Hebrew Voices #104 – The Last Bastion of Free Speech (Rebroadcast)

In this episode of Hebrew Voices, The Last Bastion of Free Speech, Nehemia Gordon takes us on an extraordinary tour of Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park. Speaker's Corner is the most famous location for free speech in the world. Join Nehemia as he speaks with a diverse group of people with varied perspectives on religion, science, and politics.

I look forward to reading your comments!

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Hebrew Voices #104 - The Last Bastion of Free Speech

You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Nehemia: Shalom. This is Nehemia Gordon, and I am here at Speakers’ Corner in London. This is probably the last bastion of free speech in the western world outside the US. This is a place where anybody can come and get up on a soapbox and preach. And one of the things I love about this is this really is an embodiment of free speech. And it also takes me back to the Biblical period where the Prophets would stand up on a soapbox, and they would preach the word of God. And I think of Isaiah 56 where the prophet says, “Ko amar Yehovah. ‘Shim’u mishpat va’asu tzedakah, ki kerova yeshu’ati lavo vetzidkati lehigalot.’” And he was standing in a corner in a public square on the side, preaching the way that I'm preaching right now. We're gonna go in now to Speakers’ Corner and see what are some things that people are speaking about and hear the speakers and engage with them.

Nehemia: Hello, how are you?

Speaker 1: How are you doing?

Nehemia: I'm doing a podcast. Is it okay to video you?

Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.

Nehemia: Okay, we're here with...I don't know, we're here to talk to the different people at Speakers’ Corner. What is it that you do, and what do you talk about here?

Speaker 1: Right. Okay, so if you come over here, I'll show you in detail.

Nehemia: All right, so this is called the "Identity Politics Forum.”

Speaker 1: Yes, the "Identity Politics Forum" here at Speakers’ Corner. And you see that the chairs are laid out in a circle. And people come and we have different discussions, and then later on in the evening we'll have some cameras. And there'll be a topic chosen by... Some of the film crew have arrived. And then we have a segregated circle.

Nehemia: Did you say a segregated circle?

Speaker 1: That's right. That’s right. Over there it's a multicultural area. And you can see it's very popular. And over here, we have the blacks on one side and the whites on the other side, and we discuss different issues.

Nehemia: And for those listening to the audio who don't see you, what is your racial affiliation?

Speaker 1: I'm IC3, that means black, I'm a black guy.

Nehemia: You say “IC3,” what does that mean?

Speaker 1: If you look over here, you'll see that these on display are the British state, race, and ethnicity codes.

Nehemia: So, these are the official categories of the British state?

Speaker 1: That's right. Not the government, the state.

Nehemia: What's the difference between the government and the state?

Speaker 1: Right, so these are above democracy, you can't vote these out. These don't change. But the government can change. It could be the Labor Party, Conservative Party, you can change, Republican Party or whatever.

Nehemia: So, who might use these codes?

Speaker 1: These are used by the state, civil service, police, military.

Nehemia: Wait, so when I go before the police, I'm not a citizen? Well, I'm not a citizen, but if I were a citizen born here, I wouldn't be a citizen. I would be IC3, Jewish.

Man: Are you Jewish?

Nehemia: I am Jewish, so I would be IC6.

Man: But how it works is, the police will automatically just look at you and look at your skin color. Until you tell them you're Jewish, they will automatically think you are IC1.

Nehemia: But the minute they hear my name, Nehemia, they'll know I'm Jewish.

Speaker 1: That's right. That’s right.

Man: Then they might categorize you.

Speaker 1: That’s right, yeah.

Nehemia: So why do they have these categories? What's this for?

Speaker 1: That’s the next question. Usually, once I make people aware of the existence of these codes, the next question is, “How do they use them, and why are they there?”

Nehemia: Yeah.

Speaker 1: Well, the best way to explain that, or how I usually explain to people, that these are state... remember I said not government, state codes. These are the equivalent of military submarines. You're allowed to know that they exist, but if you start asking questions where they are, then that becomes an issue of national security.

Nehemia: So, your purpose here is to bring awareness of these different codes used by the British state?

Speaker 1: That's right. That’s right. And then from that, we use that as a basis to inspire discussion about what do we think they could be used? You know, it's nice discussion.

Nehemia: So, when you segregate the people in your discussion, that's essentially to be provocative and say, “Hey, this is what the state is doing?” Or do you think people should be segregated?

Speaker 1: So, you have to watch the word. See, to be "provocative,” you said “provocative.”

Nehemia: Well, are you challenging people to think about it?

Speaker 1: That's right, I like that word there, challenging people to think about this, that's right.

Nehemia: Do you think that this is the ideal, that people should be segregated based on their immutable characteristics, right? I didn't do anything that made me Jewish, I was just circumcised on the eighth day of my life.

Speaker 1: Okay, well, this is part of the discussion. The next level is, are these good? Are these bad? Should they exist? Should they not? But you gotta be careful.

Nehemia: For the record, everyone, it's her fault. That's my mother.

Speaker 1: Okay, that’s right. So, that's what sparks really interesting discussion, you know. Are they right, are they wrong? Are there any advantages? It's interesting discussion, but you gotta be careful. If you say that these are wrong, then you become an enemy of the state. You've seen the movie, haven't you, “Enemy of the State?”

Nehemia: I've seen the movie, is that a real thing?

Speaker 1: You see, because this belongs to the British state, so this is a part of what Britishness is. So, if you go against these codes, you're going up against the cultural values of the nation.

Nehemia: So, you obviously do this on a regular basis?

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Nehemia: Are you listed as an enemy of the state somewhere?

Speaker 1: No, because I haven't said whether they're right or wrong. I haven’t said whether they're good or bad. All I'm saying, I'm making you aware that they exist, and we have interesting discussions about what they are.

Nehemia: Okay, we’re here at Speakers’ Corner. We're gonna go talk to some other speakers here and find out what this is all about. Thank you, Sir.

Speaker 1: Great. Okay.

Nehemia: Hello, sir. I'm doing a podcast. Can I video you?

Speaker 2: It's up to you.

Nehemia: It's up to me, then the answer is yes.

Speaker 2: If you want to, yes.

Nehemia: I am here with a gentleman who's standing on a white chair without shoes. What is your name, Sir?

Speaker 2: My name is Osma Otman.

Nehemia: And where are you originally from?

Speaker 2: Pakistan.

Nehemia: Okay, and how long have you been in the United Kingdom?

Speaker 2: Well, I've been here a long time, more than 50 years.

Nehemia: Well, that's longer than I've been alive, so that counts. All right, so tell me what you do here at Speakers’ Corner.

Speaker 2: Okay, in Speakers’ Corner, freedom of speech. I come here, I'm a Muslim. So, I come here to speak. In other words, I'm a Muslim speaker. I'm here to use the freedom of speech to speak to the people and that's what I do.

Nehemia: Okay, you know, in America we have this expression "elevator pitch,” you know what that is?

Speaker 2: Carry on.

Nehemia: Elevator pitch is you've got 30 seconds in the elevator to give somebody your pitch of what you're trying to convince them of. And you have two minutes, give me the two-minute elevator pitch.

Speaker 2: Okay, look. I'm a Muslim. And as Muslims, we have our book which is the Quran. And the Quran in Surah Al Baqarah, the cow, Surah chapter number two, Ayah verse number two, Allah says, (Arabic language). “This glorious book, in which there is no doubt (Arabic language). It is a guidance for the God-conscious who fear Allah.” So, as a Muslim, I come here, I tell people what is written in the Quran. Allah is Arabic, it means “God Almighty.”

