CAA leads demonstration of Jewish community and allies outside Downing Street a week after Manchester terrorist attack
This evening, Campaign Against Antisemitism led a demonstration of the Jewish community and its allies outside Downing Street, one week after the Manchester terrorist attack that left two British Jews dead.
The crowd, several thousand strong, was addressed by five speakers:
Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer said: “What happens in the next few days, weeks, months, or even years in the Middle East, we need to deal with what is happening right now, right here in Britain as well, because even if a full ceasefire is declared, the hostages return, and the war in Gaza ends, the battles on our own streets will just carry on.
“The never-ending marches by the pro-Palestinian activists won’t just suddenly stop. They’ve already said they will go ahead on Saturday with no end in sight. The threats to Jewish schoolchildren won’t stop. The intimidation of Jewish students won’t stop. The attacks on Jewish businesses won’t stop. They won’t go away, and we can never be sure there won’t be another deadly terror attack on Jewish worshippers in a synagogue, and we all know why, because none of this is actually about the people of Gaza. Because the organisations and the people behind these things and doing these things, cheering them on, aren’t pro-Palestine. They aren’t pro anything. They’re anti-Israel and yes, anti-Jew.”
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Here we are two years after 7th October, mourning the deaths of Adrian and Melvin whilst others sit in hospital praying for their loved ones’ recoveries. This is a Jewish community that has clamoured for two years in the face of mounting hate. We watched as this country did nothing as people celebrated the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Shame. We have been betrayed and we have been abandoned by politicians whose job it is to uphold the ways of this land. Why has it taken the murder of British Jews for our politicians to start to pay attention. Actions not words. We’re fed up of thoughts and prayers.”
Journalist Camilla Tominey told the crowd: “I stand beside you as an ally. Jewish people, our neighbours, our colleagues and our friends have to think twice before wearing a Star of David, or attending a public event such as this. This is not the Britain we want to see. Stopping antisemitism is not just about protecting one community. Its about protecting the very values that hold our society together…The media must now shift its focus from events thousands of miles away to the raging radicalisation here at home. Our universities should be centres of excellence not agencies of Hamas propaganda…Antisemitism is not new. For centuries, Jewish people have been blamed for problems they did not cause. This hatred has never truly gone away.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: ““The last two years have been an awful stain on this great country of ours that we love so much. We have seen warm words, we have seen statements that antisemitism has no place in the country. Well, I’m sorry Prime Minister: it very clearly does.”
A friend of Adrian Daulby, one of the victims of the terrorist attack in Manchester, also took the stage at the demonstration: “Adrian was a friend of mine. I can’t believe it’s happened. We have to do something about it: we can’t stand back anymore.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Tonight, we gathered outside Downing Street to tell the Government that the double standards and cowardly appeasement of extremists must end.
“It may be two years and two dead Jews too late, but the authorities in this country must now finally take action. They must recognise incitement to violence and genocidal language for what it is and bring the full force of the law to bear on wrongdoers. The hate marches must be banned, criminals and terrorist-sympathisers must be arrested and jailed, extremist professionals must be struck off, mosques that host radical preachers must face the most severe regulatory action, university students who glorify terror must be expelled, media organisations that promote antisemitic tropes must be sanctioned, and more.Jihad
“The Jewish community has been scarred forever, and Britain must never be the same again.”
Photo credit: Nathan Lilienfeld/Campaign Against Antisemitism
