Starmer urges ban on some protests in antisemitism crackdown
Sir Keir Starmer appears to have called for some pro-Palestinian protests to be banned in a bid to crack down on antisemitism following the Golders Green terror attack.
The Prime Minister said there were “instances” where it was appropriate to prevent such marches on UK streets, as in France, and that he would fight “with every breath I take” for a diverse and tolerant Britain.
And he issued a sharp challenge to those taking part in the protests, saying that if they hear chants of ‘Globalize the Intifada’: “You have to stop and ask yourself, why am I not saying this?”
On Friday, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley called for an additional 300 police officers to tackle the growing epidemic of antisemitism in the UK.
He also said he was considering whether police powers should be used to limit two upcoming protests in London – one a pro-Palestinian march, the other a rally led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
The UK’s terrorist threat has been raised to a serious level; This means authorities believe there is a “high probability” of an attack in the UK within the next six months following the stabbing of two Jewish men in London’s Golders Green.
Announcing the move on Friday, MI5 said the UK had been experiencing a gradual increase in terrorist threats for some time due to an increase in both Islamist and far-right terrorism.
Sir Keir’s call came during an interview on the BBC’s Today programme, just days after he was heckled during his visit to Golders Green by a group of protesters holding banners and chanting “Keir Starmer, Jew Harmer”.
Asked whether he wanted chants to be cracked down on, as in France, or some protests to be stopped altogether, he said: “I definitely think of the former, and I think there are examples of the latter as well.”
He added: “I don’t want to get involved in operational policing, but I think when you see some of the slogans of ‘Globalize the Intifada’, when you hear some of the slogans that I would choose, then I think there needs to be tougher action in relation to that.”
He continued: “Regarding the repetitive nature of the marches, many people in the Jewish community have told me that ‘this is a repeated nature, this is a cumulative effect.’ I accept that now, so we aim to deal with cumulative effects.”
He urged “some of the people who are protesting to think about what the Jewish community is going through and the overall impact this is having.”
The Prime Minister also called for “the whole of society to respond”, saying that “too many people do not see or do not want to see anti-Semitism”.
And in a direct challenge to those who were marching but not chanting, he said: “If you’re at a march or a protest where people are chanting ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ you have to stop and ask yourself, why am I not saying this?”
He added: “We all have to fight for this together because it’s about the kind of country we want to live in. I want to live in the Britain that I love, the Britain that is tolerant, the Britain that lives and lets live, the Britain that is diverse. But this is now being debated in a way that has never been challenged in my lifetime.”
“With these values, we must fight for the Britain we believe in. This is who we are. This is what being British is. And that is what I will fight for with every breath I take.”
The Golders Green stabbings were the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish sites since the start of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Iran, leading to accusations that the UK government is not doing enough to tackle antisemitism.
