Raphael Bloom: an apology

In 2017 we published a book by James Fergusson called Al-Britannia, My Country: A journey through Muslim Britain.

In the book we alleged that an unnamed individual, who we described as the leader of the group North West Friends of Israel (who, as some readers would have known, was Raphael Bloom), led a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a female GP. We said that he was responsible for trolling the GP with abusive tweets and emails, and that he made threatening and abusive phone calls to the GP’s home and practice. We stated that during one of those calls the GP was called a Nazi doctor, and that Mr Bloom’s conduct had an emotionally devastating effect on the GP, causing her to fear leaving her own home.

The book also alleged that Mr Bloom’s acts were so serious that he received a police warning.

Mr Bloom sued The Random House Group Ltd for libel over these passages from the book.

The Random House Group Ltd acknowledges that it was wrong to characterise Mr Bloom’s conduct towards the GP in this way.  He did not make threatening and abusive phone calls to her, nor did he call her a Nazi doctor. After taking exception to the GP’s involvement in a protest against the policies of the Israeli government in Gaza, Mr Bloom did target the GP with anonymous tweets causing her to fear for her safety and he made complaints about her, one of which invoked Nazi Germany, to her workplace and professional bodies. However, Mr Bloom did not receive a police warning. The police were asked to investigate Mr Bloom’s activities but having consulted the CPS took no action against him.

We apologise to Mr Bloom for making these allegations, which we will not repeat. We have also agreed to pay him damages and legal costs.

Tagged: Al-Britannia ; Raphael Bloom ; Raphi Bloom ; Random House Group