When the police take the knee, the mob takes the streets
by Paul Goodman, Conservative Home:
The eye lingers on three incidents. A banner at a pro-Palestinian rally shows a picture of Christ carrying the cross, beneath which are the words: “do not let them do the same thing today again”.
A convoy of cars displaying flags of Palestine drives along the Finchley Road, and a man shouts through a tannoy from the top of one: “f**k the Jews, rape their daughters”.
And a policewoman on another pro-Palestian rally is embraced by a member of the crowd, before raising an arm, clenching her first, and chanting: “free, free Palestine”.
The eye may linger, but it soon leaves. Only a tiny proportion of Britain’s population is Jewish, and Israel and Palestine are a long way away. Nonetheless, these incidents are worth a second look, because they have implications for all of us here now.
First, the banner – and the question of double standards. Incitement to religious hatred is a public order offence. Why do the police, say, arrest a 71 year-old Christian evangelist who was preaching in the street, but leave this banner-holder alone?
The question has answers that may convince. The evangelist was speaking on his own, and was the subject of a complaint. The placard was one in a mass of others, and no objection was raised as far as we know.
Furthermore, the police’s main responsibility at a march is to maintain public order. Their instinct would be to think twice before wading into a crowd.
And would all police would have the religious literacy to understand what the placard meant? We doubt it – even though the reference was clearly to the blood libel.
Please right-click links to open in a new window.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
