Day three of Tony Greenstein’s trial at Kingston Crown Court before Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC saw the defendant take the witness stand. There was significant tension over what evidence the jury was permitted to consider.

Judge orders jury to leave court repeatedly

Tony Greenstein, a 72-year-old Jewish anti-Zionist, Marxist, and atheist from Brighton, faces charges under Section 12(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, Hamas, following social media posts published on 7 October 2023.

The defence team openly referred to evidence that the Crown and the court had decided the jury should not be allowed to see. The defence cross-examined police on the gap between the size of the original interview transcript and the heavily redacted one shown to the jury. Consequently, the judge ordered the jury to leave the court on several occasions in an attempt to prevent the defence from referring to excluded evidence.

Greenstein stated in evidence that the prosecution had actively resisted admitting his past writings because his decades-long opposition to religious fundamentalism directly undermined the Crown’s allegations.

Tony Greenstein’s heritage

In the morning, under questioning from his defence barrister, Lawrence McNulty, Tony Greenstein laid out his identity and heritage in detail. He told the jury he was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household as the son of a travelling rabbi who stood on the frontline at the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, helping erect barricades in east London to stop Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists from marching.

He testified that his father hated the Conservative Party due to widespread antisemitism in 1930s Britain.

Greenstein explained he went from a childhood within a Zionist family to abandoning Zionism at age 14 or 15, subsequently dedicating decades to socialist, anti-racist, and pro-Palestinian campaigning.

He told the court that Christians can also be Zionists and defined antisemitism by its original nineteenth-century meaning as the hatred of Jews. When asked about his view on religion from the stand, he quoted Marx, describing it as the “opium of the masses”.

There were frequent, sharp interruptions from the bench. When Greenstein described Gaza as a “human prison” and a “cage” where Palestinians were held under siege for 57 years, surviving on polluted water and strictly rationed electricity, Judge Plaschkes halted proceedings.

When the defence touched on the history of Zionism, previous escalations in Gaza, and casualty figures, with Greenstein stating at least 100,000 had died, the judge intervened.

‘That’s the problem with the ruling class’

Warning that the court was not tasked with examining the broader history of the Middle East, the judge directed the defendant to stay focused on the specific indictment. Tony Greenstein retorted from the witness box that:

that’s the problem with the ruling class in this country, they turn a blind eye to genocide.

Judge Plaschkes repeatedly ordered the jury to withdraw to the jury room while parameters of questioning were argued between counsel and the bench, reminding Greenstein that the court was not a political forum.

When proceedings resumed before the jury, the defence examined Greenstein’s public writing record on his website, azvsas.blogspot.com, which spans over 3,500 published articles since 2008 covering Palestine, gay rights, disability, and progressive causes.

The defence presented blog titles and excerpts from historic pieces where Greenstein had explicitly condemned Hamas, including articles titled “The lousy hamas government” (citing The Angry Arab and Israeli newspaper Haaretz) and “Hamas does its best to make Palestinian lives a misery”.

He also referenced a post titled “I support the Palestinians not Israeli created Hamas”, where he argued that divide and rule is a colonial imperial playbook and that Israel funded and armed religious movements to prevent a two-state solution.

Alleged clear distinctions

Giving evidence, Tony Greenstein stated he has consistently argued in over 20 blogs that national liberation movements cannot succeed under religious fundamentalist leadership. He described Hamas as a conservative traditional sect, noting their stance on homosexuality is a social taboo, but not executable like in Saudi Arabia. He pointed out that historical Britain was homophobic and that his father, who lost most of his family in the Holocaust, noted the only good thing Hitler did was kill all the gays.

His commentary on 7 October related to a tactical breach of an impregnable military perimeter after a 17-year blockade, comparing the event to historic Caribbean slave revolts. He testified that he had limited information on the day, but knew there was a breakout and felt it was justified.

He drew a clear distinction between supporting an act of resistance against military occupation and endorsing the organisation carrying it out, comparing it to supporting the French Resistance during the Second World War without endorsing the communists.

Asked directly by McNulty if he did, has, or ever supported Hamas, Greenstein stated he answers no. He said he supports it as part of the resistance, but as an organisation he does not support it. When asked if he would invite anyone to support Hamas as an organisation, he replied: “No, obviously not. It would be absurd.”

Addressing his post stating that Hamas should be congratulated for the breach, Greenstein explained it was a rhetorical figure of speech, adding that if he was the recruitment sergeant they think he is, he would not have started with his criticisms.

