LONDON – The prime minister has suggested there may be a case for banning some protests, following calls for a suspension of pro-Palestinian marches.
Asked if he wanted tougher policing of language used during marches, or if he wanted to stop some protests altogether, Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think certainly the first, and I think there are instances for the latter.” Sir Keir said he would always defend the right to protest but he was concerned about the “cumulative” effect of repeated marches on the Jewish community. It comes after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, on Wednesday. Essa Suleiman, 45, appeared in court on Friday charged with attempted murder over the attack.
The two victims, 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine, have both since been discharged from hospital after sustaining serious injuries.
The attack, which has been declared a terror incident by police, is the latest in a string of violent incidents targeting Jewish people. A review into public order and hate crime legislation – commissioned by the government after two Jewish people were killed in an attack outside a Manchester synagogue last year – was expected to report back in February, but has not yet been published. The government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall KC called this week for a “moratorium” on pro-Palestinian marches because it was currently “impossible” for them not to incubate antisemitism. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis also called for a temporary ban, telling the BBC they had contributed to a “tone of Jew hatred” in the UK. Asked about these calls, Sir Keir said: “I think it’s time to look across the board at protests and the cumulative effect.”
In relation to the repeated nature of the marches, many people in the Jewish community have said to me, it’s the repeat nature, it’s the cumulative effect. “Now, I accept that, which is why we intend to deal with cumulative effects.” Pushed on whether some protests needed to stop altogether, Sir Keir said: “We need to look at what further powers we can take.” Regarding concerns about linking protests to attacks on Jews, he said he would “defend the right of peaceful protest very strongly and freedom of speech”. “I’m not saying, of course, that there aren’t very strong, legitimate views about the Middle East, about Gaza. We all have deep concerns about it.” A campaign group which helped to organise a number of the marches, Stop the War Coalition, said it condemned “all forms of antisemitism and racism” but that it was “wrong” to connect the marches to attacks on Jews.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said Sir Keir was “using the pain and fear of Jewish people to threaten further authoritarian restrictions on peaceful protest”.
“This would be the worst response to the attacks in Golders Green and would just produce more division when it’s the job of responsible leaders to bring people together”, he said.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party also warned the response to the “abhorrent” attacks should not restrict civil liberties.
