Orim Shimshon in Trafalgar Square, where his tiny Israel flag made a big impact among anti-Assad protesters. Photo: Screenshot

Orim Shimshon is a man with a mission.

A British citizen of Arab origin, Shimshon says he was born in Baghdad and raised as a Muslim after moving to the UK as a child. Over the last year, he’s become a familiar – and unwelcome – figure at pro-Palestinian events and demonstrations in London.

At a recent rally in solidarity with the Syrian people in central London’s Trafalgar Square, Shimshon turned up waving an Israeli flag and holding a sign thanking Israel for treating victims of the brutal civil war raging throughout the territory of its northern neighbor. When another demonstrator told Shimshon that Israel was an “apartheid state,” Shimshon good-naturedly challenged him, underlining the fact that he is a pro-Israel Arab in the process.

This week, Shimshon was even more daring, attending a pro-Palestinian meeting in north London where he attempted to stage a silent protest. For his pains, he was dragged off the stage and shoved by the organizers of the event. Afterwards, Shimshon explained that he went to the meeting to protest against Jenny Tonge – a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords with a long record of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements – although in the end, she didn’t turn up.

Watch Shimshon’s latest encounter with the Palestinian solidarity movement: