The Metropolitan Police are investigating after clips emerged of antisemitic abuse during London’s Pride march on Saturday.
Footage widely shared online shows Jewish attendees being harassed and intimidated, while police officers are seen watching on and making no arrests.
In one clip, people holding Israeli and rainbow LGBT+ flags can be seen being told to “go back to your Zionist homeland”, and being subjected to shouts of “you kill Arab children, you kill gay children” in reference to the war in Gaza.
A woman also appeared to shout “f*** you, Jews” during a confrontation following chants of “Free Palestine”, while another could be seen repeatedly asking “how many babies did they kill?”, making a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
In many of the clips, police officers could be seen standing in the street as the incidents unfolded, but no arrests have yet been made for racist or religious abuse.
The Met have confirmed that a formal review is now underway to determine if hate crime offences, including religiously aggravated public order violations, occurred during the event.
The force deployed a heavy presence of around 650 officers at Pride to enforce “zero tolerance” on hate crime and to ensure that attendees could “safely and securely” enjoy the event.
Organisers have reported that over 35,000 participants representing more than 600 groups took part in Pride.
A Met spokesperson said: “We are aware of videos circulating online that show anti-Semitic verbal abuse directed towards attendees at the Pride in London event. Officers are currently reviewing footage to assess and investigate.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for those responsible for the alleged abuse to be identified and punished.
They told The Telegraph: “The transition from ‘free Palestine’ to ‘f*** Jews’ is usually silent. This incident shows it loudly and explicitly.
“It’s incredible, not to mention depressing, how many people still trip over themselves to apologise for and defend the extremism of the ‘Free Palestine’ movement. The authorities need to recognise it for what it is. That can start with identifying and punishing the perpetrators of this incident.
“Jewish people have given up expecting to be included in so-called inclusive movements, but they should still be entitled to the same protections under the law as everybody else.”
Some Jewish LGBTQ+ organisations did not attend this year’s Pride, citing safety concerns.
These are the latest in a series of antisemitic attacks in London in recent months, including the alleged attempted murder of two Jewish men, and the firebombing of ambulances operated by Jewish volunteer service Hatzola, both in Golders Green, north London.
140 antisemitic hate crimes were logged in London in April, compared to 98 in March and 67 in February.
The Met Police has recently announced a “community protection” team of 100 officers to tackle anti-Jewish hate crime and safeguard the Jewish community.
Earlier this year, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley called for 300 extra officers to tackle what he has called a growing “pandemic” of anti-Semitism in Britain.
A Met spokesman said: “The Met continues to work hard to tackle hate crimes of all types, and officers across London have made more than 90 hate crime arrests since the end of March.”