Nehemia: Can I ask you a quick question?

Speaker 2: Yeah, go on.

Nehemia: Is Allah the name of your God, or does Allah just mean “God?”

Speaker 2: Okay. Allah is the name of the Creator, okay? In English you say “God,” we say “Allah.” Allah is Arabic, it means "the God."

Nehemia: So, if I was talking about the God that Indians worship like Shiva, could that be called “Allah?”

Speaker 2: No, because Allah, the name “Allah” only belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because as Muslims, we believe there is only one God.

Nehemia: And what about the God of the Jews, who is Yehovah? Is that the same God?

Speaker 2: Yeah, God is only one, whether somebody uses any other name. But the Creator is only one. God Almighty is only one.

Nehemia: So, the God of the Old Testament of the Torah, who says: "Anokhi Yehovah Elohekha,” “I am Yehovah, your God,” is that the same God that you worship from the 10 commandments?

Man: It’s the Jewish God, it's a Zionist God. He doesn't believe in that.

Nehemia: Are you with him?

Man: No, no.

Man: No, he’s not with me.

Nehemia: Oh, let him talk. Please let him talk, we can talk later.

Speaker 2: He likes to talk, okay. He has…

Nehemia: Please let him talk.

Speaker 2: They aren’t saying the word “please.” Ask me the question.

Nehemia: Yeah, so in the Hebrew Bible in Exodus chapter 20 there is the 10 commandments. 600,000 Israelites are standing at Mount Sinai, and the God of Israel says to the Israelites, "Anokhi Yehovah Elohekha,” “I am Yehovah your God.” Is that the same as the God of the Muslims?

Man: Speak in English. He can’t…

Speaker 2: There is only one God, okay?

Man: He can’t read Arabic.

Speaker 2: Whether the Jews call him Jehovah, the Christians call him Jesus, or some Christians call him God the Father. But God Almighty is only one, and that is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We say “Allah,” and even there are millions of Christians who are Arabs. Yet those Christian Arabs even when they mention God, they say “Allah.”

Nehemia: And just to give that some context. So, for example, there was a Rabbi in the 10th century, Saadia Gaon, he translated the Torah into Arabic with Hebrew letters. And for Elohim he wrote "Allah," and actually for Yehovah he wrote Allah.

Man: I like the Jewish creation. I like the Jews.

Nehemia: We'll talk to you later, okay?

Man: I like them, yes.

Speaker 2: I know this guy's speaking on the left-hand side is confused. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not a Jew. Why? Because Jews are a creation. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cannot be a Jew. Why? Jews are a creation and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the Creator. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created everything, the planets, the universe, the stars, the human beings, the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians, the atheists. Allah is the creator. Everything which is creation has been created by the one and only creator who we Muslims call “Allah.”

Nehemia: Okay, so in the Quran, if I understand correctly, there are two passages where Allah, the author of the Quran, says that he has given the Land of Israel to the Children of Israel. Do you accept the State of Israel as belonging to the Jews? Let him speak, why are you afraid to hear him speak? Let him speak.

Speaker 2: Okay, you ask me a political question.

Nehemia: No, no, I mean from a purely religious standpoint.

Speaker 2: Okay, let me answer. Let answer, okay.

Nehemia: Are you familiar with the passage?

Speaker 2: You asked me a question, I’ll answer you.

Man: No, no. Let him. The question’s not there.

Nehemia: It's not there?

Man: Yeah, it isn’t there. Show it to us.

Nehemia: So, in the Quran it doesn't say that Allah gives the Land of Israel to the people of Israel?

Man: No, it's not like that. Listen to me. Now, your question to him, because I see you, okay, trying to…

Nehemia: We'll talk later. Let’s finish with him

[background conversations]

Nehemia: I’ll talk to you later. Let him talk.

[background conversations]

Man: It is his right.

Nehemia: Let him talk. I’m not afraid at all. I’m not scared at all.

Speaker 2: I can't speak because other people are speaking.

Man: Are you Saudi? How do you treat Pakistani Muslims in Saudi Arabia?

Speaker 2: Can you stop lying? Can you stop lying?

[background conversations]

Man: You give him $100. Shepherd’s Bush. You treat Saudis…

Nehemia: Why don't you get your own chair?

[background conversations]

Man: How many Pakistanis do you have? Shepherd’s Bush?

[background conversations]

Nehemia: All right, it seems we can't get an answer to this question.

Man: Where are you from?

Man: Timbuctoo.

Man: He’s my brother. He’s my brother.

[background conversations]

Nehemia: We want to hear what you have to say.

Speaker 2: A lot of people are speaking, I can't speak. Other people are speaking.

[background conversations]

Nehemia: Let’s hear him.

Man: People are afraid to say where they’re from.

[background conversations]

Nehemia: So, this is one of the issues at Speakers’ Corner. People get very animated, and they're shutting down speech.

[background conversations]

Nehemia: I am from Al-Quds, Jerusalem, Israel, where Yehovah, the God of Israel, put His name forever, the eternal capital of the people of Israel. That's where I'm from. Well, it's very clear. So, let him answer. Let him answer.

We tried to get an answer from the Muslim preacher about his views on Israel, and a Saudi man shut him down. He wouldn't let him speak. Let's go and talk to some other folks here. We'll come back there later. Can I ask what you're talking about, Sir? I'm doing a podcast here. What are you here, talking about?

Speaker 3: A podcast. We're doing a podcast here. And here it is. I'm telling the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Are you gonna believe in him as Lord? Are you gonna be in denial or in the promised land? If you're in the promised land, you're going to realize his first name is Lord. Who's lord of your Life? You are.

Nehemia: His first name is "Lord"?

Speaker 3: His first name is Lord, his second name is Yeshua. In English it's Jesus, yeah? His third name is Mashiakh, which we call “Christos,” Christ. Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe you have a choice, you're not a monkey, you're a human being. Don't believe the Big Bang macro evolution fraud. You're a human being, you have a choice. Believe or not believe, that is the question. Are you going to believe in his God who can only do one thing at once, only be one thing at once? He's very lonely. Or you're gonna believe in the God of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible, who tells the future? This is the fingerprint, it's prophecy.

It actually says in Daniel 9, “When the Messiah will come to Yerushalayim.” Guess what he did? He came to Jerusalem on the exact date it was prophesied. Do you believe that? Well, you don't believe it because you have no idea about the prophecy, ‘cause you've not read the book. All I'm saying is, read the book and then you'll know, have a look in the book.

Man: He hasn’t read the Bible. Is that true? He hasn’t read the Bible.

Speaker 3: Most people haven't read the Bible. I'm saying most people haven't read. I've read the Bible three times.

Man: No, you haven't.

Speaker 3: I haven't? Are you following me? He's following me. He knows.

Nehemia: So, tell me. You used the term, “Yeshua HaMashiakh.” Tell me a little bit more about that term. What does it mean?

Speaker 3: Well, Yeshua Hamashiakh, because Jesus, Yeshua, he's Jewish. You might be shocked to hear this, but he was descended from who? Daud.

Man: He’s my cousin, by the way. You’re circumcised, I’m circumcised. He’s my cousin.

Speaker 3: He’s your cousin.

Man: Your God is my cousin, Jesus.