When defence counsel asked whether his post was an instruction for ordinary members of the public to contact and congratulate Hamas, Greenstein replied: “No… presuming they have the number, which I don’t.”

Cross examining Tony Greenstein

During cross-examination, prosecutor Kate Temple-Mabe faced the complex task of prosecuting an anti-Zionist Marxist defendant for allegedly promoting an Islamist organisation whose politics he has long opposed.

The Crown stated that it did not allege Tony Greenstein held wholesale or long-term ideological support for Hamas, but argued instead that his words on 7 October constituted an invitation of support in that specific moment for a “Gaza ghetto uprising”.

The prosecution questioned his reach on X and whether he wanted people to share his posts. Greenstein stated he was simply sharing political opinions rather than proselytising, adding that his reach was minimal as he believed his account was shadow-banned among feeds dominated by “lots of Elon Musk-type people ranting about immigrants”.

The prosecution focused on granular linguistic analysis, questioning Greenstein on his specific use of the words “one” and “we” in the tweet stating “whatever ones criticisms of Hamas, we should congratulate them”. Greenstein rejected the assertion that he was inciting followers to endorse a banned organisation, accusing the prosecution of an obsession with Hamas and maintaining he was offering political analysis of an anti-colonial counter-offensive.

The trial continues

The prosecution also cross-examined Tony Greenstein on later commentary from early 2024 involving Peter Tatchell regarding LGBTQ+ rights under Hamas governance. Greenstein argued that criticisms of reactionary social policies should be made at a different time and not weaponised to justify genocide. Greenstein reiterated that his focus during ongoing military actions remained centred on solidarity with the Palestinian people to get food and aid in, and stopping the bombing.

Following the conclusion of cross-examination, the jury was dismissed ahead of tomorrow’s closing speeches.

Featured image via the Crispin Flintoff Show- screengrab

By Ranjan Balakumaran

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Israel-loving racist ‘scientist’ Nathan Cofnas has been suspended by Ghent University and says he expects to be sacked. His announcement of his suspension comes just a day after Skwawkbox exclusively revealed a 19-page document compiled by the academics of the department he was imposed on.

The document listed the awfulness of Cofnas’s work, his white-supremacist plans for the purging from academia of anyone who opposed his views – and the sheer amount of work his “flood of shit” was causing people with important work to do. Skwawkbox’s exclusive has been widely shared.

Tiny violins for Cofnas

Cofnas has already shown the ‘always the victim’ attitude typical of Zionists, when he described a vigil for Cambridge professor Jason Arday as a “hate rally” against himself. Arday died on 14 August after UK media hounded him over Cofnas’s claims that Arday had plagiarised his work and lied about his background – claims Arday’s friends and colleagues say were greatly exaggerated. They and the Good Law Project are now demanding a public inquiry into the media’s witch-hunt.

But but!

Cofnas’s fellow right-wing extremists were outraged that the Canary dared to expose the dismal view held by Cofnas’s unfortunate colleagues about his presence – sent in May, months before Arday’s hounding and death. Cofnas had boasted of choosing Arday as his victim as a form of revenge on Cambridge University and said he did so to further his campaign against Black people in academia. It seemingly hasn’t occurred to Cofnas’s supporters to consider the difference between hounding a vulnerable man who wasn’t looking for a media circus, and exposing his attacker who definitely was.

But it’s safe to say Cofnas isn’t getting much sympathy in response to his announcement of his supposed mistreatment now. These are the first responses to his X post:

pic.twitter.com/zYHGbP77YW

— Atlanta Rey (@areyoflight) August 20, 2026

The fact that you got the job in the first place says so much about universities. It took you hounding and ridiculing a black scholar to his death for this morally vacuous, racist institution to act. It is no comfort to all the people you harmed, not least Jason himself.

— Harry Pettit (@HarrygPettit) August 20, 2026

The fact that you got the job in the first place says so much about universities. It took you hounding and ridiculing a black scholar to his death for this morally vacuous, racist institution to act. It is no comfort to all the people you harmed, not least Jason himself.

— Harry Pettit (@HarrygPettit) August 20, 2026

Get fucked cunt

— Max “Lesley” Crocspierre (@lesthecroc) August 20, 2026

There are many, many more like them – a couple of thousand at the time of writing not very long after Cofnas’s post.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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An Israeli-Hungarian mercenary ran a covert surveillance operation against a British activist and think-tanker. The operation was funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One member of the surveillance team even suspected the operation was part of a lead-up to an assassination attempt.

