The prime minister has called for protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews this week” after the Manchester synagogue attack.
Ahead of a planned demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action this Saturday, Keir Starmer wrote in Jewish News and the Jewish Chronicle that activists should recognise this is a time of mourning.
“Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes,” he wrote.
“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews this week. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”
However, those protesting against the ban on Palestine Action have said cancelling Saturday’s event would “let terror win”, amid pressure from police and the government to call it off after the attack in Manchester.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, added her voice on Friday to calls to postpone the event, after police said they wanted to be able to focus their resources on protecting Jewish and Muslim communities. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Mark Rowley, said that continuing protests after the attack “will likely create further tensions and some might say lacks sensitivity”.
The organisers, Defend Our Juries, said in a statement on Friday that supporters, including many Jewish people, wanted the protest to go ahead. It expected 1,500 people, including priests, vicars, pensioners and others, to take part in the event, which would involve them peacefully sitting holding cardboard signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
More than 1,600 people have been arrested at a series of protests in London and elsewhere since the proscription of Palestine Action came into effect on 5 July.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has lost loved ones in the horrific attack on Heaton Park synagogue and we stand in solidarity with the Jewish community across the UK,” Defend Our Juries said in a statement on Friday.
It added: “Many Jewish supporters of Defend Our Juries have warned that postponing tomorrow’s action would risk conflating the actions of the state of Israel with Jewish people around the world, as [Benjamin] Netanyahu seeks to do – who bear no responsibility for Israel’s crimes, which could fuel antisemitic hatred and prejudice.
“It couldn’t be clearer that tomorrow’s action – which is in Trafalgar Square and not near any synagogue – is about defying the government’s absurdly authoritarian proscription of Palestine Action and the government’s complicity in the genocide being committed by the Israeli government.”
Defend Our Juries reiterated its condemnation of the attack and urged the police “to prioritise protecting the community, instead of arresting entirely peaceful protesters”.
“Cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win. It’s more important than ever to defend our democracy, including our fundamental rights to peaceful protest and freedom of speech, and to take a stand tomorrow against killing and against oppression, and for peace and justice for all,” it added.
Rowley accused Defend Our Juries of “drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most”.
“People have been debating for the last two years whether pro-Palestinian protests are simply a call for peace, or have an implicit intention to stir up antisemitism,” said Rowley. “Continuing such protests within hours of Thursday’s awful terrorist murder of British Jews, when communities are most fearful, will likely create further tensions and some might say lacks sensitivity.”
Rowley said the Met would call in support from forces across the UK to ensure it could arrest all those breaking the law in support of Palestine Action, while the police also provided protection to communities. Additional resources will be deployed in the vicinity of mosques and in communities with larger Muslim populations.
He added: “Some may ask why we do not ban the protest, but there is no power in law for us to do so. Nor is there even the possibility for us to apply to the home secretary to ban static assemblies in the way there is – in very limited circumstances – for protest marches.”
However, the government-appointed official reviewer of terrorism legislation has told the Guardian that police should be given greater power to seek bans on political marches in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack.
Jonathan Hall KC said the power should only be used to spare police resources, which would be under huge strain after an attack. Hall said: “If there is an urgent case where police need resources to deal with the aftermath of a terrorist attack, I am surprised there is no power to ban a march or assembly in these specific circumstances.”
He emphasised any ban should be temporary and be justified because police resources were needed elsewhere, such as investigating an attack or to provide extra patrols.
The Met has complained that having to police constant protests since the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel had placed it under significant strain.
Speaking about pro-Palestinian protests that went ahead on Thursday, Mahmood said in an interview on BBC Radio 4: “I was very disappointed to see those protests going ahead last night. I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it is dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back.”
