Rabbis are leading calls for “hateful” marches to be banned as many British Jews seriously consider if they can continue to live in the UK.
It comes after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, on Wednesday in what police are treating as a terror incident.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under increased pressure to stop pro-Palestinian marches from taking place in the wake of the attack.
Asked whether some protests should stop altogether, he told the Today programme: “We need to look at what further powers we can take.”
After the attack, one rabbi blamed the regular marches in cities and towns across the country for encouraging violence against the Jewish community.
Rabbi Sam Fromson, Golders Green synagogue, told The i Paper: “I respect people’s right to peaceful protests… sadly too many of these marches have seen people standing alongside shoulder to shoulder with those who demand violence and who preach hatred.
“If you stand with people calling for intifada, if you stand next to them and you don’t challenge them, you are condoning, and you are inviting violence on the streets.”
‘People are concerned about letting their kids go to the shops’
Organisers of pro-Palestine protests have rejected attempts to connect antisemitic violence with their events, which they say are “peaceful” and “supported by many Jewish people who attend”.
But Starmer has encouraged protesters to call out those chanting “globalise the intifada” at Gaza marches and said he was concerned about the growing affect of the marches on Jewish communities. Despite Starmer urging those at matches to call out antisemitism, many want the Government to go further.
Fromson said: “People are concerned for their safety, thinking is it okay to let my kid go to the shops by themselves? Okay to let my kids take the bus? That’s a horrible thing to have to think about in your day-to-day life just because you’re Jewish.
“People are nervous and when they can’t be convinced of their basic physical safety walking down their local high street, there are many people who are thinking, is this the right place to raise my family?”
Rabbi Alex Chapper, from Borehamwood and Elstree synagogue, said a ban on the marches was overdue.
“We’ve been calling for it for months and months and the fact that hasn’t happened yet has allowed these things to continue to happen,” he said.
Chapper, who was speaking at a synagogue in Golders Green Wednesday morning, said the attack has reminded people how vulnerable Jews are.
“I came out of the synagogue unaware of what happened and had messages on my phone from my family and friends just checking I was okay… so the fear people have is real, it’s a sense of not when will this stop, but where and when will be next.”
Wednesday’s stabbings took place amid a wave of violent antisemitic incidents. Suspect Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing two men in Golders Green and another man on Great Dover Street.
Terror level raised
Following the attack, the UK’s threat level has been raised from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely in the next six months.
Over the last few months there have been a series of antisemitic attacks in London. Four ambulances belonging to a volunteer group were set alight; a brick and two bottles of petrol were thrown at Finchley Reform Synagogue; and a charity and a synagogue were targeted in the north London areas of Hendon and Kenton. Last year, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, three people were killed in attack on a Manchester synagogue.
A failed asylum seeker was also foiled attempting to enter the Israeli embassy in west London armed with two knives.
Many Jewish people are living in fear, with a recent survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research showing antisemitism is driving one in five Jewish people to think about leaving the UK.
Chapper said: “People are having genuine conversations for them and their families. What is the future here? Where would we feel safe? And a lot of people feel that Israel is the only place they would actually feel safe. And that’s the first time I can ever remember people having these really serious conversations about not if, but when, are we going.”
Starmer has indicated there may be grounds for banning some protests. It comes after the Government approved a request from the Metropolitan Police to ban the Al Quds Day march in London last month. It was the first protest march ban since 2012.
The UK’s chief rabbi, Sr Ephraim Mirvis, called for a temporary ban on pro-Palestine marches, telling the BBC they had contributed to a “tone of Jew hatred” in the UK.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has also warned British Jews are facing their greatest-ever threat.
Sir Mark Rowley told The Times that Jews were facing a “ghastly Venn diagram” of hate from all sides.
He also revealed he has requested urgent funding to recruit 300 officers to protect Jewish communities as there is concern about a number of marches taking place on 16 May.