ITV News reported on 19 August that US-based mercenary Abraham Golan had organised a UAE-funded close surveillance operation against Anas Altikriti. Altikriti is a former Stop the War Coalition vice president and hostage negotiator. He is also a founder member of the Cordoba Foundation thinktank.

The surveillance took place in 2016. Golan has a long history with the UAE:

A former French Foreign Legion soldier, Golan had been hired by the United Arab Emirates, which paid his company, Spear Operations Group, millions of dollars to assemble a covert unit of Western military veterans for operations on the front line.

ITV presented Altikriti in 2026 with a dossier:

containing a sustained, granular intelligence operation tracking his every move: photographs of his home and car, and WhatsApp communications between members of a surveillance team detailing his daily life – from his commute and school runs to visits to a local mosque where he was scheduled to lecture.

The police had also warned Altikriti about a potential threat to his life in 2016. ITV’s new report shows how Golan had formed a team to observe his every move.

UAE — Close target surveillance

ITV found that secret Emirati reports filed weeks after Golan’s London trip to organise the operation:

show that Golan was being paid by the UAE throughout his London operation, which included a month of planning and at least several days on the ground.

And:

The records also lay bare the financial incentives behind his contract with the Emiratis: a six-figure retainer for his work that year, plus huge bonuses: just a few weeks before his arrival in London, he received a one-million-dollar payout for an operation against a previous target in Yemen.

The Cordoba Foundation was one of three UK activist groups the UAE proscribed in 2014. The authoritarian state claims it has links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Altikriti’s father was a prominent member of the Brotherhood in Iraq.

Altikriti told ITV:

I have good relations, because my father is my father. I understand the ideology, I studied the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood; I believe the Muslim Brotherhood to be a valid ideology for people who are seeking to free themselves from the clutches of oppression.

However, I’m a Brit, I grew up in Britain. In my life I have never done anything wrong whatsoever.

A private security operative known as Victor told ITV how he felt the surveillance operation seemed more and more like the precursor to an assassination. He ultimately refused to continue working with Golan:

I became increasingly worried about what this operation entailed.

At a subsequent meeting:

Golan’s [other] associate asked: ‘What would happen if Anas Altikriti was…’” – he fell silent and drew a finger across his throat. “That suggested to me that the operation was ultimately about – or could become about – physically eliminating Anas Altikriti,” Victor said.

Golan, the UAE and the UK government offered little to no response to ITV’s questions.

Altikriti is alive and well today. Yet the UAE operation speaks to the reach and power of the US, UK and Israeli-allied Gulf state. Its bottomless wealth and powerful connections make it a potentially deadly opponent to critics, even if they are based inside countries like the UK.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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The British Press Photographers’ Association (BPPA) has sharply condemned Shabana Mahmood’s Home Office for lying to refugees in its information pack for asylum seekers.

Home Office pandering to racists

The latest lie comes amid wider condemnation for Mahmood for implying in the pack that asylum seekers are more likely to rape or sexually harass. This has played into, and inflamed, UK white supremacist prejudices that are already a blight on this country.

But the BPPA has spotted another: the Home Office is telling refugees that they cannot take photos in public places without permission. This, as the BPPA points out, is an outright lie: under UK law, anyone can take pictures of anything in, or visible from, a public space — no permission needed:

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A post shared by The BPPA (@thebppa)

The UK has a proud tradition of street photography that has been able to flourish because of that freedom, like the late Martin Parr — who almost certainly never asked permission in his life before taking his famous, candid photos.

Is there nothing in the UK that the Labour right isn’t eager to ruin to pander to ethnosupremacists?

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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Gillian Anderson has admitted that the increased prevalence of intimacy co-ordinators on TV and film sets is something she has complicated feelings about.

In recent years, the Emmy winner has appeared in numerous projects that have made use of intimacy co-ordinators – industry professionals employed to help actors and directors more comfortable while shooting sex scenes or on-screen nudity – perhaps most notably the Netflix series Sex Education.

While promoting her new movie Teenage Sex And Death In Camp Miasma, which contains graphic scenes of both sex and violence, Gillian told The Times that she has mixed feelings about these behind-the-scenes roles.

“It depends on the co-ordinator,” she explained, with the outlet suggesting she is “not a particular fan” of them.

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She continued: “I did a Netflix show where one wanted a Zoom because I was tucking my son’s shirt into his trousers.”

“Did I want to meet with him so that we could talk it through, that kind of stuff,” she recalled with an apparent eye roll.

