Thousands of people marched against anti-Semitism on Sunday in the streets of London, the day after a new pro-Palestinian demonstration and the third day of the truce between Israel and Hamas. In the procession, which set off from the Royal Court of Justice towards Parliament in the center of the capital, many demonstrators waved Israeli and British flags and “Zero tolerance for anti-Semitism” signs.
They also displayed photos of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the bloody attack launched against Israel on October 7, which led to an Israeli response in the Gaza Strip, shelled without respite since the start of the truce on Friday. “On October 7, we woke up to a new reality and we were all traumatized by it,” Omer Plotniarz, a 37-year-old music therapist, who came with his wife and child, told AFP.
Founder of far-right group arrested
“We just want to see our babies, our wives, our brothers, our sisters, everyone at home,” he pleaded. “We are here to support Israel, to demand the release of all the hostages,” said Debby Goldberg, 52, an Israeli flag around her shoulders. “We are here to ask for peace and an end to this nightmare,” added this Israeli citizen originally from Argentina.
According to the Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST), 1,324 anti-Semitic acts were recorded in Britain between the start of the war on October 7 and November 15, a record, compared to 271 over the same period last year. . Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took part in this march, at the initiative of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism organization. At the start of the demonstration, police arrested the founder of the far-right EDL group Tommy Robinson, who had been asked to stay away.
A pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday
The day before, tens of thousands of British people once again took to the streets in support of the Palestinians, demanding a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. A new exchange of Hamas hostages for Palestinian prisoners is planned for Sunday, the third day of the truce between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli army estimated the total number of hostages kidnapped at 240, and the number of people – the vast majority civilians – massacred during the October 7 attack at 1,200. In the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government says nearly 15,000 people, including 6,150 under the age of 18, have been killed by Israeli strikes.