Thousands of people gathered in central London on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, just hours after 492 pro-Palestine supporters were arrested during separate demonstrations.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) announced the commemorative event, held this afternoon in Trafalgar Square, with a similar gathering taking place in Manchester.
Israeli flags were flown as crowds came together to remember the Hamas-led assault on Israel two years ago, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.
The attack triggered a devastating war, which has since claimed tens of thousands of lives.
It comes just days after two Jewish people were killed and three left in a serious condition after a car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday. The victims were named as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66.
The suspect, Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Speaking at the rally, Phil Rosenberg, president of Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “In the face of loss, our community remains steadfast, determined to defend Israel’s right to exist in security and peace, and determined to confront antisemitism wherever it appears.
“That includes the despicable Palestine Action protests we’ve seen over these last days, almost gloating over Yom Kippur attack, these are unacceptable and we demand change.”
The BoD has called for those arrested under the Terrorism Act at Saturday’s protests to be investigated for stirring up racial hatred.
The event comes alongside developments in a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, proposed by US President Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to announce the release of the remaining hostages from Gaza “in the coming days”.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on US President Donald Trump’s peace plan are due to start in Egypt on Monday.
Addressing the event by video, British-Israeli former hostage Emily Damari, who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year, said: “When I was in Gaza, I sometimes saw clips of anti-Israel marches and protests … it was very hard to watch while I was being held hostage in Gaza, it was as if the world had forgotten about us.”
Keith Black, chairman of Jewish Leadership Council, said the Manchester attacks show “how deadly this virulent antisemitism has become”.
He went on: “Our streets have been filled with protesters screaming Jew hatred, our students had faced relentless waves of abuse on campus.
STATEMENT: Board of Deputies calls for more than 400 protest terror arrests to also be investigated for stirring up racial hatred
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) October 4, 2025
“Freedom to protest must come alongside a sense of decency and civil responsibility that seems to completely evade these hateful marchers.” pic.twitter.com/tONxEzwa3F
“A new concept called ‘ambient antisemitism’ has entered our vocabulary, a prevailing undercurrent across society, across a society that has turned against Israel, in consequence, against us as Jews.”
Following Saturday's pro-Palestine protests, the BDBJ have called for those arrested under the Terrorism Act at Saturday’s protests to be investigated for stirring up racial hatred.
Elderly people, relatives of Holocaust survivors, and those with disabilities were among the 492 arrested in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, as protesters voiced their support for banned terror group Palestine Action.
“The final arrest total for today’s public order policing operation in central London is 492. 488 of the arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation,” Met Police said.
“The remainder were for being drunk and disorderly, common assault, a public order offence and being wanted for an unrelated matter. The youngest person arrested was 18, the oldest was 89.
“297 remain in custody, the rest have been bailed.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “Today, we recall the precious lives who were mercilessly taken from our midst on October 7.”
He added: “Today, we remember all subsequent atrocities since that original day.”
He described spending Friday with the “grieving community” in Manchester, adding: “(We) came to give strength, we emerged strengthened.
“A remarkable community it is – their tenacity, their resilience.
“And hasn’t this been the story of the Jewish people over the past two years? We will definitely emerge stronger.”
Candles were lit in memory of those affected by the attack in Manchester on Thursday and Sir Ephraim delivered a traditional Jewish memorial prayer.
Shaun Lemel, a survivor of the attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, told the rally how the ordeal will “never leave me” after he saw “fear everywhere” during the attack.
“We carry shared responsibility to stand against terror, to speak out against hate and to protect value of life and humanity that our enemy is trying to destroy.
“We are fighting, not only for Israel, but of the basic right of every person to live (in) peace and safety.
“Only when every hostage is home can our life and our nation truly begin (to) heal.”
He added: “My heart is with the families of those who those were murdered in Manchester.”
Sharone Lifschitz, whose parents were taken hostage in the October 7 terror attacks, said the community is standing in solidarity with Manchester after this week’s killings.
Dr Lifschitz, a British-Israeli academic and filmmaker from Walthamstow, east London, said it is almost two years “since our lives were torn apart”.
Her father, 84-year-old Israeli peace activist and former journalist Oded Lifshitz, died while he was held hostage. Her mother Yocheved was also taken hostage but was released two weeks later.
She said: “We will never forget our loved ones or the horror they suffered and our heart is also with the community in mourning for the recent hate crimes and murders in Manchester.
“May today be the last time we come (together) as a community asking, demanding, for the war to end and all 48 hostages returned.”
Demonstrators in the crowd chanted “bring them home, bring them home” in support of the hostages still help captive two years after the October 7 attack.
Hundreds of people also joined a rally in Manchester, despite safety concerns in the wake of the terror attack on a synagogue in the city on Thursday.
