Protesters compare Israel to Nazis in breach of International Definition of Antisemitism at rally outside Downing Street
A rally was held outside Downing Street yesterday that protested the ongoing events in the Middle East and featured several antisemitic themes.
Around 1,500 people attended Tuesday’s “Emergency Rally for Palestine – Save Sheikh Jarrah.” Volunteers from our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit gathered material which we are now reviewing for possible legal action.
We photographed several disturbing banners comparing Israel to the Nazis. One disturbing sign (pictured) read: “Holocaust 1941 (with a swastika), Holocaust 2021 (with a Star of David).”
Another antisemitic sign, referencing both the Holocaust and South African apartheid, read: “It wasn’t ok in South Africa. It wasn’t ok in Nazi Germany. So why is it ok in Palestine (It’s not!)”.
“Israel have no conscience, no honour, no pride. They curse Hitler day & night but they have surpassed Hitler in Barbarism”, read another.
At one point, protesters jumped on top of a double decker London bus and held aloft a banner equating the Israeli flag with the Nazi swastika. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.
Other banners – in Arabic – appeared to incite and glorify violence against Israelis in graphic language, while songs were chanted calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.
The rally was addressed by former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who failed to condemn Hamas in his remarks. The crowd welcomed Mr Corbyn with the familiar refrain of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.” In the past, Mr Corbyn has referred to Hamas as his “friends”.
The demonstration was organised by the Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA), Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Forum in Britain.
The founder of FOA told a cheering crowd in 2009 during a war between Israel and Hamas: “Hamas is not a terrorist organisation. The reason that they hate Hamas is because they refuse to be subjugated to be occupied by the Israeli state and we salute Hamas for standing up to Israel.”
An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst supporters of the PSC.
Stop The War Coalition has appeared in the past to advocate war against Israel and its marches routinely feature antisemitic tropes.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s 2020 Antisemitism Barometer revealed that an overwhelming majority of British Jews — 91% — want the British Government to proscribe the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas in its entirety.