The self-styled “nationalist, fascist, theorist and supporter of white rights” Joshua Bonehill-Paine, of Yeovil, Somerset, has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison following his conviction for inciting racial hatred.

Police arrested Bonehill-Paine ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally in Golders Green in July – the heart of London’s Jewish community.

Bonehill-Paine had created antisemitic images to promote his ‘anti-Jewification’ rally. One image included weed killer sprayed over the entrance of Auschwitz. The image ridiculed the horrors of the Holocaust. And called for the ’round-up’ and removal of Jewish communities from Golders Green.

A racist and antisemitic caricature of a Jewish man underscored much of the propaganda. During the trial, the prosecution argued that the ‘O’ of Golders Green referenced the SS. Forensic analysis of Bonehill-Paine’s laptop revealed many versions of the flyer.

Owing to public outrage and a fear of disorder, the Met Police moved the protest to Westminster. More than 2,000 signed-up to a counter protest online. The ‘Golders Green Together’ campaign helped raise community awareness and counter-narratives.

Members of the neo-Nazi group New Dawn also had a part to play in the Golders Green protest.

Bonehill-Paine was arrested in February on suspicion of malicious communications after Labour MP Luciana Berger. Garonn Helm, 21, of the neo-Nazi group Nazi group National Action, received a four-week prison sentence after sending Ms Berger an antisemitic tweet last year.

Another neo-Nazi, Zack Davies, made headlines in June after he attempted to decapitate a Sikh dentist. He used a claw hammer and machete to attack Dr Sarandev Bhambra, shouting: “This is for Lee Rigby.”

Davies uploaded an image of himself in a balaclava with a large knife and the flag of National Action before the attack.

HOPE not hate linked Bonehill-Paine to National Action in early 2015. The Hackney Citizen highlighted his earlier political affiliations.

Bonehill-Paine’s asinine and sometimes delusional online posts provides succour to neo-Nazis offline and online. On June 25, the Jewish Chronicle reported that a Holocaust survivor had neo-Nazis knock his door. They performed a Nazi salute on his doorstep and asked him he if supported Bonehill-Paine. Before leaving, they handed the pensioner a blue Star of David with the message “Jew go home” written on it.

The interconnectivity of far-right groups online allows them to share materials outside of traditional borders. One of the United States most popular white supremacist hate sites endorsed Bonehill-Paine’s march. In the end though, counter-protestors outnumbered twenty neo-Nazis.

In a separate high-profile incident, Bonehill-Paine forced The Globe, in Leicester, to temporarily close. A malicious blog claimed that the pub had banned military personnel to avoid offending migrant groups. As it grew in popularity, people threatened to firebomb the premises and kill or assault its staff. After admitting malicious communication, he received a community order. He had his community order extended after breaching its terms in April 2015.

Propaganda from Bonehill-Paine’s Daily Bale made national headlines in 2014. A poster appealing for help to find a ‘missing’ six-year-old girl at the hands was a racist hoax. It included the message: “It is believed Amy has been kidnapped by an Asian grooming gang.” Another racist hoax appeared in Leicester.

Bonehill-Paine’s viciousness and cowardice online has real-world consequences. Earlier this year, he carried out a sustained campaign of racist and homophobic abuse via an online pseudonym. Bonehill-Paine would humiliate and defame individuals he disagreed with via his Daily Bale website. He even tarnished some as paeodophiles.

He targeted Sara Roocroft and her children online. Ms Roocroft later suffered respitory failure due to the distress of his lies. Doctors believed she almost died due to his “vile and slanderous actions”.

This sustained online harassment and slander resulted in a suspended prison sentence.

In April, Bonehill-Paine claimed police had detained him over homophobic tweets sent to Guardian columnist Jack Monroe.

In response to Bonehill-Paine’s conviction, a victim of his online hate campaign, who wishes to remain anonymous said:

“Joshua took it upon himself to share fake hoax stories and target vulnerable members of our communities on social media. Innocent victims were falsely accused and their lives tarnished by his hate campaigns. He recruited others with his ‘White Genocide’ narrative to target Jewish communities.

“Many are unaware that during this campaign accomplices of Bonehill-Paine targeted children on social media with multiple troll accounts that harassed victims and their families. Joshua worked with other racists and neo-Nazis to spread his hate campaigns. I trust these offenders will also face justice through the court system.

“Some use social media to spread hate rapidly and globally. We need new laws to protect online victims. Social media companies must be held accountable when neo-Nazi groups like National Action use their platforms to spread hate and recruit.

“Will the government also monitor extremists like Joshua Bonehill and his accomplices? Measures need to be put into place to protect communities online and deter racists from reoffending.

I would encourage others to report online hate to police – it assists with investigations – especially if you see racists bullying children online. As a community we cannot ignore hate as it destroys innocent lives.”

The post Joshua Bonehill-Paine jailed for inciting antisemitic hatred appeared first on Religious Reader.

Panorama’s exposure this week of Anti-semitic and homophobic textbooks being used by a small number of Muslim pupils highlights a sickening attempt by so-called “holy” people abroad to manipulate young minds here in Britain.

Written by individuals who have been insulated from the diversity that we see around us and who see internal religious dilemmas as weaknesses and not strengths, they have left a legacy that is completely out of tune with where Islam and Muslims are today.

Any material that attempts to justify hate through religious texts or through Islam is doing injustice to a faith that is based four square on social justice and on compassion.

The past few years have seen some significant changes in the text books that are being circulated and used within British Muslim communities. Books funded and written by individuals in the Middle East are not taken up in the large numbers that when they were distributed for free and there were no British-based Muslim publishing houses.

Today, there are publishers like Amal Press who have a point of getting books out into Muslim communities that depict Islam in a modern British setting and offer deep insights into the huge narratives that make up Islamic jurisprudence and spirituality. They are an asset to the development of Muslim communities and a counter to those based overseas who have no understanding of the modern world.

In the past, lack of leadership within the Muslim community has made cohesive action very difficult. Times are changing and positive leadership is emerging but it now needs to step into the breach and make public our abhorrence towards such texts.

Source: The Jewish Chronicle Online. By Fiyaz Mughal. Faith Matters.

Earlier this week, the interfaith conflict-resolution organisation, Faith Matters, launched a booklet highlighting the overlooked actions of many Righteous Muslims who saved Jews in the Holocaust.

Termed “Righteous” by Yad Vashem, they gained nothing financially from their actions, yet they put themselves and their families at considerable risk by saving Jews and standing up against injustice and prejudice.

To read the rest of the article view source:The Jewish Chronicle