Pamela Geller has released a ludicrous attempt to distance herself from the extreme right wing English Defence League, the violent gang of racists and neo-Nazis that she’s been defending as “true patriots:” EDL Shake-up - Atlas Shrugs

I was an early supporter of the EDL. I liked who they were and what they were doing. When the EDL first came on the scene, I noted their strong support of Israel: Israeli flags at their rallies, and forthright expressions of solidarity with the Jewish State in its resistance to the same relentless jihad that is advancing in Britain. Almost immediately there came the inevitable charge from the jihad-loving Left that the group was “neo-Nazi,” “neofascist,” “white supremacist,” and more. So I started investigating. I found that they rejected the British National Party’s racial orientation, and that they had members who were Sikhs, Pakistanis, gays and other minorities, and even, eventually, a Jewish division. The idea of pro-Israel neo-Nazis is a myth of the Left, and so the presence of the Jewish division was decisive. I was troubled by the photos of EDL members giving the Nazi salute, but discovered that the EDL was aware of neo-Nazi attempts at infiltration, and had a policy of expelling anyone who expressed any kind of antisemitic or neofascist sentiments. They even refused to allow people to be members of both the EDL and the BNP. So it seemed to me at the time that the EDL was a genuine anti-jihad group, strongly pro-Israel as every legitimate anti-jihad group must be, since Israel is at the front lines of the global jihad, and resolutely rejecting racism and any form of actual neofascism.

However, it has become increasingly clear that the EDL has morphed and diverged from its original course. They now have clearly been infiltrated by the worst kind of influences, something that had successfully staved off for years, and they’re no longer staving it off. Roberta Moore, the leader of the Jewish Division, has broken with the EDL. Perhaps the decentralization of the group or the loose grip Tommy Robinson held on its tether is responsible for this terrible shift in the EDL’s direction — I don’t know. But whatever the case may be, the EDL has done a Charles Johnson. And they are now unrecognizable to me. I am sure regular Atlas readers have noticed that some time ago I stopped covering their events — I was waiting to see how things would shake out. I was waiting to see if the forces of good would recapture the heart and soul of the group. Alas, it was not to be.

It takes an amazing amount of gall to say “the EDL has done a Charles Johnson,” when I’ve been calling out Geller and her crony Robert Spencer for their associations with fascist groups for years. The English Defence League has not “morphed and diverged” from anything. They’ve always been a gang of violent racists, with a large number of outright neo-Nazis, and Geller knows this. The bottom line: Geller is friends with them because they hate Muslims. Period. That’s the only thing that matters to her.

Anti-Muslim demagogue Robert Spencer, of course, “agrees wholeheartedly” with Geller’s absurd attempt to make excuses for getting in bed with Nazis: Change for the worse at the EDL - Jihad Watch.

Oh, but wait. It looks like EDL leader Tommy Robinson has issued some more platitudes about Israel — so Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer are preparing to kiss and make up with these fascist hooligans again. I guess they didn’t “do a Charles Johnson” after all: TOMMY ROBINSON, EDL CHIEF: “ANY ROGUE ELEMENTS WITHIN THE EDL THAT GO AGAINST OUR MISSION STATEMENT WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE ORGANIZATION” - Atlas Shrugs.

For reference, here are some images of the people Spencer and Geller have been enthusiastically supporting for years, and are apparently going to continue supporting.

Geller comments on her site, making it clear that the whole time she’s been smearing and vilifying me for pointing out the nature of the EDL, she knew there were neo-Nazis and extremists in the organization:

Pamela Geller said…

This is much bigger than Roberta Moore. It has been going on for some time. I have been warily watching. The EDL needs a purge. I am not going to discuss details so that the enemy has even more ammo.

Reply Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:39 AM