Following a fatal synagogue attack this week, both the UK government and law enforcement implored the organizers of an upcoming protest to call off the event, stating that participants ought to “respect the grief of British Jews.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in an opinion piece, acknowledged that “planned protests over the weekend, just a few days before the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, as well as in the shadow of the Manchester attack, will cause distress.” He urged the protest organizers to rethink their plans and to “respect the grief of British Jews this week.”
Starmer further stated, “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”
Despite appeals from both government and police to cancel the demonstration after this week’s fatal synagogue attack, anti-Israel protesters in the U.K. proceeded with their event.
The London Metropolitan Police, known as the Met, not only pressed organizers to either cancel or postpone the protest but also issued a caution that arrests would be made.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley remarked that “by deliberately choosing to encourage mass lawbreaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
Rowley indicated that should the group ignore warnings to delay or cancel the protest, they should anticipate a police response to their activities. He added that the Met would “call in support from forces across the U.K.” to manage the protest if required.
The group stayed resolute, declining to cancel the demonstration. On Saturday, as demonstrators convened in London’s famous Trafalgar Square, they displayed placards stating, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
In July, there was a move to ban Palestine Action, with the justification that the group’s “orchestration and enaction of aggressive and intimidatory attacks” exceeded the criteria set out in the Terrorism Act 2000.
Conversely, Defend Our Juries, the group organizing Saturday’s protest, is advocating for the ban to be lifted. Defend Our Juries asserts that Palestine Action was designated a terror group “for trying to stop crimes against humanity and for exposing the British government’s complicity in genocide.”
The Met characterized the situation at Trafalgar Square on Saturday as “busy” and reported that officers carried out multiple arrests in the vicinity. It was also noted that “quite a few people in the crowd appear to be observing/supporting but not carrying placards themselves.”
On Thursday, a day of profound religious significance for Jews, an assailant attacked worshippers at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, resulting in two fatalities and four injuries.
Melvin Cravitz, aged 66, and Adrian Daulby, aged 53, lost their lives when Jihad Al Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian origin, drove his vehicle into pedestrians and proceeded to stab at least one other person. Law enforcement subsequently shot and killed Al Shamie at the location. On Friday, officials indicated that one of the victims might have been inadvertently shot by police while attempting to incapacitate the assailant.
Gideon Falter, the chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, condemned the attack and expressed disapproval of the government and police’s prior inaction concerning the fatal event.
Falter commented, “This is the intifada globalized. What did you think it was? ‘Globalize the intifada’ means Jews on the ground in a pool of blood, dead outside a synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish year.” He questioned, “Where are our institutions that are supposed to make sure that this sane, tolerant, decent place remains the Britain that we know and love?”
Tributes to their departed loved ones were issued by the families of Cravitz and Daulby.
A statement read, “Melvin would do anything to help anyone. He was so kind, caring and always wanted to chat and get to know people. He was devoted to his wife, family and loved his food. He will be sorely missed by his wife, family, friends and community.”
Another tribute stated, “Adrian Daulby was a hero and tragically lost his life in the act of courage to save others. He was a beloved brother, loving uncle to his four nieces and one nephew and a cherished cousin. The family is shocked by the tragic, sudden death of such a lovely, down-to-earth man.”
According to police, Daulby was one of the worshippers who acted to prevent Al Shamie from gaining entry to the synagogue.