More than one hundred UK-based Israelis and British Jews gathered in central London today to protest against the Israeli government, demand the return of Hamas’ hostages and call for an end to the renewed fighting in Gaza.
The demonstration in Whitehall, organised by grassroots group We Democracy, featured speeches from Rabbi Charley Baginsky, co-leader of Progressive Judaism, and Sharone Lifschitz, the daughter of former hostages Yochaved and the late Oded Lifschitz.
The UK protest followed mass demonstrations in Israel, where more than 100,000 people took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities to oppose the Netanyahu-led government’s handling of the war and the end of the two-month ceasefire.
Anger in Israel is growing over the resumption of fighting, particularly among families of hostages still held by Hamas. The fate of the 59 remaining captives – 24 of whom are believed to be alive – remains uncertain.
In London, demonstrators held posters that read “Save the hostages, say no to war,” “fight for democracy and peace, stop corruption and war.”
Two larger banners said: “We are not our government” and “hostage deal now”. Many protesters draped Israeli flags over their shoulders and wore red caps emblazoned with “End the f***ing war.”
Orit Eyal-Fibeesh from We Democracy opened the protest with a stark warning echoing the works of former Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo: “If Israel becomes a radical messianic state, I fear for the future of Jews everywhere.”
Lifschitz told the crowd: “We are in trauma, and we go out of the trauma to action, and we do what it takes to bring all the hostages back. And it's not possible to bring them without democracy.”
Addressing Whitehall, Rabbi Baginsky said: “If Jewish supremacy becomes [Israeli] policy, Judaism itself may become synonymous with oppression. We are not just trying to save Israel. We are trying to save Judaism.”
She added: “We are here because we believe a better Israel is still possible, because we believe a better Judaism is still possible, because we believe in the power of people who refuse to give up. Am Yisrael Chai – and so must its soul.”
Dr Magen Inon, whose parents Yacov and Bilha Inon were murdered in the Hamas-led October 7 massacre, told the protest: “There is no security without peace. There is no peace without democracy. There is no democracy without the end of the occupation.”
Other speakers included Rabbi Jeremy Gordon of New London Masorti Synagogue and Professor Osnat Akirav, president of the Israel Political Science Association.
Akirav warned of an attack on Israel’s democracy: “More than 300 bills undermining the democratic foundations of Israel have been written so far. It is a blitz against Israeli democracy.”
“There are simple messages we have to keep repeating because they are true: There is no security without peace. There is no peace without democracy. There is no democracy without the end of the occupation," Magen Inon told the crowd. (We Democracy)[Missing Credit]
Gordon addressed the UK government, asking them to “stand up and fight for a response to the atrocity of October 7 that is in line with an acceptable vision of the future for Israel and the Middle East.”
Closing the protest, Jenny Kananov from We Democracy said: “Israel listens to the voices coming from the UK and they care about what the Jewish diaspora thinks. If we raise our voices, they will be heard. And when our voices join those in Israel, they will be amplified and they will make a difference.”
Ahead of the protest, We Democracy urged UK Jewish communal leaders to “stop normalising the actions of the Israeli government.”
In a statement, the group said: “Military pressure and collective punishment on Gaza has been a disastrous failure. Not only has it failed to bring the hostages home, it puts their lives at risk. Fifty-nine Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.
“More bombs, more humanitarian pressure, more threats – won’t save the hostages. It’s been tried and tested and failed. The war will not bring back the hostages.”
The group added that their position reflects majority opinion in Israel, claiming: “We are expressing the views of the mainstream – at least 70 per cent of the Israeli public support the ceasefire and return of all hostages.”