Speaker 3: I know, yeah.

Nehemia: He actually is my cousin, but that's a different story. I'm Jewish, from the line of David, so He’s definitely my cousin.

Speaker 3: From the line of David, from the tribe of Judah.

Nehemia: I’m on the other side though, to be fair.

Speaker 3: That’s cool. From the line of Melekh David, Daud, the prophet, Daud, yeah. He has to be the Messiah. If he came from another tribe, wrong. It has to be the tribe of Judah. He had to be born in Bethlehem. Have you been to Bethlehem? I've been to Bethlehem.

Man: Are you a Zionist?

Nehemia: I am a Zionist.

Man: I can believe it.

Nehemia: Are you a Zionist?

Man: Are you a Zionist or a Christian?

Speaker 3: I believe that Mount Zion holds what place?

Man: I don't care.

Speaker 3: You don't care about Jerusalem?

Man: I’m not a Christian.

Speaker 3: You don’t care about Jerusalem? I thought you're Muslim. It's on Mount Zion.

Man: I know Mount Zion better than you do. But it doesn’t matter.

Speaker 3: You know everything better than me.

Nehemia: What is your name?

Speaker 4: Dennis Hayden.

Nehemia: And what do you represent here at Speakers’ Corner? What do you talk about?

Speaker 4: I represent the Baháʼí faith. And I'm here teaching unity, where all the rest are teaching disunity.

Nehemia: What is the Baháʼí faith?

Speaker 4: Our job is to join things together, unity of all religions.

Nehemia: All religions are the same?

Speaker 4: I'm a Baháʼí, you actually join all religions.

Nehemia: So, are you Jewish?

Speaker 4: It becomes the kingdom of God on earth. That's what I'm doing.

Nehemia: I'm Jewish. Are you part of my religion?

Speaker 4: Yes. The people who come from Israel speak very, very highly of the Baháʼí religion.

Nehemia: They have very beautiful gardens in Haifa.

Speaker 4: Yes, in Haifa. I've never heard one person from Israel being a Muslim or being Jewish, that said one word against the Baháʼí faith.

Nehemia: Yeah, okay. All right, well, thank you. There seems to be something going on here. Let's find out what it is.

[background conversations]

Nehemia: There's a little girl who's yelling here about something. Do you know what's going on here?

Man: Yeah, I know what’s going on here.

Nehemia: What’s going on?

Man: The Zionists.

Nehemia: I'm a Zionist. Is that a bad thing?

Man: Oh, that's a very a bad thing, yeah.

Nehemia: Why is being a Zionist a bad thing?

Man: Because you people kill people.

Nehemia: What do you mean we kill people? Who do we kill?

Man: You kill innocent people in Palestine.

Nehemia: No, we don't, that's a lie, we don't.

Man: No, it’s not.

Nehemia: It’s a lie. We don’t.

Man: Are you sure about that?

Nehemia: Absolutely. I mean, there are wars and people die. We kill terrorists. I don't kill terrorists, because, you know...

Man: But you call everybody terrorists, those that don't agree with your point of view.

Nehemia: That's not true at all. There are Muslims in the Israeli Knesset. How many Jews... What country are you originally from?

Man: Me?

Nehemia: Yeah.

Man: From Siberia.

Nehemia: Siberia, okay.

Man: And I'm from Iraq.

Nehemia: How many Jews are in the Iraqi government? None, because you kicked them all out of your country.

Man: No, no, no, they left. They were forced to leave by you guys, by Zionists.

Nehemia: They were expelled in 1956. That's not true.

Man: You told them, “We're gonna give you paradise…

Nehemia: That’s not true.

Man: …when you go to the occupied land of Palestine."

Nehemia: No, we don't believe in paradise like you do, so...

Man: Well, I don't have to force it on you anyway, I don't force it on you. You don't have to believe it, you know?

Nehemia: So, Zionism is bad because they kill people. Do Jews have the right to exist?

Man: In Palestine? No, they don't have the right to exist.

Nehemia: Even though we're the original population?

Man: You don't have proof that this is your land. This is not your land.

Nehemia: Have you heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Man: Yeah.

Nehemia: Those are written in Hebrew, not Arabic. Why are those written in the language of the Jews?

I'm going to talk to this gentleman here. Sir, do you have a moment to answer my question from before? I know you've been going through a lot.

Speaker 2: I'm going over there. Yeah.

Nehemia: Okay, let's see if he'll talk to us over there.

Speaker 5: He wants to ask questions about Quran.

[background conversations]

Speaker 5: It is amazing. He has no sense for everyone to engage with us. So, the questions we want to ask Muslims about the Quran is, Sir, do you believe Quran is unchanged, perfect word of Allah?

[background conversations]

Speaker 5: Quran never been changed, but Bible has been changed and the claim comes from Muslims. Any Muslim here who can back the Muslim up? We have Muslims who stand here without any shame and tell us that their Quran has never been changed and it is perfect. Let's break it down. Sir, please tell us where is the Quran which Mohammad received?

Man: Can you answer that? Where is the original Quran, where is it?

Speaker 5: Sir, can you back up the claim you make? You said Quran never been changed, therefore I am asking for a simple example. Where is the Quran which your so-called prophet received?

Man: Can a Muslim who can answer that? Do we have a Muslim that could answer that question? Are you a Muslim, sir? We’re asking, where is the original Quran from your Prophet Muhammed. Where is that?

Nehemia: So, I'm not a Muslim, I'm Jewish. Can you tell our audience for a podcast, what it is that you're trying to get across here, ‘cause we only have a few minutes?

Speaker 5: I am asking the Muslim who made a claim that Quran never been changed and perfectly preserved. I want him to back up his claims. If Quran has been perfectly preserved and never changed, today they’re supposed to be a Quran from the time of Muhammad. The question is, do you have the Quran from time of Muhammed, Sir?

Nehemia: So, you’re saying all we have is copies, and those are later copies.

Speaker 5: No, they don't even have the copies of the perfect one.

Nehemia: We have copies of copies.

Speaker 5: We have nothing from the 7th century as Surah 1 to Surah 114, but Muslims made a claim that Quran never been changed. Therefore, we want to ask him, where is his never-changed Quran?

Man: The question we have to ask ourselves is, how do we know the Quran we have today, or the Quran they're using is the correct Quran? If we do not know what the original Quran was, how can we affirm that we actually have the word of God, which they say came from Allah? So that's why it's such an important question.

Nehemia: I've heard these arguments, right, that you have Muslim sources that talk about how Surahs were lost and things were burned.

Speaker 5: Eaten by sheep, they got lost.

Nehemia: Tell us the story about eaten by sheep, because I'm guessing my audience who is Jewish and Christian doesn't know it. You're not joking. Eaten by sheep. The dog ate my Bible.

Speaker 5: It's not the dog in this case, because we know Muhammad didn't like the dogs. According to the Islamic tradition, even though Muslims tell us today that their Quran has never been changed, then we look at the Islamic tradition and we see actually, Quaran has been changed. There were the verses which Allah revealed in the Quran, verses such as adult breastfeeding. Brother, it is your expertise. Explain to him.

Nehemia: Wait, what's the verse?

Speaker 5: Adult breastfeeding.

Man: So, it's speaking about adults breastfeeding. And so, when somebody comes...

Nehemia: I don't think we heard you right. Adults breastfeeding.

Speaker 5: Can you come to my house for cup of tea? Does your religion allow you to come to my house for a cup of tea?

