British Jews ask for charges against follower of Farrakhan

LONDON, Aug. 3 (JTA) — A follower of Louis Farrakhan is creating an uproar in Britain. Jewish leaders in Britain are calling for Paul Twino to be prosecuted on charges of inciting racial hatred after Twino accused the British government of capitulating to its “Hebraic puppeteers” when it barred the Nation of Islam leader from entering Britain last month. Twino also said in a letter to British Home Secretary Jack Straw that the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the representative body of British Jewry, is a “loathsome and slanderous generation of talmudic vipers.” “With insolence unparalleled,” Twino wrote, “the Jews have been shameless in their mutilation of his utterances. “The absurdity of the false allegations leveled against the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has been outweighed only by their sheer vindictiveness.” Twino also warned the British government of dire consequences if the order banning Farrakhan was not reversed. Twino sent a copy of the letter to the Board of Deputies. The board’s director-general, Neville Nagler, said Twino’s language was “consistently offensive and insulting.” “It is highly abusive toward the Jewish people and has many passages which reflect the writer’s hatred toward members of our community. It might incite followers of the Nation of Islam to hatred against Jews.” Responding to the charges against him, Twino said he would be “more than happy to defend in a public forum or at court what I wrote,” adding that Farrakhan’s exclusion from Britain was unjustified. A spokesperson for the prosecutors office said it was still considering whether to take action against Twino.