Teenage Sex And Death In Camp Miasma’s on-set intimacy co-ordinator Aryn Mott wrote on Instagram earlier this week: “The work of an intimacy co-ordinator often starts long before the cameras roll.

“On Camp Miasma, that meant research, conversations, rehearsals, choreography, consent work, and building enough trust for everyone involved, performers, director, camera, and crew, to step into something incredibly vulnerable.

“Jane Schoenbrun [the film’s director] described the process as one where we were all consenting to doing something ‘really vulnerable and scary’. And once everyone understood that shared desire, communicated clearly, and trusted the process… the scary became exciting. Then we closed the set. And all that preparation gave the work room to come to life.”

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They added: “Great art and good care don’t have to compete with each other.”

Gillian’s latest remarks echo similar comments made by former Game Of Thrones actor Lena Headey during a recent interview with HuffPost UK.

“Like anything, if they’re great at their job, it’s wonderful, and it adds value,” Lena said of intimacy co-ordinators last month. “I think you can have terrible ones who just make you feel more awkward.”

Others, including Sir Ian McKellen and Lena’s fellow Game Of Thrones alum Sean Bean, have previously ruffled feathers when they questioned whether the use of an intimacy co-ordinator “spoiled” the spontaneity between two actors while shooting love scenes.

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Toni Collette and Oscar winner Mikey Madison are among those who have turned down the chance to work with intimacy co-ordinators in recent projects, while Gwyneth Paltrow controversially claimed last year that she’d told one on the set of Marty Supreme: “Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on. I think we’re good. You can step a little bit back.”

“I don’t know how it is for kids who are starting out, but… if someone is like, ’OK, and then he’s going to put his hand here’… I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that,” she added during an interview with Vanity Fair, prompting It’s A Sin creator Russell T Davies to brand her comments “disgraceful”.

Meanwhile, Jane Fonda, Kate Winslet and even Florence Pugh have all voiced that they wish there’d been intimacy co-ordinators on film sets when they were starting out in their careers.

Similarly, Dame Emma Thompson has become a staunch defender of intimacy co-ordinators in the last few years, insisting it was “absolutely essential” that young women starting out in their acting careers should have “someone there to protect them”.

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The far-right like to pass themselves off as noble people, waging heroic battles on behalf of “women and children” or against what they describe as the “evil” of Islam. Yet hideous animal torturer and racist Neil Pinkerton is just another example revealing the true face of this hateful movement.

Wildlife protection group Protect the Wild described Pinkerton as:

…notorious in Northern Ireland for his depraved animal cruelty.

They say he was:

…disgracefully allowed to keep a dog named Judy after using her for fox baiting, and subjecting the dog to the most horrific injuries.

The group rightly decry the courts’ leniency on Pinkerton, allowing him to escape punishment for his barbaric treatment of animals. However, Pinkerton is also enabled by the north of Ireland’s dire hunting laws. Sadists like him are permitted to pursue and kill wild animals with dogs, so long as “no unnecessary suffering” is inflicted, a standard the courts clearly fail to enforce. These are the kinds of people who flourish when bloodsports are legally allowed to continue.

Animal abuser graduated to far-right racist thug

Letting the dregs of humanity hone their cruelty against animals ultimately endangers people too, however. Pinkerton moved on to targeting migrants, and has been back in the spotlight for teaming up with loyalist bigots on trips to Scotland. He travelled to the country in late July, alongside notorious thugs Glen Kane and Mark Sinclair, aka ‘Freedom Dad’.

As pointed out by the Detail, Kane was:

…jailed for nine years for being part of a mob which killed a Cath­olic man dur­ing a sec­tarian riot in 1992.

Sinclair is an ex-Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member and armed bank robber, who now operates as a hate-spreading social media influencer. They are further examples of the type of people ‘defending our women and children’. The Detail found that:

Almost half those arrested for race hate disorder in Belfast [August 2024] had previously been reported to the PSNI for domestic abuse

The pair attended the Unite the Clans hate-fest at Glasgow Green on July 25, organised by the Scottish racists. There, the bigoted mob backed ethnic cleansing with chants of “remigration”, engaged in Nazi salutes and hurled “bottles and pieces of wood at police officers“. The cops arrested 15 people for:

…assault, possession of offensive weapons and other public order offences.

The fascists were massively outnumbered by anti-racist counter-demonstrators. The hatemongers were only able to muster a paltry 500, despite months of planning, yet were met by over 4000 people of conscience standing on the right side of history.