Nehemia: Of course.

Speaker 5: Of course. So, in Islam that doesn't work. For you to come to my house for a cup of tea, you need to suck the breasts of a woman for 10 times.

Nehemia: What? Is that true?

Speaker 5: According to Islamic tradition. Allah was merciful, Allah brought that to five times. For men and women to be able to share the same fellowship, men need to suck the breast of a woman for five times. But a miracle happened. A sheep came and ate those verses, and those verses are not in the Quran today. So those are identified as the verses which has been eaten by a sheep.

Nehemia: What is the source for this tradition?

Speaker 5: Islamic tradition, Hadiths.

Man: You go to Hadiths, yeah.

Speaker 5: Yeah, that gives you the reference.

Man: That’s right, yeah. Yeah, so the customs of Mohammed, you find that in the Hadith. You read it, and Aisha explains what happened to the missing verses in the Quran.

Nehemia: And Hadith is basically the Islamic Oral Law. It's like their Talmud, in a way.

Speaker 5: Hadiths are the kind of a biography of, in the Bible, biography of Jesus. They tell what Mohammed did, what Mohammed said, what Mohammed didn't do.

Nehemia: Well, there are legends about what Jesus did that aren't in the New Testament. And Christians will sometimes draw on those legends to establish law.

Speaker 5: I'm Christian, I believe the Bible is the reliable word of God.

Nehemia: But there are traditions beyond the Bible’s, right?

Speaker 5: People who go against the Bible, I don't see them as my brothers and sisters, that's a different topic. But in Islam, every Muslim must follow the Hadith. They cannot be Muslim without Quran and without Sunna. Hadith calls under the Sunnah. According to the Hadith, sheep came and then ate the word of Allah, and those verses are not in the Quran today.

But my question was to the Muslim, you can notice he just freaked out and ran away, was, can he show me the unchanged word of Allah? Because in here, we have some evidence. When we look at the earliest Islamic manuscripts what we see is actually that Quran has been changed. Quran has been changed by humans and for humans. People intentionally edited the verses into the earliest manuscripts to identify that with the 1924 Quran. Therefore, without any shame, when the Islamic dawadim comes to Speakers’ Corner, and then tells us, “No, Quran never been changed,” that is such a lie.

Nehemia: Can I ask you a question? If we found the original history of Julius Caesar written in his own hand from the 1st century BC, would that make it the word of God?

Speaker 5: No.

Nehemia: So why is it even important whether it's preserved or not, correctly?

Speaker 5: Muslims claim, first of all, in the Quran, Allah says he is going to preserve the Quran. So, if the Quran is not preserved, then the question to Allah, how come he's not capable for his word to be preserved? That's the first thing.

Nehemia: Okay, you heard it there, and we're gonna go talk to some other people here. There's a guy there with a Palestinian flag. Let's go talk to him. Hey, what flag is this?

Speaker 6: This is a flag of Palestine.

Nehemia: Can I interview you?

Speaker 6: Long live Palestine.

Man: Yeah, yeah. It’s a flag of Palestine.

Nehemia: Are you Palestinian? No? Why do you have a flag of Palestine?

Speaker 6: Because…

Nehemia: Where are you originally from?

Man: To show solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Speaker 6: I'm from West Yorkshire.

Nehemia: West Yorkshire. Is that in the UK?

Speaker 6: Yes.

Man: Are you from the UK?

Nehemia: No, I'm from the United States and Israel. I lived in Jerusalem for over 20 years.

Speaker 6: Okay, okay.

Nehemia: What do you think of Israel? Do you think Jews have a right to live in the land of Israel?

Speaker 6: Oh, yes. Well, they always have. They always have. They've always had a right to live there.

Nehemia: Okay. What does that mean? Some people are listening that can't see you. You're making funny faces, what do the funny faces indicate?

Speaker 6: Well, no, no, it's just that you're implying that I don't think that Jews have a right to live there.

Nehemia: I'm asking you the question.

Speaker 6: I have lots of Jewish friends. Of course, they've got a right to live there, and they have always lived there.

Nehemia: So, do you believe in the two-state solution or the one-state solution?

Speaker 6: One-state solution.

Nehemia: Which is Palestine? Or is it Israel?

Speaker 6: Well, I don't know. It's whatever the people decide to call it. You know, I believe in democratizing the state, making it fully democratized.

Nehemia: So, Gaza has been ruled by Hamas for over 10 years. Wow, even coming up on 15 years, and they had one set of elections about 10 or 15 years ago, and they're not a democracy at all. Palestinians, particularly Muslim Palestinians, have more rights in Jerusalem than they do in Gaza. Do you think that you want all the Palestinians living under that rule?

Man: You can't even take one meter from Gaza, man. You people have been fighting Hamas for how long? You can't even take a centimeter from them.

Nehemia: We don't want Gaza.

Man: You do want Gaza. You can't take it.

Nehemia: We had Gaza. We gave it to the Palestinians.

Speaker 6: Gaza is the biggest outdoor prison in the world.

Nehemia: Gaza’s is not a prison. Why do you call it a prison?

Speaker 6: That's what David Cameron calls it.

Man: A concentration camp.

Nehemia: David Cameron, you know, I'm not gonna comment on him. I'm a foreigner in this country.

Speaker 6: Well, it is, as far as I know.

Nehemia: In what sense is Gaza a prison camp? How is it a concentration camp?

Speaker 6: David Cameron, as far as I know, David Cameron is as a Zionist. And even he doesn’t…

Nehemia: How is it a concentration camp?

Speaker 6: You guys know all about concentration camps. You should know better than putting Gaza people in concentration camps.

Speaker 6: People aren't allowed out, they're not allowed in, are they?

Nehemia: No, they can leave, they leave all the time.

Speaker 7: Take a flyer. There’s a load of information here on how the governments are chemtrailing our skies. They are altering our weather using geo-engineering. They admit to that. Harvard University has admitted to that. Spanish government are on that website admitting to using NASA to do their weather modification. We should look into the idea that perhaps some of the vaccines are harmful for us.

Man: They are.

Speaker 7: Yeah, vaccines are extremely harmful. TV is extremely harmful for you, by the way. There's a lot of things that are designed in this system to deny you the truth about who and what you really are. And one of them is religion. Another one of them is the scientism, which we call “scientism,” where they make you believe that you came from monkeys out of Africa billions of years ago, that dinosaurs walked on this planet, as they call it. Without the help of NASA's images, we can't prove that Earth is spinning. We can't prove that Earth is a ball.

So, this is a wakeup call to say, “Hey, go and look into why the government would be lying to you. Why would they have created religion to deceive us?” And we can see what it's done to humanity. And why would they have created a science that has minimized us and made us think that we are nothing but a lucky strike of evolutionary, you know, random big bang? By the way, the big bang was given to you by the Roman Catholic Church. So again, it's one of those things that's been fed to us by religions.

I never could understand why my religion was happy, and I was brought up Christian, right? While they were happy to accept that the science was saying we came from monkeys, and that the Genesis story was incorrect in the Bible. Well, when I first discovered that the earth might be flat, I went back to the Bible to check that out. And I realized that the Bible is still a control tool. It's still trying to stop me from finding who I truly am.

