Photo: A Holocaust survivor and descendants of Holocaust survivors, photographed during Falter’s altercation with police
And the idea that Sir Mark Rowley should resign, in my view, is absurd – of course he shouldn’t…he should stay in his job [and] keep doing what he is doing…
The idea that people can simply walk into the middle of a demonstration when they are opposed to the objectives of that demonstration is clearly an issue that the police should deal with.
[Lord Mann, Independent Adviser to the UK Government on Antisemitism, Channel 4 News, 22 April 2024]
The Attempt to Ban Pro-Palestinian Marches
At a time when mass graves containing hundreds of dead have been discovered in the grounds of Gaza hospitals which were targeted by the IDF, it seems somewhat obscene that the mainstream media in the UK has been focusing in the last few days on a crusade by one man to eventually stop pro-Palestinian marches by pressurising the police, accusing them of antisemitism and calling for the resignation of the Met Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley. Gideon Falter also appeared on Talk TV saying that the police should “ban the marches”.
What the media has failed to report is that Falter is vice chair of the JNC, which funds illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories (and which are illegal according international law). He has been following protests for months together with a camera crew trying to find material that can be used to discredit the demonstrations which he, together with the notorious former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, describes as ‘hate marches’. On the 13th of April, he deliberately set out to provoke an incident, as noted by Ben Jamal of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign:
“The nature of the incident was not as Mr Falter has tried to portray it.
“The reality was he came to the march with an entourage of four to five people and film crew, sought to break through the stewards, physically pushes himself past the police in order to walk in front of the march to provoke and to try to stop it.”
[Ben Jamal, Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Sky News]
As mentioned by the former Labour MP Lord Mann, who is the independent adviser to the Government on antisemitism, if there was a scenario in which an anti-Israel campaigner was to try to push through a Jewish communal event, the police would have to intervene. He said that policing the demonstrations is “difficult” and “complex”.
Having taken part in a number of these protests, the present writer can testify that policing these marches is challenging. In particular, due to the presence of counter protesters who demonstrate in support of Israel and wave Israeli flags, there is a danger of a breach of the peace as emotions run high. Police officers come under tremendous pressure at these points in the march, having to stand in front of the pro-Israel protesters to keep the two opposing groups apart.
These pro-Israel demonstrators claim that Jews do not feel safe walking in central London every Saturday. But the present writer can confirm that thousands of openly Jewish people attend the marches every week and face no discrimination. Please see the short video of Jews on one of these protests below:
And here is a photo taken by the present writer of Jews at one of these demonstrations:
The Weaponisation of Antisemitism
Due to the appalling treatment of Jews in Europe over many centuries, which culminated in the murder of millions in the Holocaust, antisemitism is an extremely emotive and serious matter. However, in recent times, antisemitism has been weaponised by Zionists to shut down criticism of Israel. While there is no doubt that it still widespread, malicious accusations of antisemitism are increasingly being used for purposes which are less than benign, as mentioned by a former Israeli minister (see above video). The controversy ignited by Gideon Falter is just the latest example of the misuse of the term.
Perhaps the most infamous case of the weaponisation of antisemitism is the vilification of the former leader of the Labour Party. The present writer met a friend of Jeremy Corbyn who insisted “he does not have an antisemitic cell in his body”. What the pro-Israel lobby did to Corbyn is a travesty. It is just one example of how this tactic is used to muzzle pro-Palestinian voices. Asa Winstanley, a talented investigative journalist, has written a book on the subject: Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn. The book is highly recommended.
It is interesting to note that the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which Gideon Falter leads, was among the pro-Israel voices gunning for Corbyn. Below is a photo of a demonstration organised by the group outside the head office of the Labour Party, London on 8 April 2018:
In the current context, Sky News was forced to apologise when one of its presenters compared the events in Gaza to the Holocaust while challenging former Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon’s suggestion that Palestinians in the Strip could be subject to ‘voluntary’ relocation to Western countries (i.e. ethnic cleansing). Danon replied: “This is pure antisemitism what you just said, comparing the Holocaust to what’s happening today in Gaza. Shame on you for this behaviour. You should apologise for what you just said.“
However, these tactics are not working, with recent polling showing that a majority of British voters believe that Israel is violating human rights in Gaza, with 56% now in favour of banning arms exports to the country. As mentioned in a Guardian report, the “findings suggest that strenuous Israeli efforts at public diplomacy have failed to convince the British public.“
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