Aysu Bicer
26 November 2023•Update: 26 November 2023
LONDON
Tens of thousands of people on Sunday participated in a march against “anti-Semitism” in London.
The march began at 13:30 p.m. from the Royal Courts of Justice, with a police presence along the route to ensure order.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined the march with his wife, Carrie, and their youngest child, Frank.
Prior to the march, the Metropolitan Police issued a cautionary statement, emphasizing that any offenses – whether from within the protest or from external groups attempting to challenge or disrupt the march – would be dealt with appropriately.
The UK Jewish group Na’amod has said in a statement that they will not join the rally against anti-Semitism.
"It’s clear from the event description that Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has organized this march in response to huge weekly ceasefire demonstrations in London.
"They claim these demonstrations have turned London into a 'no-go zone for Jews,’ promoting 'glorification of terrorism' and 'incitement to racial or religious hatred against Jews. This could not be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of the hundreds of thousands of people attending these Palestine solidarity marches do so out of a profound commitment to freedom and dignity for all people," it said.
"Pitting Jewish safety against Palestinian freedom doesn’t make Jews safer; it makes fighting antisemitism harder. While we vehemently oppose anyone exploiting this cause to express antisemitism, we must also strongly resist attempts to discredit the entire movement for Palestinian liberation on the basis of a small, unrepresentative minority," the statement added.
The march against anti-Semitism on Sunday follows a previous gathering in which tens of thousands of people assembled to demand a permanent cease-fire in the Middle Eastern country.
During the Saturday demonstration, some pro-Palestinian activists accused Israel of genocide, while others chanted slogans like "from the river to the sea."
A four-day humanitarian pause, mediated by Qatar, went into effect on Friday, temporarily halting Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In the first two days of the humanitarian pause, Israel and Hamas exchanged 41 Israelis and foreigners for 78 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Under the agreement, the hostages and prisoners will be released in batches during the course of four days.
Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.
