In two different media reports, a self-describe spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood has claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood was part of a coalition with Jewish and Christian groups that orchestrated the mass demonstrations in Europe and the U.S. against Israeli actions in Gaza. Kemal Al-Halbawy (aka Kemal Halbawi, Kemal Helbawy) was reported to have made the claim in a report carried by Al-Aribya:
In a seemingly counterintuitive example of interreligious dialogue, Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups have joined together to oppose the Israeli war in Gaza, staging massive demonstrations against the offensive and continuing violence in a show of solidarity that transcends religion. A coalition of London-based Muslim groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood and several Jewish organizations around the globe was the driving force behind the mass demonstrations staged throughout Europe and America to protest the Israeli massacre of Gazan civilians during the 22-day offensive that technically ended with a unilateral ceasefire Jan. 18 though air strikes have continued. Up to 25,000 marchers hit the streets of Paris early January, while in Brussels a protest drew 30,000 on Jan. 11. The largest protests took place in Madrid where 250,000 rallied on Jan. 10 and another 100,000 in Barcelona. In London’s Hyde Park protests drew a 100,000 in one day. Kamal Al-Halbawy, an alternative media researcher and the London-based Brotherhood spokesperson, spoke of the massive efforts to coordinate Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups in the U.K. opposed to the war on Gaza and said their work revealed the extent of pro-Palestinian networks that transcend religious and ethnic identity.” Faith groups were at the very heart of this campaign. Christians of various denominations and Jewish groups with different views on Israel all came out to support Muslim groups protesting the massacre of Palestinians,” he told AlArabiya.net. He said Jews who support justice for Palestinians do so because the Jewish character and sense of justice is at stake. “They join the coalition out of concern and worry for what they see as the deterioration of the character of the Jew in Israel because of the brutal massacres, which they denounce and say ‘this is not our religion’,” he said.
A similar claim was made by Al-Helbawy in the Egyptian new paper Al-Masry al-Youm. According to a translation made by Muslim World News:
Dr. Kemal Helbawy, former spokesman of the International Organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe, has revealed the existence of co-ordination between the Brotherhood and several Jewish organisations represented in Europe – especially in London – around Israel ’s aggression on Gaza . He focused on the point that the co-ordination was meant to organise demonstrations against Israel , to protest against the massacres it committed in the Strip.In a statement over the phone to Al-Masry al-Youm, Helbawy said that the [International] Organisation co-ordinated with the Jewish organisations (known as ‘peace groups’) – The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and Jews Against Zionism, in order to condemn the Israeli massacres. Both groups, he pointed out, had accepted the co-ordination with the Brotherhood by organising joint demonstrations in the UK capital. He further added: the idea of co-ordination at the level of the International Organisation has been terminated a while ago; currently, via discussions, it took place under the cover of “relief organisations”, without raising the signboards of the International Organisation. “The Brotherhood”, continued Helbawy, “operates committees in charge of co-ordinating support for the Palestinian problem”.
Netuei Karta International (Jews United Against Zionism) is known for its opposition to the establishment of Israel and have said that the creation of Israel “was a heresy made up by the Zionists to undermine the true Jewish life” and that “We will not lose hope and dream of dismantling the state of Israel.” In 2006, Weiss and others from the group attended a Holocaust denial conference in Iran and have issued public statements denying that Iranian President Ahmadinejad was anti-Semitic after calling for destruction of Israel. Netuei Karta rabbis have frequently supported and attended events with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi including a 2005 London press conference where Qaradawi reiterated his support for suicide bombings in Israel. The Al-Aribya report said that Neturei-Karta “spoke out against the latest Israeli assault on TV and radio and organized demonstrations in Montreal, Washington, New York, California and London. One of the largest demonstrations in New York drew 25,000 protestors to the streets.”
The Al-Aribya report also appeared to identify Anas Tekriti (aka Anas Al-Tikriti) head of Muslim British Initiative (BMI) as part of the “cross-cultural anti-war campaign in London.” The BMI itself is a recently established organization whose leaders were previous an important part of the Muslim Association of Britain, another U.K Muslim Brotherhood organization. Important BMI leaders include Azzam Tamimi, formerly with the MAB and closely tied to Hamas as well as Mohammad Sawalha, a past President of the MAB and referred to by Israeli and U.S sources as a former Hamas military commander, an allegation which he denies.
Another Jewish organization identified in both reports was the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions in Israel (ICAHD) which describes itself on it’s website as:
…a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. As our activists gained direct knowledge of the brutalities of the Occupation, we expanded our resistance activities to other areas – land expropriation, settlement expansion, by-pass road construction, policies of “closure” and “separation,” the wholesale uprooting of fruit and olive trees and more. The fierce repression of Palestinian efforts to “shake off” the Occupation following the latest Intifada has only added urgency to our efforts.,,,As a direct-action group, ICAHD is comprised of members of many Israeli peace and human rights organizations. All of our work in the Occupied Territories is closely coordinated with local Palestinian organizations.