The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
‘You are openly Jewish’
Scotland Yard under fire after man is threatened with arrest for walking near pro-Palestinian protesters
METROPOLITAN Police officers threatened to arrest an “openly Jewish” man for walking in central London during a pro-Palestininian protest.
The force suggested that Gideon Falter’s presence was “provocative” and that he was “antagonising” protesters.
Mr Falter, who is the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, had just left a synagogue and was wearing a kippah skullcap.
He was told by a Scotland Yard sergeant in the Aldwych area that his presence could inflame tensions, and was later warned by a different officer that he would be arrested if he did not leave the location.
Responding to the incident yesterday, Asst Commissioner Matt Twist, one of Scotland Yard’s most senior officers, said being present when marches were taking place could be “provocative”. His comments were described as “victim blaming”.
The force last night apologised for the remark.
Yesterday, the Government warned the police that they must not prevent British Jews from continuing their daily lives. A source said: “These reports are concerning and unacceptable. British Jews should be free to walk about their lives freely without intimidation or restriction, and the police have a vital role in making sure that is a reality.
“As we have shown with the largest ever funding package for security, we won’t hesitate to take action to support and protect our Jewish communities.”
James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, has written to the Met and London Mayor Sadiq Khan about the incident.
The Met has repeatedly come under fire for failing to prevent pro-Palestinianian marches, which have become regular weekend occurrences in central London since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7 and have been criticised for often overt displays of anti-Semitism.
Robin Simcox, the UK’s counterextremism tsar, warned last month that the marches were turning the capital into a “no-go zone for Jews every weekend”.
The Prime Minister gave a speech outside Downing Street on March 1 in which he warned of a rise in extremism since the attack on Israel. He issued a plea for pro-Palestinian protesters to reject radicals who are hijacking their marches and urged police to take a tougher stance.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, and Robert Jenrick, the former communities secretary, criticised Scotland Yard yesterday. Mrs Braverman said that while public order officers had a difficult job, there was increasing evidence of “mistakes and double standards” from the Met.
She added: “It’s not right that one group of people cannot exercise their rights to enjoy London peacefully in order to allow another group to express their hatred and intimidation freely. That’s striking the wrong balance. We’ve seen six months of mistakes, apologies and double standards from the police. Trust is lost as it appears that
they’ve picked a side. If the police are failing to enforce the law out of fear of the ‘reaction’ of the mob, they are no longer policing without fear or favour.”
Mr Jenrick said: “As I have repeatedly said, Sir Mark Rowley needs to be summoned and held to account for the persistent failure of the Met police he is responsible for.”
The exchange occurred last Saturday as Mr Falter was trying to cross the road in Aldwych as a march was going past.
Mr Falter accused the Met of preventing him from walking around his home city as a Jewish Londoner. He said that despite the Met claiming they were powerless to ban the marches, the law allowed restrictions where they caused “significant disruption to the life of the community”. He said: “If not being allowed to be Jewish in public is not ‘serious disruption to the life of the community’ then I do not know what is.”
The Met, in a statement last night, said: “The use of the term ‘openly Jewish’ by one of our officers is hugely regrettable. We know it will have caused offence to many. We reiterate our apology.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We welcome the Met Police’s apology and recognise the complexities of policing fast-moving public protests. Simply being Jewish – or of any other race or religion – should never be seen as provocative. Anyone of any religion should be free to go about their lives and feel safe doing so.”