So, I come here on a Sunday, I've got a two-year-old boy who would much rather I was with him, but I came here on a Sunday to tell people that actually, when you distill all of the bullshit away and realize that we've been lied to about pretty much everything and you say, “Why?” It's not about money, it’s not about oil. It's not about Donald Trump, but it's about your soul, the spirit of your soul that's within you. That you might well be the divine spark of the most high of the creator of God. I say to people, “You could be Jesus Christ or Mohammad, simply here to have an experience, a beautiful, divine experience.” But that experience is robbed from you by religion, by science, a science that would have you believe that you were nothing but a lucky strike, rather than being the center of creation, here on purpose, here by design, here to have a divine experience.

I'm not here today to try and convert you to anything, but I'm trying to alert you to the fact that you've been lied to about everything. And I was an atheist believer in nothing but random chance, I honestly was. Then I had a pineal gland DMT experience four years ago. And then I found out that the earth was flat, and all of that together. It made me realize that actually, “Shit, I've been lied to about everything. I've been conned about everything.”

Nehemia: Can I ask you a question? You believe the earth is flat...

Speaker 7: No, no, I know that water is level. I know that water is level.

Nehemia: Is the earth a globe?

Speaker 7: No, of course not.

Nehemia: Okay, is gravity real?

Speaker 7: No. Gravity is a theory. We know that.

Nehemia: Why do apples fall?

Speaker 7: Because of density. Newton's third law requires for that once you impart energy into something, you get the equal and opposite reaction, right? Do you agree with that? Do you understand basic science?

Nehemia: No, I'm in humanities.

Speaker 7: Okay, so I had to go back and study all of this stuff again.

Nehemia: I've got my croc here and I drop it, will it go to the ground or will it go up?

Speaker 7: Did you lift it up?

Nehemia: I did.

Speaker 7: Okay, when you lifted it up, you imparted Newton's third law. The apple tree lifts up that plant. Now, it takes a while, yes, but the apple tree lifts up the apple. And so, it imparts energy into it. And when the apple becomes too heavy for the surrounding atmosphere, or the environment, then its density will pull it to the ground. Now, I will give you gravity if you want. But how do you explain relativity?

Nehemia: I'm not a physicist. My understanding is that in 1919 they went and observed an eclipse of the sun. And they saw the stars that should have been behind the sun, that there was a gravity well that bent the light around the sun. But I'm not a physicist. I'm not an expert in this. If you want to know about medieval Hebrew manuscripts, I'm your expert.

Man: I do.

Nehemia: Do you really?

Man: So, we need to talk.

Speaker 7: You guys can have a talk about that. You can have a talk about that.

Nehemia: We’ll talk about that later. So, what is your religion? You said you don't believe in the Bible, but you believe something about spiritual…

Speaker 7: I used to, yeah, my religion used to be science, like gravity theories and stuff like that.

Nehemia: What is it now?

Speaker 7: Now I have no religion. I have no religion. Religion is like a system…

Nehemia: Do you believe in God?

Speaker 7: Yes. Well, I believe that we are probably that.

Nehemia: We're God?

Speaker 7: Yeah, that's my belief.

Nehemia: Where do we go when we die?

Speaker 7: Back into everything.

Nehemia: So, we cease to exist?

Speaker 7: Well, no, we don't.

Nehemia: Our Individual consciousnesses cease to exist?

Speaker 7: I don't think so, but I don't know.

Nehemia: Fair enough.

Speaker 7: Let me tell you why I know that so certainly, because this is important for your listeners or whatever you're talking to. I was a full set atheist four years ago, right? And then I did DMT, do you know what that is?

Nehemia: No.

Speaker 7: All right. Dimethyltryptamine is created in your body…

Nehemia: Is that a drug?

Speaker 7: No, it's a plant. In your body you've got DMT, dimethyltryptamine. You can take in a plant called Ayahuasca. I don't call plant medicine “drugs.”

Nehemia: But this is what they call an hallucinogen?

Speaker 7: You can call it that, yes. But for me it wasn't like mushrooms or acid or any of that thing. And if you research what they do in Ayahuasca, you'll realize that this is more like a conversation with a higher power. So, I went in having done, you know, 47 years of my life total atheist, right? And five minutes after smoking the DMT, I came back and went, “Wow, it's true, we're connected to everything.” And actually, the whole of particle physics is bullshit. We've never actually seen an atom. We believe in atoms and nucleus and protons and so on. But all of it in our science book is only drawings and CGI, computer generated images.

None of us can go to a higher power thing and see an atom. And they’ll say, “Oh, the reason for that is because the atom would be here, and the nucleus would be miles away over there, because the distance between these things is so great.”

Nehemia: So, atoms aren't real, either.

Speaker 7: No, atoms not real. That's a made-up science.

Nehemia: So, what are the building blocks of the universe?

Speaker 7: Wave. Actually, if you look into wave theory, everything is plasma, actually.

Nehemia: Isn't plasma superheated gas?

Speaker 7: Well, no, plasma is the fourth state of matter. And modern science is really coming on board with this idea now. So, it's a fourth state of matter, of water, really. And it's somewhere between the gas and the liquid phase. But I call it the “ether,” and everything around us... Nikola Tesla, and all that, talked about this being the ether that we're in, but ether had to be banished.

Nehemia: Luminophores ether, they tried to measure it.

Speaker 7: Yeah. And they did the interferometer experiments, to try...

Nehemia: I did a podcast about it. It hasn't been broadcast yet, but I did one, yeah. I went to the place where they did the experiment and saw the apparatus in Dayton, Ohio. No, sorry, Cleveland, Ohio.

Speaker 7: Well, there was a bunch of guys doing it in the late 1800s.

Nehemia: This is the original one in Cleveland. I'm gonna thank you as well. Thank you. This was fascinating. Can I get one of your pamphlets?

Speaker 7: Yeah, and don't do beliefs my brother, because beliefs are the problem.

Nehemia: Well, I have a lot of belief.

Speaker 7: Gravity is a belief. Gravity is just a theory, and so is relativity.

Nehemia: All right, thank you very much. Ben, what do you speak about here?

Ben: I’m just debating Ali Dawah, Christianity versus Islam.

Nehemia: So, I'm Jewish. Give me the pitch for the Christian pitch.

Ben: The Christian pitch. Well, I believe that Christianity is a culmination of Judaism. I mean, the Old Testament speaks of Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 says, "Unto us a Son is born, as unto us a Son is given. He will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father.” In Zechariah 6 or 9 I believe it is, it talks about Jesus coming on colt or a donkey. And in Matthew we see this actually happening. So, I think Jesus does in fact fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.

Nehemia: All right, thank you very much. Have a good day.

Ben: What channel is that going on, if you don’t mind me asking?

Nehemia: It’s called “Hebrew Voices.”

Man: We’re talking about Christianity.

Nehemia: Are you a Christian, Sir? Or are you Muslim?

Speaker 8: I am a human being.

Nehemia: Okay, I ascertained that.

Speaker 8: That's all we need to know.

Nehemia: What position are you guys discussing?

Speaker 8: Well, he said Moses wrote a book 1400 years ago...

Man: No, 1400 BC.

Nehemia: What year?

Man: 1,400 BC.

Nehemia: That's about right, yeah.

Man: Just about.

Nehemia: Give or take a few hundred years.

Speaker 8: And I'm worried about the authenticity.

Man: Okay. My brother has been asking the authenticity of Bible. He would keep asking me, “How do you know this is the book of God? How do you know who wrote it? And my answer was, “The authorship of a book, to be a reliable source, is a very new culture. You have to have on the first page, who wrote it, the press and the company. This is a new culture.”

