Addressing the 1,500 rally-goers, Mann-Wineberg said that unlike after October 7, “not once, when talking about my experience in 2017, have I been asked: ‘Do you have any proof that happened?’ Nor has anyone said to me: ‘That's quite a controversial topic...I'm not sure where I stand.’ We all seemed to agree that [Salman Abedi] had killed people, and incited terror, and that was a terrible thing.”
A participant at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
He urged the British public to unite with the Jewish community in its fight against terror, saying that “we have seen the same extremists active in the UK …as the ones who are terrorising Israel”.
The rally, which was held on Tavistock Square, the site of the 7/7 bus bombing, also heard from British-Palestinian pro-peace activist John Aziz.
Aziz said that his views on the Middle East had led to him being called a “traitor”, receiving death threats and being publicly disowned by a family member.
British-Palestinian peace activist John Aziz addressing the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
He told rallygoers: “Critics say that I am punching down if I ever criticise groups on the Palestinian side like Hamas. But this is not about taking sides. This is about saying that enough is enough, and we cannot go on like this. How about instead of taking sides, we take the side of peace?”
Aziz’s calls for peace were echoed by campaigner Loay Alshareef from Abu Dhabi. After being welcomed to the stage in Arabic by rally organisers, the 7/10 Human Chain Project, he said: “I want to say to Hamas sympathisers that I am really sorry to disappoint you. If you thought that the enmity between Jews and Arabs was eternal, it is not.”
Calling the fighting in Gaza “an ugly war that Israel didn’t ask for”, he said the war could end “in a second if all the hostages were released and Hamas lays down its weapons”.
Loay Alshareef speaking at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
Alshareef said that the only disappointment during a “great 10 days” in the UK, had been “the genocidal chant on the Houses of Parliament”, projected by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Joseph Cohen, executive director of the Israel Advocacy Movement, the largest pro-Israel online movement in the UK, said that October 7 had been a direct response to the normalising of relations between Israel and the Arab nations of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Joseph Cohen from the Israel Advocacy Movement speaking at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
“This terrified the terrorists. Because a world where Jews and Arabs co-exist is a world where Hamas have no purpose. Coexistence is a death blow to their genocidal cult.”
Saying that the murders and sexual violence perpetrated by the terrorists “disgraced Islam”, he called on the crowd of different faiths to stand united against terror “by our unwavering commitment to coexistence”.
Natasha Hausdorff from UK Lawyers for Israel paid tribute to the “brave voices of Muslim people” who were speaking out against Hamas and urged the Jewish community to reciprocate their support.
Natasha Hausdorff from UK Lawyers for Israel spoke at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
During emotional speeches, survivors of the Nova festival Hila Fakliro and Bar Vikler shared their testimonies, with Vikler saying that after October 7, he would “never be the same” and Fakliro recounting how six of her friends had been murdered and three taken hostage in Gaza.
Nova festival survivor Bar Vikler addresses the crowd at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
“I ran 20 kilometres for five hours. I understand that every step kept me alive,” said Fakliro, who, this week, was speaking on UK campuses with Vikler.
Nova festival survivor Hila Fakliro speaking at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
Between speeches, singer Moni Tivony, widely known for his appearance on TV show The Voice, gave powerful renditions of Israeli and English songs. A lone anti-Israel activist was drowned out by the singing of “Am Yisrael Chai”.
Singer Moni Tivony at the No To Terror rally (Photo: Chiko Ashkenazi)[Missing Credit]
Orit Eyal-Fibeesh from the 7/10 Human Chain Project said afterwards: “Thank you all 1,500 of you who joined us today as we stood firm against terror. Our fight is far from over, but we remain determined to bring [the hostages] home and say no to terror.”
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