The Met must ban the march

For the last several days, the Met Police and Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have been arguing about the route of this Saturday’s anti-Israel march. These marches invariably feature antisemitic rhetoric and sympathy for terrorism and have become a weekly staple of London life.

The PSC wanted to march from near Broadcasting House to Whitehall, as per their usual route. For once, the Met Police decided to impose restrictions on their march under section 12 of the Public Order Act, insisting that the march could not assemble near Broadcasting House due to its proximity to London’s Central Synagogue, which has borne the brunt of these intimidatory marches for over a year.

The PSC defiantly declared that the march would assemble at Whitehall and end at Broadcasting House. The Met said that this was unacceptable and directed that the march should form up at Russell Square and then head to Whitehall. The PSC has now decided that it will assemble at Whitehall and has indicated that the march will likely now become a static protest, but it appears to be leaving the door open to marching.

Indeed the PSC has been posting all week using the hashtag #WeWillMarch.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: As the Jewish community prepares to go offline for Shabbat and ordinary Londoners want to make weekend plans in central London, there is still insufficient clarity about whether and where this week’s anti-Israel march — along with the habitual displays of antisemitism and sympathy for terrorism — will take place.

“The Met has finally discovered the consequence of fifteen months of pandering to this mob that has taken over London’s streets week after week with impunity. Like a child grown accustomed to getting their way over and over again, the slightest limitation provokes a tantrum. But the current prospect of a chaotic and unauthorised march taking place at the last minute is unacceptable. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley must apply to the Home Secretary to ban any march under section 13 of the Public Order Act. It is about time that the Met remembers that it is here for all Londoners, not just an extremist minority.

“A ban is long overdue. By trying to impose restrictions this week, the Met has finally acknowledged what we all know: these marches pose a threat to the safety of Jewish people and communal institutions, such as synagogues. It is shameful that the Met has refused to act on that threat all this time, and is mustering a show of strength only now that it appears that the war might be ending. The least that it can do is see this tokenistic gesture through and finally limit these marches to static protests, as we have been urging for over a year.”