Britain’s Labour prime minister Keir Starmer warned students to skip pro-Palestinian protests planned for the second anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7th pogrom, in which terrorists killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Student protestors from several London universities had scheduled to walk out of classes at 2:00 p.m. prior to marching through the centre of the British capital.
Rallies or events, including vigils, were also planned in other British cities, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Manchester, where an attack outside a synagogue on October 2nd left two people dead on Yom Kippur—the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The perpetrator was 35-year-old Syrian-born Jihad Al-Shamie, who rammed his car into worshippers before unleashing a knife attack.
Starmer stated that pro-Palestinian protests have been used as a
despicable excuse to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility.
He described such actions as “a total loss of empathy and humanity.”
Israel previously condemned Starmer for “standing with Hamas”, after Labour members approved a motion at their conference calling on the Prime Minister to recognize Israel as committing genocide in Gaza and to support a full arms embargo.
Recent protests in London, Barcelona, and other cities have turned violent, resulting in numerous arrests and injuries. In London, more than 175 individuals were detained for supporting Palestine Action—banned, perhaps questionably, as a terror group—while in Barcelona, demonstrators vandalized shops and clashed with police, leaving 20 officers injured.
Reflecting similar security concerns, authorities in Bologna have prohibited a pro-Palestinian rally planned for October 7th, citing days of nationwide protests and violent clashes. The Israeli ambassador welcomed the ban, calling the event an attempt to glorify the massacre.
