Organisers of a major pro-Palestine protest this weekend have defied pressure to call it off in the wake of the terror attack at a Manchester synagogue. Sir Keir Starmer urged protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews” as a row over the demonstration intensified.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley asked organisers to cancel Saturday's event in support of Palestine Action, warning it would escalate tensions and will pull police resources away from communities “at a time when they are needed most”.
His plea came after home secretary Shabana Mahmood called for a pause in protesting in solidarity with the Jewish community, calling on demonstrators to “show some humanity”.
However organisers Defend Our Juries have pledged to carry on with their demonstration in Trafalgar Square, insisting: “Cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win.”
Around 1,500 people are expected to risk arrest by holding placards showing support for the direct-action group, which was designated as a terrorist organisation in July.
The previous two events have seen a total of 1,422 people arrested under terrorism laws in a mass show of defiance against the controversial decision to ban the group.
Writing in the Jewish Chronicle on Friday evening, Sir Keir said: “I know that planned protests over the weekend, just a few days before the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, as well as in the shadow of the Manchester attack, will cause distress.
“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.
“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.”
The Met said the horrific attack at Heaton Park Synagogue on Thursday had caused “significant fear” in communities.
“Yet at a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation,” Sir Mark said.
“By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
His comments come after Ms Mahmood condemned a protest that took place in Manchester on the night of the attack, arguing the Jewish community should have been given “a day or two” to process their loss. Others took place in Westminster and Leeds.
“I was very disappointed to see those protests go ahead last night,” Ms Mahmood told Sky News. “I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it’s dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back.”
Chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said Jewish communities have faced “unrelenting wave of hatred” since the 7 October 2023 attacks.
He said many people in the Jewish community “and well beyond it” wonder why marches in support of Palestine Action are allowed to take place.
Defend Our Juries said they “unreservedly” condemn the horrific synagogue attack and they “stand in solidarity with the Jewish community across the UK”.
However, they said their demonstration will go ahead, noting their Jewish supporters fear postponing the rally “would risk conflating the actions of the state of Israel with Jewish people around the world”.
A spokesperson added: “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.
“Yesterday’s attack was actual terrorism and we join others across the country in condemning it unreservedly and we urge the home secretary and the police to prioritise protecting the community, instead of arresting entirely peaceful protesters.”
Green party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, accused the home secretary of being “deeply irresponsible” with her call to halt the march.
He said: “I think ultimately conflating protests against a genocide in Gaza and ultimately weaponising that against an antisemitic attack on our streets, a terrorist attack, is deeply irresponsible.”
He added: “We need statesmanship in this moment. We need responsibility. We need people to be sensitive about their language, but also recognise that there is complexity for this and it can't just be about finger pointing at people who are very worried about a genocide.”
Labour MP Kim Johnson also told The Independent the march should go ahead and “policing should prioritise public safety over silencing peaceful protest”.
She said: “We must stand together to condemn the awful violence in Manchester – there is no place for hate.
“But the Defend Our Juries response is right – banning Palestine Action has put unnecessary strain on the Met Police. Political decisions like this are diverting resources away from tackling genuine threats to our communities.
“The march should go ahead this weekend, and policing should prioritise public safety over silencing peaceful protest.”
However, Lord Walney, the government’s former adviser on political violence, said Ms Mahmood was “absolutely right”.
He added: “I hope Labour will instruct its elected representatives to play no part in these demonstrations. We particularly need to see leadership from Andy Burnham about the planned Palestine protest in Manchester tomorrow.”
And former Tory home secretary Amber Rudd said: “The leaders of this march, irrespective of who they are or what they stand for, are doing the wrong thing.”
By cancelling the protest the organisers would “show the kind of solidarity with their fellow citizen” she said, adding she believes it would “show that the country can engage together rather than be in their boxes”.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died after car and knife attacker Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, targeted worshippers marking Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
He was shot dead by armed police who feared he would detonate a belt laden with explosives, which was later found not to be viable.
However police confirmed two innocent civilians, including Mr Daulby, were hit by stray police bullets as they barricade themselves behind the synagogue door.
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack in connection with the killings in Manchester.
Shamie, a British national of Syrian descent, had entered the UK as a young child and was granted British citizenship in 2006 at around the age of 16.
