Two Jewish counter-protesters and one anti-Israel protester were arrested on Tuesday evening during a demonstration outside Hackney Town Hall, where protesters called for the council to divest from companies linked to Israel.

The arrests occurred as anti-Israel protesters demonstrated against Hackney Town Council’s annual pension committee meeting, demanding the council divest from companies connected to Israel and end the borough’s twinning with Haifa.

Protesters outside the town hall lit flares and chanted, “Israel is a terror state” and “Up with liberation.” One demonstrator was arrested for making “a cutthroat gesture”.

Around 50 counter-protesters arrived with flags to show their support for Israel.

The Met police said of the three arrests, “One man for section 4 Public Order Offence having made a cutthroat gesture and a man and a woman for racially aggravated public order of displaying an offensive placard. The three people remain in custody and the investigation is ongoing.”

There has been an ongoing encampment outside Hackney Town Hall advocating for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Protesters claimed that over 100 people had stayed overnight at the camp.

Protesters outside Hackney Town Hall chanted "occupation no more" and "Israel is a terror state" (Photo: Instagram)

The demonstration on Tuesday evening was advertised on posters. On Saturday, a Jewish man was attacked for removing one of the posters – the suspect has since been arrested.

The group called for the council to divest from “all companies complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses,” sever Hackney’s twinning relationship with the Israeli city of Haifa, and twin with a Palestinian town instead.

The BDS motion was discussed during Hackney Town Council's pension meeting (Photo: Instagram)

A deputation to the council referred to calls by Amnesty International and the United Nations against Israel, as well as “ongoing appeals from Palestinian civil society against 56 years of illegal occupation under which they have been subjected to countless human rights abuses by the Israeli state.”

The motion, supported by Green councillor Zoe Garbett, also “noted” the council’s commitment to Ukrainian solidarity following Russia’s invasion last year.

The deputation in favour of BDS was rejected at the meeting (Photo: Instagram)

Speaking in favour of the BDS motion, one speaker said they hoped “The people who work in this building... are no longer compelled to have the blood of innocent people on their hands.”

The group’s demands were countered by a deputation arguing that the BDS proposal would be “detrimental to staff’s pensions” and too costly to implement.

Jonathan Turner, Chief Executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, addressed the meeting on behalf of Hackney Friends of Israel. He stated that Israel-Palestine was "probably the most controversial issue on the planet” and “is also very divisive, particularly in Hackney which has many Jews and many Muslims.” 

Turner stressed that Hackney’s Pension Fund “primarily invests in funds rather than individual companies, for good financial reasons. It is usually impossible to exclude particular companies from these funds.” This, he argued, made the demands of deputation very difficult to implement.

Turner added “A local council does not have the tools and systems to make accurate judgements on complex foreign conflicts. This is particularly so in relation to the Middle East where there is so much false information.”

He stated, “There is extensive evidence from research at US universities that BDS activity targeting Israel promotes antisemitism."

The Hackney Town Hall balcony was packed during the meeting with supporters of the BDS motion (Photo: Instagram)

The council rejected the BDS proposal, but protesters vowed to return.

Following the rejection of their motion, demonstrators agreed to dismantle their encampment outside the Town Hall, stating they had been “forced to change tactics.”