Why has it taken so long for the police to take anti-Semitism seriously?
by Danny Cohen, Telegraph:
‘Palestine Solidarity’ marches have been passing synagogues on the Jewish sabbath since October 7. This week that won’t be allowed.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, central London has felt like an intimidating place to be on Saturdays for many British Jews. The pro-Palestinian marches that regularly take place on that day have proven to be more than straightforward expressions of support for the civilians of Gaza.
The cry “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” heard regularly on the marches is nothing less than a call for the eradication of the Jewish State. Chants for “intifada now” are an unambiguous appeal for the return to terrorist campaigns that have taken hundreds of innocent Jewish lives. Placards that show Israeli politicians as devils or dripping with blood are a chilling echo of the way Nazi propaganda depicted Jews.
There are few calls for peace on these marches, but extremism and racist hate are openly on display.
The fact that the organisers of the marches insist they take place on a Saturday – the Jewish Sabbath – is a cause of particular pain for Jewish people. It is a holy day, one on which families come together at synagogue. A day of community, peace and prayer. Yet for more than a year now, Jewish people’s right to practice their religion free of intimidation has been severely impacted by the marches through central London.
Testimony I have seen tells of Jews unable to walk to synagogue for fear of intimidation. Parents have described their decisions to keep their young children at home to protect them from hateful confrontation. Elderly members of the congregation have looked on in disbelief as the cherished spirit of tolerance in Britain that provided a refuge from the Holocaust now appears under threat from angry protestors who call for genocide against Jews and shout and spit hate at people simply exercising their right to religious freedom.
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