Thousands have marched through central London against antisemitism today as organisers claimed British Jews had been failed by both Conservative and Labour governments.
At least 10,000 walked from the Royal Courts of Justice to Westminster under the banner ‘Act against hate before it’s too late’ in the second annual event organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The charity’s CAA Gideon Falter named a catalogue of hate-fuelled events that have taken place in the UK and globally in the last two weeks alone including the arson attack on an Australian synagogue and the targeting of a bus carrying pupils from JFS in north London.
“When they call to globalise the intifada this is what it looks like,” CAA chief executive Gideon Falter told the crowd in Parliament Square.
In a country that provides a global benchmark for justice, he said the “country and authorities” had sometimes over the last year fallen short of British values including over the policing of pro-Palestinian marches through the capital.
He said: “What impact does it have on Israel, Gaza, Lebanon or Iran? The activism we are seeing on the streets is futile as regards the Middle East but is utterly potent here. The power of the performative anti-Israel activism is not global but local. It is British streets that are being made unsafe by people openly supporting terrorist orgs and British values being trampled.”
Board of Deputies chair Phil Rosenberg at Sunday’s march
Falter had earlier this year elicited an apology from the Met when an officer labelled him “openly Jewish” as he tried to walked through a Shabbat demo – but his approach drew the ire of many in the community.
To loud cries of ‘shame’, Falter said ministers had not responded to an invite to take part in the march. “Two governments have now dragged their feet on antisemitism since 7 October. We must reject hate so we
bequeath to the next generation the future the that was once ours. Today we have a message for the authorities: act against hate before it’s too late.”
But he thanked the police and CST for securing the event, one of the largest gatherings of British Jews this year, and a range of communal organisations including the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council for their support.
He insisted the crowd was evidence that British Jews have allies in the fight against Jew hate, before introducing four speakers, none of whom were Jewish.
