An official in the biggest Jewish organisation in the UK has been exposed as an Islamophobe.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, Roslyn Pine, a deputy in North Finchley of the pro Israel Board of Deputies of British Jews, said she detests “the creed of Islam.”
The JC said it had seen tweets shared by Pine describing Muslims as “the vilest of animals”, as well as one describing Arabs as “so evil”. She also retweeted a message describing Arab migrants to Europe as “an invading army”.
Her account, @RoslynPine, was suspended by Twitter in November 2017.
Mrs Pine is currently a deputy for Finchley United Synagogue. Speaking to the JC, she defended her right to hold “views against Islam”, denying it was Islamophobic to do so.
Mrs Pine added: “There is no such word as Islamophobic. ‘Islamophobia’ is trying to shut down criticism of Islam. I detest the creed of Islam and I’m entitled to say it.
“I have an issue with Muslims and Arabs who want to kill us, who want to destroy Israel. And that is an Islamic fundamental if you know anything about what the Quran is. I have views that offend people. That is what a free society is. To criticise a religion — including Judaism — I have no problem with that. In a free society you should be able to criticise a body of ideas.”
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Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl has ordered a report on Mrs Pine. She said: “I will not tolerate any anti-Muslim hatred whatsoever. Irrespective of this particular case, I have also asked for a complete list of the sanctions available to us and recommendations for whether these are sufficient. I have asked that this be on my desk by no later than the end of next week. As a community that has faced more than our fair share of prejudice, we need to be crystal clear on this and lead the fight to defeat it.”
