Greens’ Polanski says he would discourage ‘globalise the intifada’ chant but warns against march bans | Zack Polanski
Zack Polanski said he would discourage pro-Palestinian protesters from using the slogan “globalise the intifada”, but the Green party leader warned against outlawing the phrase specifically or banning a protest planned for London later this month.
Speaking earlier at the weekend, Keir Starmer called for “tougher action” against marchers using the slogan following an attack on Jewish people in Golders Green last week, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating.
While the Metropolitan police already have a policy of arresting people chanting “globalise the intifada”, transport minister Heidi Alexander said any further action would await ongoing review of protest laws.
Appearing on BBC One’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday, Polanski said banning the chant would greatly restrict freedom of expression.
He repeated his apology for sharing a post on X criticizing the way police arrested a suspect after two Jews were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, on Wednesday. Arrest footage shows two officers kicking the man on or near his head.
Polanski said that although he remained concerned about the images, he apologized “because I accept that X or social media is not an appropriate forum to raise this concern,” adding that he would discuss the matter privately with Met commissioner Mark Rowley.
On Friday, Rowley used an open letter to accuse Polanski of undermining his officers by sharing a critical mission; The Green leader also argued it was a mistake: “I also think an open letter from the commissioner is not necessarily the appropriate forum, but I’m glad we’ve sorted that out. I’ve asked for a meeting with the commissioner and will address these conversations privately.”
Asked if he agreed with Starmer that “globalizing the intifada”, an Arabic word meaning uprising, was racist, Polanski said: “No, I don’t think that’s right. I think it’s important to make sure that we have freedom of expression and freedom of protest in this country.” He added that he did not believe “policing people’s language” would make the Jewish people safer.
When asked if he would use the phrase, Polanski replied: “I wouldn’t encourage people to use that phrase, because I think you can get your point across much more effectively without actually getting into this debate about language.”
Speaking earlier in the same program, Alexander said it was right for police to take action against repeated protests that “intimidate a certain community that is always on the other side”.
He said the decision on whether to ban a pro-Gaza protest planned for May 16 was an operational decision for the police, and that an outright ban on “globalise the intifada” slogans would be decided after former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald, now a different colleague, reviews the protest laws.
“We’re not talking about a completely blanket ban on protests or anything like that,” he said. “We are talking specifically about the cumulative impact on the Jewish community. Here we will take appropriate steps to resolve this issue, but we will also defend the right to protest.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told the program that all pro-Gaza marches should be stopped, saying these marches “create an environment that normalises hatred against Jews”.
Asked whether police should ban the London march led by far-right extremist Tommy Robinson, also planned for May 16, Badenoch said no.
“Does it create an environment of intimidation and violence?” he asked. When told that a march organized by Robinson last year had resulted in a number of arrests, Badenoch said: “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You couldn’t say who was targeted.”
