The UK’s chief rabbi has said many in the Jewish community and “and well beyond it” are wondering why protests such as those against the ban on Palestine Action are allowed to go ahead.
Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “Some of them contain outright antisemitism, outright support for Hamas. Not every single person, however there is so much of this, which certainly is dangerous to many within our society.”
Speaking before arriving in Manchester on Friday to join those grieving the deaths of two men killed in a terrorist attack at a synagogue, he said there was an “urgent need for national soul-searching”.
The attack had come in the wake of what he described as an “unrelenting wave of hated against Jews” on Britain’s streets, campuses, social media and in some sections of the media, Mirvis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Singling out the slogan “globalise the intifada” – that many regard as a call to violence against Jews – he said Britain had seen “with tragic clarity” on Thursday what those words meant.
Referring again to what he said was being aired in public spaces and online, he said: “So much of it is so hateful and in addition to that when there is the unjustified demonisation of Israel that feeds directly into an anti-Jewish sentiment within the tone of Britain and that then encourages extremism. Our government needs to be mindful of that.”
Asked about marches organised by pro-Palestinian groups calling for an end to the war in Gaza and protests calling for the lifting of the ban on the banned group Palestine Action, he said that “so much” of it was dangerous to many in British society.
“Ever since 7 October 2023 there are so many people who have wondered why are such marches allowed to take place on our streets. Some of them contain outright antisemitism, outright support for Hamas,” he said.
“You cannot separate the words on our streets, the actions of people in this way and what inevitably results … The two are directly linked and therefore we call on the government yet again to get a grip on these demonstrations as they are dangerous.”
Defend Our Juries, which has been organising the protests in London in support of lifting the ban on Palestine Action, said it intended to go ahead with its protest on Saturday and it urged the police to focus on protecting those communities fearing reprisals or follow-up terror attacks. It said it “utterly condemned” the attack in Manchester.
Faith leaders also had a specific role to play, the chief rabbi also said, adding: “We must speak about controlling our mouths, the views that we say, how we express those views and also a faith leader must encourage harmony and peace on our streets and in our homes.”
His comments came as the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, said Thursday was a “horrific day” for the Jewish community in Britain, Britain at large, and the Jewish community throughout the world.
““It’s a shocking reminder of what we’ve been alerting on for quite some time, that this heatwave of antisemitism and anti-Jewish feelings all over the world at the end reaches bloodshed,” he told LBC radio.
Among those calling for further government action on antisemitism were Danny Cohen, the former controller of BBC 1, who told Times Radio there should be a “national inquiry on antisemitism established straightaway” as “something has gone badly wrong in our society, and it needs urgently addressing”.
