Pro-Palestinian demonstrators targeted Jewish families leaving a London synagogue after the Armistice Day march, with footage showing protesters waving flags and spraying green smoke on Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, North-West London. The Telegraph has the story.
A Jewish campaign group later confirmed it had received “multiple reports” of police having to escort congregants from another London synagogue away in groups “for their own safety”.
The disturbing footage came as antisemitic signs and hateful chants were filmed and photographed in the demonstration.
While many marched in peace, police confirmed they were looking for several individuals after footage and photos of the London march were shared on social media.
Offensive signs included a placard comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and Gaza to Auschwitz.
Another placard showed a snake in the colours of the Israeli flag wrapped around the globe – a shocking evocation of an antisemitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control.
Hamas-style headbands were also worn by some protesters. Many demonstrators chanted “From the River to the Sea”. The controversial phrase has been used by Palestinian nationalists and terror groups to assert territorial claims of an independent Palestinian state.
In one particularly disturbing clip, male demonstrators were seen shouting “Khayber Khayber ya yaud jadish al Mohammed sauf yaud” through a megaphone.
The antisemitic chant, which references a seventh-century battle in which Jewish people were massacred by a Muslim army, translates as: “Khaybar Khaybar, O Jews, Muhammad’s army will return.” …
Organisers of Saturday’s march had insisted it would be peaceful.
But on Saturday night, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Naturally, the Jewish community is terrified.
“We are aware of Jewish families being targeted on their way out of synagogue and have received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety.”
They added: “The placards today bore slogans and imagery that would not have looked out of place in Nazi Germany.
“Islamist extremists, the far-Left and the far-Right were out on the streets, all on one day. What a day to be a Jew in London.”
Jess Phillips posted on X, “Hate march you say…”.
Indeed, much of the media had a different take, reporting that the protesters had “marched peacefully through Central London on Saturday, even as Right-wing counter-protesters clashed with police”.
The emphasis on the activities of the far-Right is reflected in the Metropolitan Police’s arrest statistics, indicating that “some 126 people were arrested throughout the day, with at least 92 of them being counter-protesters”.
However, footage circulating on social media tells a different story, portraying instances of violence perpetrated by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Elsewhere, Michael Gove had to be escorted out of Victoria station and placed in a police van after being surrounded by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting, “Shame on you.”
Stop Press: An anonymous police officer writing in the Mail on Sunday has said Suella Braverman is right – the police do treat some protest groups with a light touch and come down on others like a ton of bricks. Worth reading.
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