A large group of anti-Israel activists protested a Jewish community event in London on Sunday, in an incident that reportedly took the Met Police two hours to resolve.
The demonstrators – according to the numbers about 150 Jewish news – stood outside the JW3 building in Finchley, where an event was being organized by an Israeli left-wing newspaper Haaretz took place.
The demonstrators held up signs with slogans such as “Israel burns children alive,” chanted that Israelis were “mass murderers” and demanded the end of the “occupation.”
Blood libel outside Jewish community center in North London. @metpoliceuk has sanctioned this. pic.twitter.com/bZ8BmdaorK
— Hannah BRING THEM HOME (@nice_cuppa) October 27, 2024
In a video about X, the pro-Palestinian crowd echoes the words of a protester who can be heard saying: “We will continue to occupy these streets every day of the week, no matter how many police officers… until Zionism no longer exists in the Middle East because Zionism is a racist ideology.”
The Metropolitan Police announced that they were dealing with a ‘protest’, but did not specify that the intended event was a Jewish event.
Police added that one person, reportedly on the pro-Palestinian side, was arrested for criminal damage.
Someone on the scene told me The Jerusalem Post that they saw an anti-Israel activist remove a yellow ribbon tied in memory of the Gaza hostages and wear it around their necks.
The source added that they had also seen messages in the protest organizers’ WhatsApp group stating that “we could use more numbers if Zios is coming.”
VILE display outside JW3, a Jewish center in London. At a terror rally, children and families were harassed and intimidated. Where were the cops? pic.twitter.com/lPqkxF2ZC1
– Jews Fight Back (@JewsFightBack) October 27, 2024
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The British Jewish community took to social media to question why anti-Israel activists chose to protest outside a Jewish community center, especially when an event was being held with anti-Israel or Israel-critical voices.
The event being protested – the Haaretz Conference – featured diverse voices, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Fatah Foreign Minister Dr. Nasser Alkidwa, an activist whose parents were killed on October 7, and a consultant surgeon who worked in Gaza.
The failure of the police
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the choice of a protest location outside a major Jewish community center served as evidence of an “ongoing effort, carried out under the guise of humanitarian concern, to harass and intimidate British Jews.”
“Far too many people have decided to turn a blind eye to the appalling behavior displayed at such protests,” the Council added.
The Council also emphasized the need for stricter and more proactive policing to protect the Jewish community.
Stop The Hate UK called it another failure by the Met Police and drew attention to one of the protesters who was reportedly arrested earlier on October 5 after using hate speech and gestures.
“Once again @metpoliceuk is failing to protect London’s Jewish community. Today they are allowing terrorist supporters to spread their hatred and anti-Semitism in North London, in front of a peace conference organized by @Haaretz.”
Another source on the scene said this The mail that the police presence at the protest was minimal, with approximately twenty officers. The police officers are said to have sat in their cars rather than confronting the anti-Israel crowd.