The Metropolitan Police have agreed to direct the first Palestine march of the year away from synagogues on January 18 after a prolonged community outcry.
The announcement comes just a week after the JC reported that community leaders had pleaded with the force to move the Gaza march away from Central Synagogue amid concerns that the Met is failing to protect Jewish life in the city.
On Tuesday, a group of over 80 MPs and peers joined calls to reroute the march away from the Jewish building. In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, cross-party politicians demanded that the rally be rerouted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Met admitted that the Gaza protest close to a shul in central London on Shabbat risked “causing serious disruption”.
The rally, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Saturday, is currently planned to begin at the BBC headquarters in Portland Place, 500 metres from Central Synagogue.
After writing to the PSC to ask them to change their meeting point, the Met said they were “hopeful that the PSC will now alter their plans in light of our position”.
If the PSC does not reroute the Gaza march, the Met said they would consider using the powers of the Public Order Act, which allows the force to limit unlawful assembly and riots.
Board of Deputies vice-president Andrew Gilbert welcomed the Met’s decision to reroute the march, commenting "The Board have been working with the police and the Jewish community on the routes of the marches and appreciate the detailed work by the police and believe that this clarity from them is an important step forward.”
A spokesperson for the Community Security Trust (CST) added: “CST and others have been demanding for a long time now that these marches are routed far away from any synagogues, and we appreciate the efforts of the police to ensure that this is the case. It is highly irresponsible and provocative of the PSC to choose this location when they know it causes so much alarm and upset for the local Jewish community.”
Shortly after the October 7 massacre and the subsequent increase in UK antisemitism, Jewish groups including the CST, Board of Deputies, London Jewish Forum, Shomrim and the Jewish Police Association started to meet weekly with the Met to discuss community safety concerns.
Working closely with the force, communal leaders repeated concerns about the frequency and location of the demonstrations disrupting Jewish life in London.
Central Synagogue’s Rabbi Lerer told the JC that the Gaza protests had been damaging his shul’s ability to function, with events cancelled and congregants being intimidated on their way to worship.
He said that he had reported to the police hearing chants for “genocide of Jews” from his synagogue, but claimed that the information had been met with a “shrug”.
The rabbi said that during a march on May 18, Shabbat services at Central were interrupted by protesters as they disembarked a train at Great Portland Street station. “We could hear people chanting ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ while we were praying,” Rabbi Lerer said.
“Communities are not able to function in the way that they have been for 150-plus years because of this.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said this was a “critical moment” for the Met to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the community.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “We have written to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) to set out our position ahead of their protest planned for Saturday, 18 January. This follows extensive engagement over recent weeks.
“The role of the police is to ensure that groups can protest lawfully, while also balancing the rights of those in the wider community to go about their lives without serious disruption.
“We have carefully considered the likely impact of the PSC’s plans. As part of those considerations, we have reflected on the views of local community and business representatives, including those of the congregation at a synagogue located a very short distance from the proposed ‘form up’ point in Portland Place.
“As we have shared with the PSC, it is our view that a protest forming up so close to that synagogue on a Saturday – the Jewish holy day – when congregants will be attending Shabbat services, risks causing serious disruption.
“In reaching this view we have taken into account the cumulative impact of this prolonged period of protest, often taking place on Saturdays and on numerous occasions in the vicinity of synagogues. We know this has been a cause of increased concern for many Jewish Londoners who have altered their plans, avoided parts of central London and reduced attendance at religious services.
“We are hopeful that the PSC will now alter their plans in light of our position, but should they wish to continue to use Portland Place as a form up point we will consider the use of Public Order Act conditions as appropriate.”
The PSC said they “utterly condemned” the decision by the Met and accused the force of attempting to use “repressive powers” to limit their protest.
“The excuse offered by the police is that our march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue. It follows representations from pro-Israel groups and activists who have been publicly calling for action to be taken to curtail our right to protest against Israel’s ongoing genocide," the PSC said.