The invitation of Sinclair and Kane is another example of how loyalists getting away with ethnic cleansing in the north of Ireland is inspiring racist groups elsewhere. Pinkerton wasn’t present at the riot, due to bail conditions banning him from attending anti-migrant events. These stem from alleged offences in September 2025. As reported by Inside the Courtroom NI:

Pinkerton faces three charges of common assault, two counts of using disorderly behaviour at Connswater Retail Park and at McDonald’s fast-food outlet, trying to damage a car, harassment, possessing Class B cannabis and inciting hatred.

Shameful prosecution delay leaves Pinkerton free to spread hate

Pinkerton was allegedly “threatening and racially abusive” towards a delivery driver. Police say the reprobate also said “get out of our fucking country you cunt”. Shamefully, courts may soon withdraw the charges against this sickening man, due to “significant delays in his phone being examined“.

It represents a disgraceful failure by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Public Prosecution Service to prioritise investigation of violent, racist offenders. This is a police service that is happy to expend resources sending officers to London to arrest Palestine supporters holding up bits of paper, but allows violent pogroms to happen three years in a row in the north of Ireland.

The delay is apparently the result of Pinkerton not surrendering passcodes to his phones. Police have taken evidence from one phone so far, however, and one would think that data, combined with witness statements and CCTV footage would be more than enough to put this dangerous racist behind bars.

Yet due to this failure, authorities allow Pinkerton to travel and party freely, spreading the Six Counties’ unique brand of loyalist hate to other territories. Anti-racist group End Deportations Belfast (EDB) have been tracking the activities of the far-right in the Six Counties, and their connections to similar hatemongers in Scotland. They assisted with this report, and told the Canary:

Pinkerton’s presence in Glasgow alongside other notorious far-right individuals suggests an ongoing willingness to move in violent far-right circles. The vigilante gang that Pinkerton fronted relentlessly harassed and intimidated migrant and people of colour communities on Belfast streets last year.

They decried Pinkerton’s freedom to:

…travel freely and network with known other far-right agitators, some of whom have violent sectarian and paramilitary histories.

EDB described delays prosecuting Pinkerton as a:

…damning indictment of policing and justice in the north of Ireland, which continues to allow violent extremism to flourish.

Featured image via BelfastTelegraph

By Robert Freeman

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Pressure is mounting on FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Fan groups worldwide have launched a petition demanding his resignation and calling for broad reforms to FIFA’s management and decision-making processes.

This development follows growing controversy surrounding Infantino’s plan to secure private investment for a company managing the commercial rights to FIFA tournaments, most notably the Men’s and Women’s World Cups. The proposal has faced widespread criticism across the international football community.

Petition demanding Infantino’s departure

Fan groups launched the petition via Change.org, arguing that the attempt to introduce private investors to manage World Cup commercial rights constitutes a dangerous overreach of the FIFA president’s authority.

Proponents of the petition claim the plan was negotiated without input from FIFA members or the public, arguing that this indicates an excessive concentration of power in a single individual, undermining the principles of transparency and accountability within the governing body.

Supporters view the private investment controversy as merely the latest in a series of issues drawing criticism toward Infantino, including FIFA’s stance on the European Super League project and ticket pricing policies for recent World Cup tournaments.

Escalating disputes in international football

The petition emerges as Infantino faces increasing pressure from football organizations and continental federations, following accusations of “deception” from three continental bodies regarding how the private investment plan was prepared and presented.

UEFA maintains its refusal to collaborate with Infantino’s plans, citing a loss of confidence in the international federation’s leadership. Meanwhile, the FIFA president continues to receive support from other federations, particularly in Africa and South America.

This division complicates Infantino’s efforts to manage the crisis, as criticism is no longer confined to football associations but has extended to fan groups demanding a greater voice in shaping the game’s future.

Calls for FIFA governance reform

Ronan Evain, Executive Director of Football Supporters Europe and a signatory to the petition, confirmed that Infantino’s departure is a “necessary first step.” However, he stressed that resignation alone is insufficient without a comprehensive reform of the presidency and FIFA’s broader governance structure.

Evain noted that the concentration of such authority in one person reveals a fundamental flaw in the federation’s administrative system and called for a complete re-evaluation of how global football is governed.

The petition demands the formal inclusion of fans and various stakeholders in decision-making processes, as well as a review of the FIFA presidency structure, including the possibility of a rotating presidency.

Ultimately, the controversy surrounding the investment plan for FIFA tournament rights has cast a shadow over Infantino’s leadership, amid growing questions about the federation’s ability to remain cohesive as opposition to its president’s policies expands

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

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