When 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos addressed last Saturday’s London peace rally for Palestine he confronted some upside-down thinking, and turned it the right way up.
“These are NOT hate marches”, he said, “Quite the opposite! These are NOT no-go areas for Jews…Quite the opposite! A majority of Jews of the world do NOT support Israeli policy…Quite the opposite!”
A good number of Lib Dems attend these Palestine marches each month. We all know the misconceptions spread by journalists and politicians. Few have attended a march, yet they’re happy to label them extremist, pro-Hamas, hate-led, and often predict arrests.
This is tosh. Stephen Kapos is right. These family-friendly, hope-filled events bring together people of goodwill from every race, belief and background, the largest single group being the Jewish contingent. Relations with the police are friendly. I personally haven’t heard racist words or hostility. We are there to protest against genocide and apartheid. To stop arms sales to Israel and find solutions for peace. There is a strong sense of a shared humanity. Is this is considered hate marching? Were the 1980s demos against South African apartheid hate marches? Is it really so radical to show compassion for a suffering people badly let down by the British for more than a century?
The Palestine protest last Saturday (16th May) was probably the most controversial under this Labour government, and it’s worth examining why. Because it was crystal clear that the smearing was coming from – or being supported by – the Prime Minister and the head of London’s Metropolitan Police. In a city proud of its protest rights and traditions this was quite a shocker.
Here’s what happened. May 15 marks the Anniversary of the 1948 Nakba (‘catastrophe’), when half the Arab population of Palestine were expelled by Jews establishing the state of Israel. So the march organisers (Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War Coalition) requested their date from the Met Police early, in December 2025.
No more was heard until March, when the Met informed the PSC/STW that rallying rights in the area round Parliament (the Palestine march’s usual route) had instead been granted to Tommy Robinson and his activists. On the same day! They were actually giving a platform to a far-right nationalist group intent on expelling Muslims from Britain, fighting Islam and inciting civil war (race hate by all definitions and the antithesis of a peace march), and giving them the prime route in London! The pro-Palestine route was sidelined to Kensington-to-Pall Mall.
What’s more, both Starmer and Met Chief Mark Rowley, in an unprecedented blurring of policing and politicising, started publicly misinforming people about the Palestine rally, threatening to curtail or ban it and suggesting it made London unsafe. Rowley even accused the march organisers of choosing march routes near synagogues (totally defamatory) and made the scurrilous claim that the marches were (despite their inclusion of hundreds of Jews) antisemitic.
Further articles are needed to explore who was pushing Rowley into the political arena in this way, and what Keir Starmer’s agenda was. Suffice to say, their messages spread widely via our mischievous right-wing media, playing on people’s fears. “Met to send 4,000 officers to police rival protests” screamed a BBC headline well before the march. The story below told of the police calling for dogs, drones and armoured vehicles “preparing for potential violence and hate speech crimes across two protests.” No mention that it was the police who’d arranged to have both marches the same day.
Would that Rowley and Starmer, and all journalists or MPs on their bandwagon, had actually attended the 200,000-strong Palestine peace march. They could then have spoken with the Jews, the mothers with children, and those who’d travelled far to call for a halt to violence in the Middle East. They could have seen for themselves the usual goodwill and order.
Meanwhile, the vile anti-Muslim rhetoric and insults driving and emanating from the smaller (60,000-attendee) Robinson rally – and the astonishing lack of outrage from government ministers – again needs attention separately. That ‘Unite the Kingdom’ event certainly highlighted the government’s tendency to discriminate between different types of race hate. Whereas ALL race hate is abhorrent to Lib Dems, isn’t it?
Back to Saturday’s Palestine Peace March. If anyone has any doubt how far the state has now encroached on our free speech rights, and on the independence of the police and our media, this is an excellent model to look at.
With all the post-election discussions about fit-for-purpose Lib Dem policies, let’s urge our MPs to be far more vocal in defending our own civil liberties – as well as those of the Palestinian people whom Britain has let down repeatedly for so many years, and who are suffering intolerably.
Let’s also consider what more we members could do to protect these rights while we can. In Stephen Kapos’s words on Saturday, “we must steadfastly resist and stop the direction of travel towards violent authoritarianism now”. And what are liberals for if we’re not engaged at times like this?
* Judi Conner is a former journalist, a member in North Norfolk and a committee member of Lib Dem Friends of Palestine.
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14 Comments
Worth noting that there were surely many antisemites among the Tommy Ten-Names marchers as well. And no, it doesn’t matter that they were also “pro-Israel” (in the sense of supporting the Netanyahu regime). They just adore authoritarian strongmen and approve of race-hate whichever direction it is in.
Well said Judi. I was not only on the march, but with the Holocaust Survivors and Descendants Against the Genocide group and later with the Jewish Block. There were lots of us and my banner clearly read: ‘The greatest threat to British Jews is to equate Israeli policies with Judaism’. That equation is what we hear repeatedly from the Chief Rabbi who only actually represents a quarter of British Jews. Netanyahu also repeats that as does the Board of Deputies. It is such equivalence that makes it dangerous for innocent Jews, secular and religious, in the UK. To think that there are so many in Israel, or who support Israel, that use the Holocaust or victimhood, to inflict ethnic cleansing and genocide on another people is beyond understanding.
