Leslie George Harris, a local Fascist, was fined three pounds in magistrate’s court for insulting Jews in a speech he delivered in the north London Dalston district. The fine was imposed under a public order act prohibiting the use of insulting words, whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be caused.
The police prosecutor said that Harris made a short speech containing a passage that “the position today is that these filthy Jews are at the bottom of every foul racket in the world. The worst rackets are white slave traffic and Freemasonry. Friends, awake and get rid of them,” Harris was charged with stating.
Referring to Harris’ remarks about white slave traffic, the magistrate said: “I am afraid that people who call themselves Christians indulged in it in the past. It was no good making such remarks, especially in a neighborhood where large numbers of Jews live.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
