would like to contact his office and express their horror. cardinalnichols@rcdow.org.uk

We believe that people like those volunteers and activists from The London Catholic Worker and Palestine Action who engage in violence and antisemitism should be punished with custodial sentences, but so far the British judicial system seems to only be giving them a little tap on the wrist

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