British Jewish groups have expressed outrage at a Saturday pro-Palestine march that took place near a small London Jewish community during Passover.
The 'Essex March for Palestine' passed through the streets of Westcliff, near Southend in Essex, chanting “stop killing children” while Jewish families walked home from synagogue after Shabbat prayers, according to The Telegraph.
One of main groups involved was Chelmsford for Palestine, which, according to the Jewish Chronicle, split from Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) earlier this year.
“Even by the standards of the past 18 months, the march in Southend was despicable," said Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA). "Not only did police allow this march, despite it apparently being organised without the required legal notice, they took minimal action as marchers shouted ‘stop killing children’, a chilling echo of medieval blood-libels.”
CAA also told The Telegraph that some protesters “displayed support for terrorist organisations banned in the UK” and reported that a volunteer from its own demonstration and event-monitoring unit was attacked. The Community Security Trust (CST) condemned the march as "a deliberately antagonistic act."Southend On Sea FREE ✊ pic.twitter.com/iuBbZqUV2Q
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A CST spokesman said: “People have the choice about when and where to protest, and organizing a pro-Palestinian march of this nature near to synagogues on the Sabbath is a deliberately antagonistic act that we utterly condemn."
“It causes fear and alarm in the local Jewish community and damages wider relations. The new police powers announced by the Home Secretary to prevent this kind of intimidation cannot come into force a moment too soon.”
A spokesman for Essex Police told The Telegraph that a group of orthodox Jews walking near to the march “were supported by officers who escorted them to the opposite side of the road to ensure their safety”.
Essex Police had originally told the protesters to push back the start time from 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. to ensure "everyone's safety and wellbeing" and to make sure there was "an appropriate and proportionate policing plan in place.”
However, according to witnesses, the event still started at 1:30 p.m.
Michael Nelkin, former chair of Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation, told the Jewish Chronicle on Thursday that he was against this march because "they are starting so near the synagogue, right in the heart of the Jewish community."
“They normally [start] where the Southend pier is and go up the high street. This is the first time they’ve been to Westcliff and on a quiet residential road.”
'Stop killing children'
One protesters, Amy Abdelnoor, 46, from Essex, confirmed that the protesters were chanting “stop killing babies” in a statement to The Telegraph.
"Given that UNICEF has called it a war on children, I think it’s entirely accurate to say stop killing children," said Abdelnoor, an author and speaker at the march. "“We were calling on the Government to stop arming Israel, we were calling on the Israeli government to end the occupation, we were calling on the Israeli government to stop bombing Gaza and we were calling on the Israeli government to stop killing children.”
Abdelnoor also dismissed claims that the Jewish community was made to feel unsafe, saying "There was no provocation whatsoever, and it was made very clear that this was presented as religious, but it’s not, its political."
“The marches normally are at the end of the sabbath, so it’s utterly disingenuous, cynical manipulation of the Jewish faith and utterly untrue," she continued. "This has nothing to do with religion – it’s all to do with ideology."
She added that "two speakers at the rally today were Jewish, and one of them made very clear that he felt safe."
Terrorism charge
The Jerusalem Post found that one of the organizers of the march – Jewish anti-Zionist Tony Greenstein – is currently charged with a terrorism offence under Section 12(1) of the UK's terrorism act due to support for Hamas.
On 17 December 2024, a UK police spokesperson said confirmed that Greenstein – one of the founders of Palestine Solidarity Campaign – had been charged with a terrorism offence following an investigation by officers from Counter Terrorism South East (CTPSE).
Greenstein was previously handed a nine-month suspended prison sentence in 2023 for attacking an Elbit Systems factory.
The other Jewish speaker was Richard Kuper – the former chair of Jews for Justice for Palestinians.
One of the other speakers – primary school teacher Anna Letts – was also arrested and charged recently for spray-painting the front of Allianz HQ in London, according to British media reports.
Letts – a member of Palestine Action – was reportedly charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass.
Additionally, a guest speaker at the rally was Daniel Day, who is on bail and awaiting trial for climbing Westminster Palace's Elizabeth Tower waving a Palestinian flag in March. Westminster Palace contains the Houses of Parliament, and Elizabeth Tower contains the famous Big Ben clock.
