EXCLUSIVE: In Wheelchair, Attorney Mark Lewis, Blocks Al Quds Terror Rally in London

By | June 12, 2018

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

June 11, 2018 — London … A Jewish lawyer, Mark Lewis, who halted a rally for the terror group Al Quds on the streets of London for an hour by refusing to move his wheelchair told the Israel News Agency that he did so to protest against Hezbollah flags and “inflammatory rhetoric”.

“I wasn’t alone,” said Lewis.

“My friend Mandy was there too. I didn’t care if others joined. At first there were others but although the Police forced other pro-Israel protesters to the side, I refused to move and they didn’t know what to do. I was ready for violence. I might be disabled and can hardly lift my right arm or leg. My mind is ready to fight back. If I got hit they would suffer more.”

Thousands of pro Islamic terrorism demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in central London on Sunday, where they flew flags of Lebanese Islamist terror group Hezbollah.

Their march towards Downing Street was due to begin at 5 pm but demonstrators were unable to progress after Mark Lewis, who suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), refused to move.

The lawyer attended the counter-demonstration with a contingent from the UK branch of the Herut political party, a right-wing Zionist party founded by Menachem Begin.

“The problem is the government and the Home Secretary for allowing terrorists on our streets. I take exception with the Hezbollah flags and the inflammatory speeches calling for the destruction of a country,” said Lewis.

“Hopefully we got the message across. Enough is enough – we need to ban terrorists marching through our streets. 2018 has to be the last year, otherwise there will be an even bigger counter-protest next year.”

Lewis is a very well known, respected lawyer in the UK.

He started the “phonehacking” cases against Newscorp and represented the Dowler family in the case that closed the News of the World, the biggest selling newspaper in Europe.

On a Jewish level he was a director of the UKLawyers For Israel conducting much “Lawfare”.

Lewis, who is 53, has had MS for 30 years. Last year he was on a medical trial at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem and the subject in a documentary on channel 4 UK might that could be found on a YouTube search for a miracle cure.

Lewis is known for breakthrough law suits and standing up to bullies. According to a PBS documentary he says:  “I don’t have the fear gene”.  I have been profiled in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal as well as many other papers from several countries.

Lewis advises several Jewish organisations and newspapers. And does so often behind the scenes.

As a teen he was active in BBYO (AZA) was a guide on two Israel tours and a counsellor at New Jersey Y Camps.

“There is no obvious reason why the UK government hasn’t proscribed Hezbollah, says Lewis.

“The UK government is quite successful at stopping a lot of terrorism but is under resourced and some terrorism gets through. There is more to do. The Foreign Office is notoriously anti Israel and has a blind spot where Hezbollah is concerned splitting it into a “terrorist wing” and a “political wing” TW is banned PW is not so marchers under the AK47 yellow flag claim to be political.”

“I describe myself as an “unapologetic Zionist”. I do not fetter myself with the organisations that spend time trying not to upset people,” says Lewis.

“The Police tried to do their job and I did mine, arguing with them and not giving an inch. It helped that in the phonehacking scandal I forced the Commissioner of the Metropolitan (London) Police to resign and sued the Police for libelling me.”

“Amazingly, a little knowledge of criminal law and the rights of protesters baffled officer after officer who challenged me.

 The saga which led to the bizarre situation that we were threatened with arrest to protect the rights of those waving the terrorist flag of Hezbollah adorned with an image of an AK47 gun was a farce but the fact that the Al Quds rally itself was allowed was not funny.”

Lewis says: “As a community we know that HM’s Opposition is a problem but HM’s Government is not much better. It was the Government that allowed this march to take place.

Seriously, the Police enforcing the will of the Home Secretary saw a wheelchair as a greater threat than a machine gun.

Before she was Prime Minister, Theresa May as Home Secretary said that the Al Quds march should be banned. She seems not to have passed the message on to her successors.

The stand off was not planned. I had moved to the route where the marchers had planned to go thinking that a large number of people would do the job that the Government should have but the Police following orders from on high moved us all away. Mandy and I refused to go.

A civilian support worker told me that I had to move. My lawyer’s mind kicked in, and I asked why? He walked away.

Two officers came and told me that the marchers would walk around me and they “could not guarantee my safety”. “That’s ok” I said, “I never asked you to, I’ll take the risk”. They walked away.  Two more took over and said they would stand by my side.

At that point, the IHRC “Deputy Chief” according to his coat, approached the Police “if he doesn’t move, we won’t”. The officers looked at me, and much to the amusement of one of the officers, I replied that “we’ve got a deal, I’ll stay if they stay, I’m not in a rush.”

 Another officer then told me that I had to move and that the Police had an order closing the street. I asked: “Can I see it?” He shrugged and walked away mumbling that it was in a van somewhere.

After 45 minutes, a different officer told me that she would arrest  us. I pointed out that the Police had said we could stay and so we were doing nothing wrong. She then went away and then came back to withdraw my permission at which point she warned me that we would be arrested. The Police had chosen the side of the terrorists.

And so it was that after nearly an hour a Police Support Officer moved me down the street. Farcical as the stand off was, none of this should have happened.”

Lewis concludes: “I have always fought anti-semitism and always will. I plan to make Aliya (immigrate to Israel) soon. I think Europe is over for Jews, we are fighting a losing action.”

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