Ex-UK Home Secretary Braverman’s Israel trip funded by anti-Muslim Zionist activist

Former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s April visit to Israel, costing a hefty $36,000 (£27,801.27) for a four-night stay, was reportedly funded by the National Jewish Assembly (NJA), an organisation headed by Gary Mond, a known Zionist with a history of promoting anti-Muslim views.

Revelation about Braverman’s trip to Israel and ties to Mond was shared by Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU), raising further questions about the links between advocates of the apartheid state and far-right leaders accused of stoking anti-Muslim pogroms in the UK.

Mond, the former senior vice-president of the anti-Palestinian group Board of Deputies of British Jews, resigned from that position following an investigation into alleged Islamophobic and far-right comments. Notably, he has promoted Pamela Geller, a figure notorious for describing Islam as a “genocidal ideology” and expressing support for the English Defence League (EDL) whose founder, Tommy Robinson, has himself come under scrutiny over his role in the anti-Muslim pogroms and Zionist backers.

“Now we know who paid for Suella Braverman’s April visit to Israel. Firstly it was for her and her husband. It cost a massive £27,801.27 for just 4 nights, of which the flights were about £1000. Quite the bill. But who paid?” asked Doyle on X.

Now we know who paid for Suella Braverman's April visit to Israel. Firstly it was for her and her husband. It cost a massive £27,801.27 for just 4 nights, of which the flights were about £1000. Quite the bill. But who paid? 1/ https://t.co/XS9HQiZMWi pic.twitter.com/k7TvgG540W

— Chris Doyle (@Doylech) August 19, 2024

“Braverman costs were picked up by the National Jewish Assembly. This is headed by Gary Mond, the former senior vice-president of the Board of Deputies. He resigned because he was reportedly investigated for Islamophobic and far-right comments.”

Read: ‘What can pro-Israel entities gain from backing Tommy Robinson?’ A lot

Doyle went on to reveal Mond’s ties with Geller and how he promoted the notorious Islamophobe. Braverman herself has come under sharp criticism over her role in amplifying the far-right against Muslims and migrants while government minister. She is one of several MP’s accused of sowing racism and division that led to the recent riots in the UK.

In February, Braverman amplified a false but nevertheless common far-right narrative about Muslim takeover of Europe known as the Great Replacement Theory by claiming that Muslims are “bullying Britain into submission.”

Geller came to notoriety after the September 11 attack when a multi-billion dollar global Islamophobia industry spawned across US and Europe. An eye-watering $105,865,763 was poured into 26 Islamophobia Network groups between 2017-2019, within the US alone. An earlier study, for example, found that as many as 1,096 organisations were funding 39 groups in the Islamophobia Network between 2014 and 2016, to the tune of $1.5 billion.

Amongst the top funders is the Zionist group the Adelson Family Foundation. Its founder, Sheldon G Adelson, who passed away in 2021, was a staunch supporter of Israel. A major donor of former US President Donald Trump, Adelson’s fortunes turned the GOP into a deeply hostile anti-Palestinian party and ensured that there was no daylight between US and the Israeli far-right. “I’m a one-issue person. That issue is Israel,” Adelson is reported as saying.

Between 2017 and 2019, Adelson’s foundation gave nearly $4 million to anti-Muslim groups. Since his death, Adelson’s fortune has been put into the service of Israel by his wife, Miriam Adelson.

Geller received funds from the Jewish Communal Fund, which reportedly funnelled over $3 million into some of the most notorious groups within the Islamophobia Network, including Geller’s the American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI). It is said to have donated $50,000 to the AFDI.