Tens of thousands march against antisemitism in London

By Sylvia Hui The Associated Press

11 months ago

From fifth left to right, Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Robert Rinder, Tracey-Ann Oberman, Eddie Marsan, ... — From fifth left to right, Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Robert Rinder, Tracey-Ann Oberman, Eddie Marsan, Rachel Riley, Maureen Lipman and Vanessa Feltz take part in a march against antisemitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

A man wrapped in an Israeli flag takes part in an anti-Semitism demonstration near Parliament Square in London, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

A policewoman stand guard on a bridge as an anti-Semitism demonstration with protesters holding placards flags and banners, including the flag of Israel, takes place in London, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Protesters holding placards flags and banners, including the flag of Israel, during an anti-Semitism demonstration in London, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

LONDON — Tens of thousands of people including former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered in London on Sunday for a march against antisemitism, a day after large crowds turned out for a pro-Palestinian rally.

Johnson was joined by U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and other senior government officials at the march to express solidarity with the Jewish community. Organizers billed it as the largest gathering against antisemitism in London for almost a century.

Marchers waved Israeli flags and Union Jacks, and held placards reading “Never Again Is Now” and “Zero Tolerance for Antisemites.”

Sunday’s march was organized amid concerns about rising tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“Anything which is associated with the Jewish religion now feel that they’re under attack and they have to look after themselves, have their own security,” said Malcolm Canning, 75, from London. “I never thought this would get to this stage in this country. And it’s very, very upsetting to see it.”

Police detained Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the former leader of the far-right English Defence League, at the march. Yaxley-Lennon, more widely known by his alias Tommy Robinson, was among crowds of counterprotesters who clashed with police during an Armistice Day march in London earlier this month.

Police said that he refused to leave after he was warned about concerns that his presence would cause “harassment, alarm and distress to others.”

Gideon Falter, the chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said that the rally came after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that had made the capital a “no-go zone for Jews.”

He said that antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have surged since the war began, and condemned what he called “appalling” placards seen at the protests — including ones “showing a Star of David thrown in the bin with a caption that says ‘please keep the world clean.’”

On Saturday, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched to demand a permanent cease-fire in the war.

Police said the majority protested peacefully, but 18 people were arrested for offenses including suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

The Stop the War coalition, which organized Saturday’s rally, stressed that those taking part oppose racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Organizers of Sunday’s march said that it was the largest gathering of its kind since 1936, when hundreds of thousands of people blocked a planned march by the British Union of Fascists through a Jewish neighborhood.

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Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.