UK Police Forces Vow To Arrest Protesters Using ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Slogan After Bondi Attack
London’s Metropolitan Police said Wednesday evening that they arrested several people during pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside the Ministry of Justice in Westminster in connection with alleged chanting calling for intifada. The force said two demonstrators were held for “racially aggravated public order offenses” after shouting slogans, while others were detained on suspicion of public order offenses or for attempting to obstruct officers making the initial arrests.
British police in London and Manchester are enforcing a new crackdown on protest chants deemed antisemitic following the deadly shooting at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach in Sydney and a previous terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue among other incidents. Officers have made their first arrests under the tougher stance, targeting demonstrators accused of shouting slogans calling for “intifada” and pledging that people chanting “globalize the intifada” will face detention.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed, words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests,” the police forces said in a joint statement that described an “enhanced approach” to counter rising antisemitic hate crime.
Jewish organizations welcomed the tougher line, with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis calling it “an important step towards challenging the hateful rhetoric we have seen on our streets, which has inspired acts of violence and terror.” Ben Jamal of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the policy “marks another low in the political repression of protest for Palestinian rights.”
