The Angry Brigade and the Jews

The Angry Brigade was a small left-wing radical group that conducted a campaign of terror against British society between 1970 and 1972. These terror attacks included the attempted assassination of a British cabinet minister in January 1971 (1) as well as numerous bombings of banks and embassies.  They were in essence the British equivalent of the famous Baader-Meinhof gang. (2)

The interesting thing about the Angry Brigade is, aside from spouting the usual anarchist drivel, that they actually have a somewhat tangential connection to jewry. This in the form of Anna Mendleson [often misspelled as Mendelson] - who hailed from a middle-class jewish home - (3) who was a key member of the core group of six people. (4)

These were:

John Barker

Chris Bott

Stuart Christie

Hillary Creek

Jane Greenfield

Anna Mendleson

Of these only Mendleson is - as far as I can work out - jewish.

However John Barker also has a rather interesting connection in that he is very soft ideologically-speaking for a left-winger and an anarchist on the question of Israel and its imperialism. (5) In 1988 he was involved with Israeli and Lebanese criminals in smuggling £5 million cannabis around the world. (6)

The question of how much jewishness impacted the Angry Brigade’s activities and ideals is an open one, but I thought I would highlight the Brigade’s jewish and Israeli connections for all to see.

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References

(1) Fergus Linnane, 2003, ‘The Encyclopaedia of London Crime & Vice’, 1st Edition, Sutton: Stroud, p. 7

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/feb/03/features.magazine27

(3) http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/9w0wq9; https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/feb/03/features.magazine27

(4) Cf. Gordon Carr, 2010, ‘The Angry Brigade: A History of Britain’s First Urban Guerrilla Group’, 1st Edition, PM Press: Oakland

(5) http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/resistance-as-its-own-reward/

(6) https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/feb/03/features.magazine27