NATIONAL POST: A British right-wing group responsible for a wave of violent anti-Islamist street protests in the United Kingdom will attempt to spread its message to Canadians at a rally in Toronto next week.A "support rally" for the controversial English Defence League is scheduled to take place at the Toronto Zionist Centre on Tuesday night. The event is being organized by the Jewish Defence League of Canada.
Tommy Robinson, the EDL leader, will speak at the rally through an online hookup. It is believed to be the first Canadian rally for the EDL, repeatedly linked to violence since it formed in 2009 to counter Islamist militancy in Britain.
"I am disappointed that the JDL would support an organization whose record in the U.K. is one of violence and extremism," said Bernie Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "This is more than unwise and I sure hope they reconsider this decision.”
Dozens have been arrested at EDL protests, including Mr. Robinson, an alias used by Stephen Lennon. He was charged in November with assaulting a police officer at a confrontation with Islamists who burned poppies during a two-minute silence for veterans.
"The root cause of the problem is the Koran, it's Islam," he told the BBC on Nov. 19. "And no one has got the balls to admit it and say it and talk about it. We will. We're not creating these divisions and this extremism. It's already there. That's why we formed. If there was no militant Islam there would be no EDL." >>> Stewart Bell, National Post | Thursday, January 06, 2011
