Leonard – he was always Lenny to me – Zeskind left a positive impression on all who knew him. He was forthright, authoritative, knowledgeable, informative and crystal clear. He argued well, gleaning as much that was useful as he could in debate and argument. But he was never a pushover. And he seldom lost arguments. […]
Anti-fascism
Remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer – murdered by Hitler’s nazis
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the murder of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the final days of the Second World war. The sounds of the bombardment of the advancing Soviet army showed defeat was near for the Nazis, but their priority was to kill internal enemies threatening them. The killing of Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and […]
Searchlight Magazine’s final issue – more of an ‘au revoir’ than a ‘goodbye’
Searchlight the printed magazine is bowing out after half a century in continuous publication. It was launched with a February 1975 cover date, and the 50th anniversary issue is out now. The new magazine was in part the reincarnation of a (very) occasional newspaper of the same name, launched by some of the people who […]
50 years and counting: Searchlight’s Past, Present and Future
In early 1975 two antifascist activists published a small magazine. It was 20 pages long, black and white, and most of its content was about the then fast-growing National Front. There was only one picture, on the front cover: a leather-jacketed young fascist, wearing dark glasses and carrying a union jack, above a familiar antifascist […]
The end of an era for the anti-fascist movement – Searchlight founder Gerry Gable retires
With the publication of the final print edition of Searchlight, the magazine’s founder and often-times editor, Gerry Gable, has announced that he is stepping back from running the magazine. The final issue, a huge 72-page look back over the magazine’s history and achievements, comes shortly after Gerry’s 88th birthday, and in it he writes that: […]
Britain First’s Nuneaton humiliation
A thousand flags. £10,000 on PA system, staging and a dozen portaloos. Much boasting. Claims that hundreds would be attending. Six coachloads… which turned out to be minibuses. Everyone was emailed multiple times pleading for members and supporters to chip in a tenner for what turned out to be a humiliation. Few did, and now […]
The seafarers and rail workers who fought fascism
STEVE SILVER spotlights the role of trade unions in countering fascism VISITORS TO TRANSPORT UNION RMT headquarters in London can see a plaque with the names of over 100 rail workers and seafarers who volunteered to fight fascism in Spain, many of whom never returned. This article is an abridged extract from a new pamphlet […]
The Searchlight secret agent who helped destroy the BNP
The British National Party probably never experienced such a hefty and concerted blow as it did 20 years ago, in the late summer of 2004. About half of the August issue of Searchlight was dedicated to hammering Nick Griffin’s nazi outfit, following through on The Secret Agent, a BBC documentary broadcast in mid-July, which had […]
Berlin and the red triangle
The red triangle was in the news recently when the city of Berlin senate banned its use on activities related to the Middle East after the image was appropriated by Hamas supporters. There is some confusion as to the origins of the use of the red triangle in this context with some saying it represents […]
100 years ago: a grim anniversary Italy’s far right leaders would prefer to forget
By Alfio Bernabei On 16 August 1924 the body of Italian Socialist MP Giacomo Matteotti was found in woods about 15 miles outside Rome. The five men who had kidnapped and killed him on 10 June, all identified within days and all members of Mussolini’s secret police, had agreed not to disclose the place where […]
A historic day for the anti-fascist movement
Searchlight send its heartfelt greetings to all those who worked so hard to pull off Wednesday’s remarkable mobilisations around the country and to those who turned out in response. Sadly, the movement was caught unawares by the events which unfolded so rapidly after the Southport killings, but in the days since anti-racists have rallied and […]
New Attorney General was youthful Searchlight volunteer.
Britain’s fascists are getting a bit exercised by Keir Starmer’s appointment of Richard Hermer, KC, as the new Labour government’s Attorney General. For Mark Collett of Patriotic Alternative, it is enough that Mr Hermer is proudly Jewish to provoke a disapproving comment. However, had he managed to read to the end of the Jewish Chronicle […]
Cable Street: A new musical – Review by David Rosenberg
Cable Street : A new musical returns for it’s second run @Southwark Playhouse 6 Sept-10 Oct 2024 here The Battle of Cable Street in London’s East End on 4 October 1936 was undoubtedly the most iconic confrontation with fascism in 1930s Britain, although people in Stockton, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol and Bermondsey will point to […]
Remembering a true anti-fascist legend
26 years ago today we lost Baron Moss, one of the great unsung heroes of the British anti-fascist movement. Baron was one of the leadership committee of the 62 Group which decided to launch Searchlight as a newspaper in 1964. And it was Baron who brought together Gerry Gable and Maurice Ludmer to relaunch […]
Honour for ex-62 Group fighter
Sir Gerald Ronson It really isn’t very often that Searchlight feels moved to congratulate someone upon receiving a knighthood, but we happily make an exception in the case of Sir Gerald Ronson, recently honoured for his services to philanthropy and the Jewish community. Gerald is, of course, best known as a hugely successful property developer, […]
Glenys Kinnock: Staunch anti-fascist and friend of Searchlight
Glenys Kinnock, 3rd from left, alongside Joan Lestor MP, a former editor of Searchlight in the 1960s, at an ANC ‘Year of the Woman’ meeting, London 1984 Searchlight is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Glenys Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, a long-time friend and supporter of Searchlight who worked with us on […]
ANL footy fans had no truck with spycops disruptors – Paul Sillett reports
Nazi crew The National Front on the terraces in 1987 Pic credit: Searchlight It has long been known that the state uses undercover agents to infiltrate political organisations and feed back to the security services all manner of information. The quality of this intelligence, however, is another matter. Recent revelations about police infiltration of an anti-fascist […]
Jane Loftus – trade union and anti-racist stalwart
Searchlight would like to pay tribute to Jane Loftus, President of the Communication and Workers Union who died yesterday after a short illness. Having joined CWU in Liverpool in 1982, Jane became the first woman to hold the position of Chair of the Postal Constituency as well as the first woman to become National President. […]
‘No’ to a street named after an antifascist. The decision by Lucca’s town council makes headlines in Italy by Alfio Bernabei
Sandro Petrini, antifascist The town council of Lucca, one of Tuscany’s most treasured artistic places and favoured destination for tourists from all over the world, has rejected a motion in favour of naming a street after a leading figure of antifascism. Traditionally a stronghold of the left, the council came under the control of the […]
Punk: Rage & Revolution, Leicester. Exhibition Review by Paul Sillett
Exhibition Punk: Rage & Revolution, Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, Until 3 September. Free entry Punk culture played an important part in countering fascists, so come celebrate it, says Paul Sillett If you were at all touched by the ‘punk explosion’ in 1976, this exhibition is a must! It gives an incisive historical overview of […]