Dangerous distortions to deny our duty to demonstrate
JVL Introduction
We have long raised concerns that it is dangerous conflation of antisemitism with anti-Zionism and even with criticism of Israel’s actions.
Why do so many politicians and our police continue to do this?
Clearly as an excuse to clamp down on our civil liberties and to try to quell people showing their disgust and anger at the atrocities that Israel is carrying out against Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian people. Perhaps above all to stop us reminding people that the UK government is complicit in these crimes and violations of international law. The catalogue of crimes is long and includes war crimes, “plausible” genocide, blocking aid, illegal and brutal occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, ethnic cleansing, incarceration without charge or trial under so called “administrative detention”, c.99% conviction rate in military courts for those who are taken to trial and brutal torture of prisoners. How can objecting to any of this be equated with antisemitism?
The Head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has now gone further and, as quoted in this article, claims “that pro-Palestinian protest organisers repeatedly try to include a synagogue on their route through London”. This is dangerously irresponsible, a slander. It recklessly increases the understandable fear for many Jewish people of a spate of genuinely antisemitic attacks.
Jews on the marches can testify that none have passed by any synagogue, nor were they ever intended to. Pro-Palestinian protest is directed at Israel, not Jews. Rowley is stoking Jewish fear. He must retract.
LL
This article was originally published by The Guardian on Sat 2 May 2026. Read the original here.
Organisers challenge Starmer’s threat to ban some pro-Palestine marches
PM says there are instances in which he would support bans but organisers say this would ‘strike at root of free speech’
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Is there a case for a FOI request to Mark Rowley asking:
a) how many of the PSC / Stop the War (STW) marches were on routes directly passing Jewish places of worship?
b) how many of the PSC / STW marches were on routes directly passing within 100 metres of Jewish places of worship?
c) how many murders / attempted murders of Jews since 7th October 2023 were committed by people ever known to have attended PSC / STW rallies?