In the past, there was not such a thing. And we only know the authorship of a book, especially in the Bible, in the context. When the time the Gospel was written and the Old Testament was written, there was not as such a concern. There was not such a standard to spot out, “This person wrote this.” And there is not a condition in the Bible to say, “If the authorship of this book is not known, it is not a reliable source.” We don't need that. That was not a condition in the past.

Nehemia: I'm not sure I agree with that, but what perspective are you coming from? Are you coming from Muslim perspective?

Speaker 8: I'm coming from a skeptical perspective.

Nehemia: Are you an atheist?

Speaker 8: I am a skeptic. I'm just doubting what he's saying. He's claiming things, and I'm doubting it. Moses wrote a book. Nobody validated that it was Moses that wrote the book. And a big claim of Moses is that he went up into a mountain and spoke to a talking burning bush. I find that quite unbelievable. Do you?

Man: That's a different question.

Speaker 8: Oh, that's a different question?

Man: That's about would you believe a miracle or not? That's a different question. We're talking about authenticity of Bible.

Speaker 8: Yes.

Man: I want to make another point.

Nehemia: Are you a Christian?

Speaker 8: I’m a Christian. In the time of the Gospel when they were written, if the authorship has been clearly stated, it was considered not to be reliable. Today, the apocryphal books we have attribute a certain apostle that have been proved to be false. It is easy to insert a name, “This person wrote this book.” It is very easy to deceive many. This happened. The most reliable way is, when you read the context, you can tell who is the author. That's the most reliable way. The Gospel of Thomas has been proved not to be Thomas’ Gospel. The Gospel of…

Nehemia: What was the proof for that?

Speaker 8: It is later.

Nehemia: What’s the proof for that? You said it's been proven, what is the evidence?

Speaker 8: Yeah, it's too late. It's the 2nd or 3rd century. It is not written in the time of...

Nehemia: How do you know?

Speaker 8: Scholars say that. There was a list. The author has been specifically outlined, has been

proved to be false.

Nehemia: What about Matthew? Matthew is listed as the author.

Speaker 8: Matthew does not say, “It’s me.” In the context we understand, this must be Matthew. In the Gospel of John, in the context, we understand this must be John. In the Gospel of Luke, in the context we understand this must be Luke. The authorship of Mark, it's much more debated. But since I said, there was not such a condition to specify who wrote where. This is a later tradition and today's tradition. In the past, people were writing down the way it was more reliable to the audiences, to the receiver. They believe it was this way, and they send it off in that way, they wrote it down in that way.

Nehemia: So, what about Isaiah? Isaiah clearly is the author of Isaiah, isn't he?

Speaker 8: Yes, we know Isaiah, we know Malachi, we know Ezekiel. Many of them, you know what I mean, is this.

Nehemia: I don't know what you mean, because I believe Isaiah wrote Isaiah, and if the earliest manuscripts of Mark say it was written by Mark, I want to see some evidence to counter that.

Speaker 8: There are many books…

Nehemia: And you're saying the fact that it's attributed to an author means it's unreliable. I don't know of evidence from that from the ancient world. Like, Julius Caesar wrote a book and his name is on the book. And no one really disputes he wrote the book. So, I'm not following what you're saying. I'm not trying to be difficult.

Speaker 8: No, I'm not talking about secular books. In the secular books, often there is not a way to deceive anyone. People just making a…

Nehemia: Oh, no, they were deceived. There's a book by a secular scholar named Bart Ehrman, and he brings a lot of sources that show that they had such an idea of forgeries. And there was a Roman doctor named Galen, and Galen laments that there are people who are writing books and putting my name on it, and they're liars.

Speaker 8: You see? You just made the point.

Nehemia: No, but there were books that Galen actually did write.

Speaker 8: I got you now.

Nehemia: I'm so confused.

Speaker 8: I've done it. Thank you, all done. It's over. When you put the name, it's doubtful. You have to understand the author in the context.

Nehemia: So, Mark is doubtful?

Speaker 8: No, Mark doesn't say that. Do you see that? When you read the John, he says, “The one who testified this.”

Nehemia: Other than the title…

Speaker 8: In the context, often we understand...

Nehemia: What about the book of Revelation? Doesn't it specifically say it was of John of Patmos?

Speaker 8: In the book of Revelation, we believe… we know John wrote it.

Nehemia: So, by your argument we shouldn't trust that.

Speaker 8: No, no, what I mean is, if the author has been clearly stated, in general, it is believed to be false.

Nehemia: I see. Well, I really appreciate you challenging people to think out there and having conversations. Thank you.

Man: Are you from Israel?

Nehemia: I'm Jewish and I lived in Israel for 20 plus years.

Speaker 9: I love the Jewish people.

Nehemia: You love the Jewish people?

Speaker 9: Yeah.

Nehemia: So, what do you preach about here? What do you talk about?

Speaker 9: Mainly about the message of Christ, that it's a good message. In fact, it's the only message that is possible to come from God, because it deals with a fundamental issue of the human need. That is sin. The Gospel of Christ is the only message among all the religious messages that deals with the issue of sin. And sin is the only thing that we human beings have a need for. We don't need anything else. God has created this wonderful world.

Nehemia: So, you're talking to a Jew.

Speaker 9: Yeah.

Nehemia: What, in a concise way, is the message of Christ that he came to bring?

Speaker 9: The Bible, and the message of Christ, is about the Jewish God, the God of Israel. It's very interesting that in the Bible, God never calls...I'm from Ghana, but He said the God of Israel, he’s called the “God of Israel” so many times. You first have to recognize the God of Israel, before it can become the God of London or the God of Ghana. After you recognize the God of Israel, then He now focuses on the message from Him. Jesus said salvation is from the Jews. He didn't say salvation is for them alone. But he says salvation comes from the Jewish people, from the Jewish race. It's written in the New Testament. Most Jewish people don't even know that. Jesus said, “Salvation is of the Jews,” but he didn't say it's for them alone. He said, it comes from them.

The Bible's about the family of Jesus, which is a Jewish family. Zion is mentioned in the last chapters of the Bible. Jerusalem is mentioned throughout the Bible, the new heaven is called New Jerusalem. The Bible is about a Jewish family, a Jewish God, who brings salvation to mankind.

And when I look at the struggles going on in the world, I know the message of the Bible is true. I can give you so many reasons. Number one, the Old Testament declares that the Jewish people were a God chosen people. And today, a Jewish man is being worshipped as God in every single village in the world. That's 100 percent true to any Jewish person who has read this. The Old Testament continues to claim that Jewish people are God’s people.

Today, a Jewish man stands as a king in every village in the world. What the Jewish people don't recognize is that... I have some Jewish friends, okay? And I sat with them about a month ago. I said, “The whole world is running after Jesus, the Jewish man, and you alone are running away from him.” That didn’t make sense to my soul. But when I went and sat in the car, the Lord reminded me that salvation, eternal life, is only offered by the Jewish God to the human race today. Yeah. Hinduism do not offer eternal life. They don't even believe in heaven. Islam don't offer eternal life.

Nehemia: Don't the Muslims believe in heaven?

