Organisers challenge Starmer’s threat to ban some pro-Palestine marches | UK news
Organizers of pro-Palestinian marches said Keir Starmer’s threat to ban some demonstrations opposing Israel’s actions in the Middle East would “strike a blow at the very root of freedom of assembly and expression” in the UK.
The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Saturday morning that there were “circumstances” in which he would support a complete halt to some pro-Palestinian protests.
Starmer also said he wanted the language expressed at some protest marches to be subjected to “tougher action”, including the slogan “globalise the intifada”. Intifada is an Arabic word meaning uprising or “convulsion.”
While some pro-Palestinian voices used the phrase as an expression of solidarity with Palestinians resisting Israeli occupation, some Jewish groups and leaders described it as a call to violence.
His comments come just days after a series of attacks on the British Jewish community in recent weeks, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, on Wednesday.
John Rees, co-founder and national officer of the Stop the War coalition, which helped organize major pro-Palestinian demonstrations in central London, described Starmer’s comments as a “threat” to the coalition’s own protests.
Speaking to Sky News, Rees said the ban would “strike at the very core of freedom of assembly and expression in this country”.
“I don’t think people in this country can say: ‘Oh, we did that once and it didn’t work. So now we’re going home.’
“As long as the wars continue, as long as the killings continue, people will want to say to this government, you are complicit in this, and you must stop. And they will want to say to the Israeli government, you are setting the Middle East on fire. This is now affecting not only the lives of Palestinians, but the livelihoods of people around the world, and you must stop this,” he said.
Asked about the “small percentage” of those who supported Hamas or chanted the phrase “globalize the intifada”, Rees said there had been “very few” arrests for such crimes among the millions of people who attended demonstrations overall.
He said that when officers at demonstrations saw “inappropriate slogans” they “asked people not to use them and generally complied.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for a complete ban on pro-Palestinian marches on Saturday afternoon, claiming “these marches are being used as a cover to encourage violence and intimidation against Jews”.
Rees said: “We must be absolutely clear here that there is no threat to the Jewish community from these marches. In fact, these marches are attended by thousands of Jews who disapprove of the actions of the government and disapprove of the actions of the State of Israel.”
Defend Our Juries, which has organized demonstrations where people voiced their support for banned group Palestine Action, responded to Starmer’s comments on X: “End genocide, not our freedom to oppose it.”
Starmer stressed that his suggestion that some protest marches could be banned was “not just a discussion this week in response to this terrible incident”. “This has been a discussion we’ve had with the police for some time.”
“Regarding the repeated nature of the marches, many people in the Jewish community told me that it was a repeated nature, that it was a cumulative effect,” he told Today.
Asked if he supports calls for moratorium Regarding the pro-Palestinian marches, Starmer said – particularly from his independent adviser on terrorism, Jonathan Hall – that: “I think it’s time to take a comprehensive look at the protests and their cumulative impact. I think it’s time for some people to protest to think about what the Jewish community is going through and the overall impact it’s having.”
Starmer’s comments came as Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley said a “dangerous and disturbing” mix of hate crimes, terrorism and the involvement of hostile states had combined to create a terrifying atmosphere for British Jews in the UK.
Rees said the problem with linking pro-Palestinian demonstrations to attacks on Jews is that it “makes it sound like there’s a causal relationship” between the two.
Referring to those who organized attacks on the Jewish community, including Essa Suleiman, who is accused of three counts of attempted murder after attacking a former friend before stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green, Rees said: “Such people are not affiliated with the Palestine movement. They are not affiliated with the marches. There is no evidence that they saw a march, let alone marched, or that the organizers condoned it for even a moment. So that connection is absolutely conclusive.” misleading.”
Downing Street has been approached for comment.
