Police launch probe as Jewish families leaving north London synagogue are ‘targeted’ by pro-Palestinian activists spraying green smoke and shouting from cars after Armistice Day march
Police are investigating after Jewish families leaving synagogue yesterday were ‘targeted’ by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Footage shared on Twitter on Saturday night showed men holding green flares, waving Palestine flags and shouting from cars outside the place of worship on Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, north London.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism confirmed it was ‘aware’ of Jewish families ‘being targeted on their way out of synagogue’ and had ‘received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety’.
The Met said it had identified the cars involved and was working to locate the suspects.
In a media briefing on Friday it had warned of the likelihood of convoys of cars going through Jewish areas and showing antisemitic abuse.
Footage shared on Twitter on Saturday night showed men holding green flares, waving Palestine flags and shouting from cars outside a synagogue on Abbey Road in St John’s Wood
The Campaign Against Antisemitism confirmed it was ‘aware’ of Jewish families ‘ being targeted on their way out of synagogue’ and had ‘received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety’
Today’s pro-Palestine march was marred by numerous incidents of vile antisemitism, with one marcher holding a sign showing a Jewish Star of David wrapped around a Nazi swastika.
Police are hunting two men seen wearing headbands supporting Hamas; a man with a sign saying ‘welcome to Gaza, twinned with Auschwitz’; and a woman with a racist banner depicting Mr Sunak and Suella Braverman as ‘coconuts’.
READ MORE – Rishi Sunak slams ‘EDL thugs’ over Armistice Day chaos
Meanwhile, officers stopped and searched a group of around 150 pro-Palestine protesters who had broken off from the main demonstration and were letting off fireworks – some of which struck officers in the face.
Police said there were 300,000 people on the main march but organisers put the figure at ‘more than 800,000’.
Many demonstrators chanted ‘From the River to the Sea’, a controversial phrase that critics see as calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.
The Met said in response to the synagogue video: ‘An investigation is under way. The cars involved have been identified and we are carrying out enquiries to locate the suspects.
‘Recognising the concern this incident has understandably caused, we have also arranged additional patrols in the area.’
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Naturally, the Jewish community is terrified.
‘We are aware of Jewish families being targeted on their way out of synagogue and have received multiple reports of police having to escort congregants away in groups for their own safety.’
The Met Police are hunting two pro-Palestinian protesters who were seen wearing Hamas headbands
They are also searching for a man with a sign saying ‘welcome to Gaza, twinned with Auschwitz’; and a woman holding a racist banner depicting Mr Sunak and Suella Braverman as ‘coconuts’
Referring to the main march, they added: ‘The placards today bore slogans and imagery that would not have looked out of place in Nazi Germany.
READ MORE – Michael Gove is mobbed by pro-Palestine supporters chanting ‘shame on you’ as he walks through London Victoria station
‘Islamist extremists, the far-Left and the far-Right were out on the streets, all on one day. What a day to be a Jew in London.’
Rishi Sunak condemned ‘wholly unacceptable’ actions by both far-right groups and ‘Hamas sympathisers’ on the pro-Palestinian march, and put pressure on police by saying ‘all criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law’.
Police detained and arrested scores of counter-protesters as hundreds of thousands of people took part in the biggest UK rally since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7.
Mr Sunak said in a statement: ‘I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen today from the EDL (English Defence League) and associated groups and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine.
‘The despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully.’
Rishi Sunak condemned ‘wholly unacceptable’ actions by both far-right groups and ‘Hamas sympathisers’ on the pro-Palestinian march
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