Speaker 9: There's no discussion of heaven in the Quran. All you find in the Quran is paradise. Paradise is not heaven. Yeah, it's not. There's no detailed description. When you read the book of Daniel, Daniel saw heaven. He saw that God, Jehovah, is sitting on the throne. He described it wonderfully. Isaiah saw the Lord, Isaiah 6, “I saw the Lord.” He described heaven; there's no description of heaven in the Quran. It doesn't exist. It doesn’t exist. I pray to God that Jewish families of the world will find the Jewish God. You know, when Moses asked God, “What is your name?” God said, “Go and tell the people of Israel.”

Nehemia: And what was the name that God told Moses?

Speaker 9: He said, “I'm the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” That is a line in which Christ came into the world.

Nehemia: But what name did He say?

Speaker 9: Jehovah, Yahweh. Yeah, and then He went and He described, He said, “This shall be My name forever,” the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Nehemia: You heard it here, guys, he preached Exodus 3:15. Thank you very much, Sir. Have a good day.

Speaker 9: God bless you.

Nehemia: Okay, we're trying to talk to some of the speakers here who are standing on the pulpits. You're a speaker, so what do you talk about?

Speaker 10: I talk about transgender issues, identity and things like that. So, I just had a good morning this morning, where I was showing some pictures of men with beards and makeup and asking passersby if they think this is a man or a woman. And it seems there's a generational divide between the responses.

Nehemia: Really?

Speaker 10: Yeah.

Nehemia: And what is your approach to this? Where are you coming from on this?

Speaker 10: Well, it seems that especially with educating of young children now, that they're increasingly being told that they can be born in the wrong bodies. They're coming home with confusion. And this is actually going on in the education system. Also, I'm a father of five girls. And for me, this idea of being gracious to people and friendly and kind to them, allowing them to call them whatever they want, that on itself, you know, you can kind of melt your heart to that.

But the main thing is when the rubber hits the road, there are ramifications for this, where men are accessing women's safe spaces. For instance, the female toilets. I could self-identify right now in front of you as a female. I'm bi-gender, which means I fluctuate between the two polarities, nonbinary. And if your daughter went to the toilet, I could go in there.

Nehemia: And that's literally true in the United Kingdom.

Speaker 10: This is exactly what happens right now, here on the ground.

Nehemia: Wow, all right. My understanding is England doesn't have free speech. You don't have a First Amendment.

Speaker 10: No, no. It doesn’t.

Nehemia: And so, there are hate speech laws. Is what you spoke about today considered hate speech?

Speaker 10: Yes, it would be. I mean, outside of this park, if I was to mis-gender somebody intentionally, that person could go to a policeman. And they could say outside of this park, "I've been the victim of a hate crime."

Nehemia: But in this park, you're allowed to speak free.

Speaker 10: In this park, and this is why I come to this park. This park has a history of allowing free speech going right back to Henry VIII, I think. You know the history here.

Nehemia: No, I don't, tell it. I do, but tell the audience.

Speaker 10: Yeah, this park used to be the place where they were executed. They were taken from Tyburn to here. They were hung, drawn and quartered. It was all happening here. But prior to them being executed, they would be allowed a final word, it would go, “Have you any last thing that you'd like to say?" So, they've enshrined that freedom of speech here in this park.

Nehemia: So, this is the one place in the United Kingdom, maybe the only place in all of Europe, where

people actually have free speech.

Speaker 10: There's nothing that you can say here that you can be prosecuted for.

Nehemia: That's amazing.

Speaker 10: I know, and this is why this is coming under attack more and more.

Nehemia: Look, guys. This is why I wanted to come here. It is an embodiment of free speech, which is a central... you know, look, as a perpetual minority in every country I've ever lived in, I'm a big fan of free speech. I think it's a good thing, too. I think it's an opportunity for people to work out their ideas and have conversations and learn and grow. And when you stifle people, it pushes them underground.

Speaker 10: You know what, this is very interesting. Not many years ago, and we would remember that, when we were a bit younger, you could have a disagreement.

Nehemia: He called me old.

Speaker 10: No, no, no.

Nehemia: Fair enough.

Speaker 10: Let's say you might find my opinion abhorrent. And we could discuss it, and you could disagree with me vehemently. But now we've moved to the stage where I'm not actually allowed to have the opinion, let alone us discuss it. And this opinion now is forbidden. And George Orwell, he said that someday in the future... And George Orwell spoke in this park. He said, “Telling the truth will become a criminal act.”

Nehemia: Wow. I read this thing in the United Kingdom, in England, where there was a person who posted something on Facebook. And the police called this person up and started asking the questions, and she said, “Why are you asking me that?” And the police said, “I wanted to know what you were thinking when you posted that.” So, there is literally thought crime in the United Kingdom. We're not there yet in the US. Canada has surpassed the United Kingdom, unfortunately.

Speaker 10: And you know what? This is increasingly why the judiciary will supply the context. They won't allow you to supply the context, they will supply it. So, if you say something, you say, “Well, I didn't intend to cause any alarm and distress.” They’ll say, “No, actually, we say you did, because you wouldn't use those words unless you did.”

So, I've had a few conversations here this morning, where we've been talking about transgender issues. And I said, “Am I allowed to have this opinion?” And it seems, again, generationally, people of my age say, “Well, yes, sure you are.” But when I look at 16, 17, 18 year-olds, they look at me now as if I'm absolutely crazy.

So, I say, “Could you read this?” And it's the legal definition of insanity, to believe in something that is false, right? And after asking, “Is this a man or a woman?” It's a bloke with a beard, penis and testicles. I maintain it's a man, but obviously I'm wrong, because they're telling me this is a woman if this person says they're a woman.

So, then I say, ‘Well, I'm a bi-gender man, am I a woman?” They go, “Yeah, you're a woman, too.” And they will jump through any hoop to avoid… this groupthink. This is what George Orwell was talking about, groupthink. If you stray outside...

Nehemia: It's also doublespeak, right? And there's Newspeak. Newspeak is this idea. I've read George Orwell's 1984, one of the best books, guys. Go out there and read it. We're living 1984. Beyond the fantasies, the paranoid fantasy of George Orwell…

Speaker 10: Way, way beyond that.

Nehemia: …is what we're actually living today, and it's really scary. You know, one of the reasons I wanted to come here, I have a podcast that deals with the history of Israel and the Hebrew language and the Bible. And why did I want to come here? Because there was a Rabbi in the 13th century, he was forced to debate with this Catholic. And when they set down the rules for the debate, he said, “Will I be allowed to say whatever I want?” And the Catholic said, “Well, no, not if it's offensive.” And he said, “How can I possibly debate you if I'm not allowed to say things that are offensive to you? The very core of your faith is offensive to me.”

And the King gave him freedom of speech, which was contrary to the will of the Catholic Church. Well, then he won the debate, and he wrote down verbatim what was said, and he was sentenced to death, because the Catholic Church said, “The King controls speech, but we, the Catholic Church, control Facebook,” and I mean, the written word. I mean, it really is like we are in today, right? We have free speech in the United States, but we can't write what we want on the Internet, or we'll be persecuted by multi-national corporations.

Speaker 10: It's slightly more pernicious here in England particularly.

Nehemia: No, that’s not true that they're private platforms. They are the public square, and they're given special protections, as public squares, under US law. Look it up. They’re given special protection under US law. If they post something libelous, look it up in the US. Look it up, you can find out, it's very easy. Look it up. It's US law. British law might be different. You cannot sue Facebook for something that I post on Facebook, because they're considered a platform, not a publisher. Well, that's exactly like what was with the Rabbi. They said, “You could say whatever you want,” but the writing, that was controlled by the Church. And they'd say, “Well, the Church...” Okay, all right. Go ahead.

