Roberta Moore

Roberta Moore pictured with former EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon Credit: London BDS

Roberta Moore (born 1971, Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian born Jewish activist and a former leading member of the English Defence League (EDL), and the EDL Jewish Division. She is known for her ultra-Zionism and extreme views on Islam. The Israeli paper Haaretz has described her as 'an unrestrained Kahanist' (follower of the racist Rabbi Meir Kahane who founded the Jewish Defense League).

Moore announced she was leaving the EDL in June 2011, claiming she had been offered work on "an international level" elsewhere.

In 2012, Moore expressed her support for Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who in July 2011 murdered dozens of people in the name of protecting Europe’s Christian identity from an imagined Muslim takeover.

In February 2015 Moore was convicted of two counts of assault and one count of possession of an offensive weapon, after she and fellow JDL member Robert De Jonge had attacked a panel at a Palestine literary festival in September 2014.

Views

On "The Enemy"

We single out organizations that discriminate against Jews, and anti-Zionist organizations, and try to explain there is no difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

However, Haaretz notes, 'the group's main target is the Muslim enemy.'

On Islam

We are anti-Islam, as everyone should be. Islam is not a religion, but a cult. It has all the features of a cult, like the religions of Jim Jones and David Koresh. It's exactly the same. But people don't understand that.

She says she is anti-Islam, not anti-Muslim, but complains that 'many young people have been brainwashed' in Israel:

They think the Muslims can be your friends and that if we give up land, we will get peace.

On the EDL

I know the league has a bad image, but that's not because of the people in it. It's because of ignorant people who don't understand what the organization is all about. People call them fascists and racists, but really, if they were racists, we [Jews] wouldn't be there. I also thought they were racists, but I started to check them out seriously and found that they are exactly the opposite: They are fighting racism, fighting those who harass Zionists and Jews. They have balls. I am very proud of these friends. They do things that others are afraid to do. They go into the streets, they demonstrate and they are against what has become taboo here. You can't so much as mention the word 'Islam' here, because that makes you a racist. How can I be a racist when Muslims are not even a race?

On Muslims in Britain

They are unwilling to respect the laws of the place, so why do they come here? Let them go back home. They have enough places [to go]. They probably come here because they think they will have a better life, because they can't stand their life. I am certain that everyone who lives in a Muslim country would be happy to leave if he could. They are desperate. They come to a democratic country and start to talk against the host country. That is treason. It is intolerable.

On British Jewish organizations

They are all ignoramuses and think we are fascists. They think the league is exploiting us, while it is really we who initiated the Jewish division. If anything, we are exploiting them. I will write to those people and explain what needs to be explained. They know how to be critical, but what do they do in practice? Who are they to decide for us? What the Jewish Chronicle writes about Israel is rubbish. They are a band of leftists and I don't like that.

On Israeli Press

Haaretz writes things about Israel that are incorrect. They twist the truth and I think that's not right. In the end, Haaretz is a media outlet read all over the world, and very often people who hold anti-Israel views use texts from Haaretz and other Israeli papers to justify themselves. That is shameful. We look very bad. We have to stand up for our country."

On Palestinians

It's known that there were no Muslims in the Land of Israel in the 19th century. You can't play with history and twist it. We have archaeological evidence. Who are the Palestinian refugees? They are people who have a place to return to and they are not our problem. I left Brazil and chose to live in Britain, so I do not expect anything from Brazil. That is the situation of the Palestinians, but they do not respect any law.

On Arab-Israeli conflict

There is no solution. We have to do what we did with the Nazis - fight back! They are harming and insulting us, and we have to become stronger, to fight and that's all. Then there will be peace. It has to be made clear that anyone who touches Israel will be attacked in return: an eye for an eye...That is the only way ... They have to respect us, because we did not disseminate terror all over the world. We disseminated knowledge and intellect around the world. We help everyone in the world. Look at Ethiopia and Haiti - the Israelis help everyone, but have you seen a Muslim charitable organization helping anyone? There is no such thing.

On Gaza

Look at what is happening in Gaza. There is so much food there, but everyone is talking about what is lacking in Gaza, and people organize supposed humanitarian flotillas...They have so much food in Gaza that they can't eat anymore; their markets are exploding but they will not help any other nation.

On the Israeli Occupation

I don't understand why the Israeli flag doesn't fly over Al-Aqsa [Mosque in Jerusalem]. That mosque is on our land...It's my land. Get out of my country. It's the Temple Mount. They destroy whatever is there and build a mosque in its place. Look what happened in Gush Katif [the Israeli settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip]: It was blossoming, with exports worth millions. Israel left the bloc and left the Palestinians everything, gave them the businesses and the homes. And what did they do? They went in and demolished everything, smashed everything, destroyed every house.

Affiliations

• English Defence League (EDL)
• EDL Jewish Division - prior to June 2011.
• Jewish Defence League