To think that out PM steeped in International Law does not even apply sanctions or anything meaningful on Israel while condemning those who are desperate to stop this nightmare, is also beyond my understanding. It would help if our own leader shouted out Lib Dem policies that are in line with everything our marches stand for instead of allowing the Greens to take centre stage.
It is also beyond understanding that those on the far right are allowed such racist and Islamophobic rhetoric without sanction themselves. What does that say about our country, our so-called equality and our failing democracy.
This well argued and necessary piece is an object lesson as to why we need our own media (including LDV and regular Focuses, backed up by those with stomachs able to cope with monitoring social media). The mainstream media hardly ever do us any favours.
Today’s Guardian however did applaud Ed Davey for doing his constitutional duty with regard to the Andrew formerly known as Prince!
The Government recently released figures showing that Police arrests for terrorism-related offences leapt from a typical 250-ish per year to 3,034 in 2025.
Of those, 2779 (92%) were due to support for Palestine Action. Nearly 95% of all those arrested for any terrorism offence were deemed such a menace to society that they were released on bail.
This is a nonsensical situation.
For decades Israel has sought to blur the lines between criticism of Israel and antisemitism; they paint a picture of a besieged peace loving nation under threat from all sides..
However, sometimes the mask slips (as with Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.).. Their actions demonstrate Israel’s attitude, not just to Palestinians in Israel and Arabs on the West bank, but internationally..
Sadly, the international community, and therefore Israel, care more about random attacks on a couple of statues than the state’s genocide against a whole population..
It’s is nonsense to consider Robinson a friend of the Jews and yet there has been no condemnation of the antisemitism that went on, on his March.
Pro-Israel is not the same as pro-Jewish.
Israeli influence on British politics is being debated in parliament on 22nd June after a public petition hit the threshold for debate.
@Sam Ammar, I was interested to see your reference to “Israeli influence on British politics”. Perhaps you could expand?
Thank you for an invaluable article which demonstrates the deadly dangerous authoritarianism of the present government, as is also shown by its moves to reduce/remove trial by jury.
I asked ChatGPT ‘Has Israel committed genocide?’ and the reply was:
“Allegations of genocide are serious and complex, and opinions on this topic vary widely. Accusations against Israel, particularly regarding its actions in the Palestinian territories, have been made by some international bodies, NGOs, and activists. However, these claims are highly contested and debated.
Legal definitions of genocide are specific and require proof of intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The determination of genocide can only be made through thorough investigations and legal proceedings.”
So any accusation of genocide should be tempered with the adjective “alleged”, and in the case of the Jews, used with great sensitivity.
There is no apartheid in Israel. In the case of the West Bank, the irony is that the ‘apartheid’ that does exist works against Jews more than Arabs! Arab residents can travel freely, even into Israel proper, albeit with the irritation of some checkpoints, but no Jew may enter any of the PA controlled Areas except with special permission or at risk of their lives. They certainly may not reside there. In Gaza no Jew would survive more than ten minutes. That is the apartheid.
Regarding “May 15 marks the Anniversary of the 1948 Nakba (‘catastrophe’), when half the Arab population of Palestine were expelled by Jews establishing the state of Israel.”.
There is no firm historical consensus on whether the Arab were expelled or ordered to evacuate by the attacking Arab nations to ‘clear the way’.
Those Arabs who did stay, many being urged to do by Kewish neighbours and leaders, were granted full Israeli citizenship, and now enjoy a high standard of living and education and serve in prominent positions and professions: medical, engineering, academic, legal, military and so forth. They are the lucky – or smart ones – who stayed. Those who fled to become refugees became the unlucky pawns in the political machinations of the Arab League.
For six months from October 2023 I attended a course in Central London. I saw all the marches that took place in that period. I did indeed see mothers with children, some speakers who said they were Jewish and there was also the bizarre sight of the Neturei Karta being lionised.
Over that six months on those marches I also witnessed groups of masked young men, (all terrified of catching covid perhaps?), lots of different placards and chants alleging genocide very quickly indeed after 7 October, with many proclaiming and chanting “From The River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free”, and others “Globalise the Intifada”.
I take but one message from those chants and it is neither “family-friendly” nor “hope-filled”. But perhaps @Judi Conner, you have not noticed them.
Richard Bird, one has to almost admire your view of Israel… I hope these ‘Smart Arabs’, to use your words didn’t remain in Silwan or any of the other areas where they have their homes demolished…(. Under Israeli law (specifically the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970), Jews who lost property in East Jerusalem during the 1948 war are permitted to claim ownership and evict current tenants, a right not reciprocated for Palestinians regarding their lost pre-1948 properties in West Israel.)
As for the ‘put-upon’ Jewish settlers in the West Bank it is amazing how there can be so many ‘fake’ videos of them eradicating the farms,villages and their Arab inhabitants usually with IDF assistance.
I’m sad to see that people don’t know that Jewish Christian Muslim Palestinian co existed. I have personally met Jewish Palestinians who wish to return to their homeland that they called Palestine. Wishing peace and solidarity amongst Israeli and Palestinian
Richard Bird, When is ‘Genocide’ not genocide and when is ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ not ethnic cleansing?
Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza, which Israel signed last year, states: “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.”
However, Israel’s defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plans for the territory…
Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza “at the right time and in the right manner”….