Speaker 10: Yeah, what I was gonna say, it's slightly more pernicious here in England because the social services will take your children away. It will be actually an act of Child Protection.

Nehemia: What's the context for that?

Speaker 10: Okay. I'll be very, very brief. There was a woman whose daughter, when she was at school without the teachers telling her, had transitioned, a new gender. They gave the child a new name, everything else, but they didn't tell the parents.

Nehemia: The school did that?

Speaker 10: The school did that.

Nehemia: Without telling the parents? How old was the child?

Speaker 10: The child was 13, 14. When the parent found out, she said, “I want to change the doctor.” She wanted to go to a Christian doctor. And they said, “Look, if you persist in this, your child will be put on a Child Protection thing because of your transphobic and homophobic inclination to remove this child. You are actually trying to frustrate this whole thing,” that they’d already put into place. So, parents are scared to even speak, even the smallest little squeak at the moment, in England. It’s a terrifying situation that we live in. But here at Speakers’ Corner, you can say what you want. You can talk shit, I can talk shit, and we can all talk shit. And if some of it sticks, you know, we've achieved our aim.

Nehemia: Well, thank you for talking to me. What's your name, Sir?

Speaker 10: Collin, yeah, God bless you.

Nehemia: Do you have channel or something?

Speaker 10: No, I don't have a channel. No, I’m just here talking.

Nehemia: All right, you heard it here from Speakers’ Corner.

Speaker 10: God bless you, thank you.

Nehemia: All right, Ma, what did you think here of the Speakers’ Corner?

Nehemia's Mother: It's absolutely fascinating. Such an interesting place where people can say anything they want, supposedly.

Nehemia: Even crazy things.

Nehemia's Mother: Well, of course. Otherwise, what's the use of being able to speak if you can't say crazy or nasty things?

Nehemia: You heard it here from my mother. Shalom. Bye, Ma.

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  • Michael Mauro says:

    I really enjoyed this broadcast about free speech. What I love about Nehemia is that he stays calm and asks questions that people should be able to answer in defense of a position.
    It’s telling how much shouting down people get from those who profess Islam. Why not have debate? A people completely controlled by emotion.
    They were out of their league anyway. Would have been a more interesting conversation had it been with an educated Muslim like a cleric of some sort.
    Maybe Nehemia can invite one in to the studio who can leave his sword at home and just have a discussion or debate.
    What do you say Nehemia?

  • LG says:

    This is an incredible episode of Hebrew Voices! It’s so informative about what’s happening in England and the rest of Europe.
    I did notice a couple of S-words. Could you please edit them out?
    Yehovah bless you.

  • I)aniel Gow. says:

    Thankyou Nehemia! This was really good! I come from a Commonwealth Country, and what the last speaker said is not explicitly outlined by the media in Australia, it’s So very WRONG what has happened in England , and I believe it is Demonic in nature, And inspired by pagans in high places (of government)
    Thankyou very much for being or allowing truth when the Media blankets it.
    I enjoyed how 99% of people there approached each other civilly, unlike the muzzie of another podcast.
    I equally thought it amazing how with one simple question about the Koran had the muzzies fighting amungst themselves and not against you.
    Shalom Nehemia!

  • Heidi says:

    That was super intense!

  • Steve Starr says:

    Wow, spelled backwards is wow. That is as good a subject and wise as words as many of these people could discuss. Great Brittan has become a, to put it nicely, a trash can of socialism and stupidity but they have plenty of company close-by.

  • Jackie Moll says:

    “…………………………..” (me being speachless, but thinking otherwise!)

  • Sandy Pierce says:

    This was the VERY best podcast I have EVER seen. I am going to share it with as many people as I can. Thank you so much, Nehemia, for everything you do!! I pray for your safety and blessings on a regular basis. I especially thank you for setting such a good example for respecting and being kind to ALL people.

  • Thomas Garza says:

    Anywhere a form of “Free Speech” exists, it wasn’t free. Whether in the U.S. or at Speakers Corner in the U.K., there are the granite markers ( graves) dotting the landscape that testify that such a freedom required “blood sacrifices”. Which Prophet of Israel did not pay a price for such a notion ? One of the best videos I’ve seen in a long time. Thank You !

  • E says:

    Nehemia has taught us the correct translation of Isaiah 9:6: …”And the Wonderful Counsellor, the Great God, the Eternal Father called His name, “Prince of Peace.”‘

  • April says:

    I felt scared for you, Nehemia! I thought for sure a fight was going to break out at some point when the Muslim man was speaking. I’m glad you stuck up for yourself. This video reminds me of how much turmoil this world is in. Thank you for sharing it with us. I pray Yehovah protects you and your family as you travel and speak to others about Him.

    • Robert Kennedy says:

      I admit, I was a little scared for him too…and yet there he was using his gift like a bold lion!

      “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” – Romans 8:31

      : )

  • Robert Kennedy says:

    WOW!! All I can say is WOW!! I had no idea such a face-to-face forum still existed. Thank You so much for sharing this.

  • Jeffrey Manresa says:

    The light shines in the darkness and the darkness could not put it out! Nehemia keep on with that brother. You are a light unto the nation’s. Shalom.

  • Very, very interesting from the Speakers Corner. So many thoughts an ideas and beliefs. World for sure is in a spiritual chaos. Messiah come, we need your Standard here! The last intervjued told how The Beast and the Harlot are about to form their empire wher they control and set the standard for everyone and everything. In Norway these laws about all kinds of gender alternatives are about to be implemented in kindergarrdens and schools. So we follow the Beast, EU here too 🙁

  • Jessica Lindsey says:

    Are you giving a talk in London; a ‘speaking event’ you haven’t listed on your website? I live in England and I wouldn’t want to miss such an occurrence 🙂

  • Eunice Austin says:

    Dear Nehemia. please be careful……..Since Britain got conned into joining the European Common Market back in 1972, I was there so I know, the flood gates were opened……Later the ECM became the EU……which was NOT what Britain had signed up for but could not get out of, thus “today” you have BREXIT. Meantime understand that the Police Department has been headed up by none other than a person not of the Jewish or Christian faith, and even not of the Catholic faith……….so please please be careful. Speaker’s corner is now used to flush out those who disagree with the god who is not The Almighty Creator of the Universe who is Just and Righteous and full of Loving Mercy. Please be careful and remember 4 arabic words and their meaning:- muruna, takiyya, tawriya, kitman. My parents had a good saying “to be forewarned is to be forearmed”.

  • Reyes Nava says:

    Truly fascinating to see so many ideas and perspectives challenging each other in open discussion and debate. Especially since each person is so convincing in their beliefs and thoroughly versed in their arguments (whether it be religion, politics or science).

    For certain they are all there to convince others rather than be dissuaded. Even the flat-earther sounded legitimate and persuasive in his presentation.

    At the end of it all there is hope in Isaiah 2:3
    “And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yehovah, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For the Torah will go forth from Zion and the word of Yehovah from Jerusalem.”

  • Ørjan Myhre says:

    Amazing Nehemia, some good wake up calls there.

  • AJ Bernard says:

    Fantastic work, Nehemia!! Thank you for going there and talking to all of those folks. And thank you, Mrs. Gordon, for your amazing commentary at the end!!

    Peace, my brother.