Worthy Christian News > World News > Thousands At Anti-Israel Rally In London (Video)

Thousands At Anti-Israel Rally In London (Video)

By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos

JERUSALEM/LONDON (Worthy News) – Thousands gathered in London to demand a “free Palestine” and protest against Israeli retaliatory strikes in response to the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

While funerals are underway for the 1,300 victims in Israel, including beheaded babies and toddlers, at least some demonstrators demanded more bloodshed.

Footage obtained by Worthy News showed a car convoy carrying Palestinian flags driving through the streets with a man shouting through a megaphone using sexual expletives. “F… the Jews. F… all of them. F… their mothers, f… their daughters, and show your support for Palestine. Rape their daughters.”

Apparently, a Jewish woman carrying a placard saying “This Jew stands with” the Palestinians wasn’t aware of antisemitic remarks made by protesters whom she called “brothers and sisters.”

Referring to Israel’s blockade of Gaza and its military actions there, she said that “any civilized nation on earth would agree that depriving children of food and water is unacceptable.”

The woman added: “I am here because I am a human being, and anyone with a conscience believes that a civilian population should never be punished in this way. It is collective punishment. It is a war crime,” she said about Israel’s blockade of Gaza and its military actions there.

She said she participated in the protest as she grew up “in the shadow of the Holocaust when we said: ‘Never again.’ And that means ‘never again’ for everybody… And unless we stop it and unless we go out there and say something, it is going to end up with thousands losing their lives.”

‘EVERY LIFE PRECIOUS’

A week after the massacre against Jews in Israel, she said: “Every life is precious. But the root of this violence is the occupation. It is not complicated. There is a….colonial state imposing apartheid and oppression on an indigenous people. And that is wrong everywhere, for anybody.”

“All that Palestinians want is freedom. And we must support that and equal rights. And I am so pleased to see so many of my brothers and sisters with big hearts who know the truth,” she said.

She added that the British government should demand an immediate ceasefire. Elsewhere, a woman told the mass rally: “We will march, and we will say: ‘Free Palestine.’,” a woman told the rally. Protestors, including many women wearing the hijab and carrying “free Palestine” banners, applauded the remarks.

Crowds chanting “Free, free Palestine” and shooting flares made their way through the center of the British capital toward the Downing Street residence of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it was enforcing a law known as Section 60AA, which requires people to remove items that conceal their identity. Local prosecutors added staff over the weekend to charge any arrests made. At least seven arrests were made as isolated scuffles broke out between police and Palestine supporters in London, British media reported.

Former British opposition Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke at the protest to denounce “Israel’s assault” on Gaza. Corbyn has come under fire in the past for not saying he is sorry for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party under his leadership in a BBC interview.

“As we wave the Palestinian flag, let’s hear it for the people of the West Bank, for the people of Gaza, for the people of the refugee camps, and say very bluntly to our political leaders in this country: ‘Do not condone war crimes, do not condone the starvation and the denial of medicine to desperate people in Gaza or anywhere else,'” he said.

GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS HAMAS 

However, ahead of the protest, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that waving a Palestinian flag or singing a chant advocating freedom for Arabs in the region may be a criminal offense.

In a letter to chief constables in England and Wales, the home secretary urged them to clamp down on any attempts to use flags, songs, or swastikas to harass or intimidate Jewish community members.

In the letter, Braverman said police should not restrict themselves to potential offenses related to promoting Hamas, seen as a terrorist organization by Britain and other nations.

“It is not just explicit pro-Hamas symbols and chants that are cause for concern. I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offense,” she wrote.

“I would encourage police to give similar consideration to the presence of symbols such as swastikas at anti-Israel demonstrations. Context is crucial. Behaviors that are legitimate in some circumstances, for example, the waving of a Palestinian flag, may not be legitimate such as when intended to glorify acts of terrorism.”

She also said that it is unacceptable to drive “through Jewish neighborhoods, or single out Jewish members of the public, to aggressively chant or wave pro-Palestinian symbols at. Where harassment is identified, I would encourage the police to take swift and appropriate enforcement action.”

Braverman added: “I encourage all chief officers to ensure that any protests which could exacerbate community tensions by way of offensive placards, chants, or behaviors that could be construed as incitement or harassment, have a strong police presence to ensure perpetrators are appropriately dealt with, and that communities feel protected.”

URGING MORE PROTECTION 

She urged police to “prevent disorder and distress to our communities” after the prime minister also expressed his support for the Jewish community.

Yet protesters waved Palestinian flags anyway while the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for a red paint attack at the London headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The group said the action “was taken by us to highlight BBC’s biased reporting, which is manufacturing consent to massacre Palestinians.”

There were similar scenes in Glasgow, Scotland, where around 3,000 pro-Palestine protesters gathered in the city outside Buchanan Galleries.

Taking part in that protest were Shaaista Bhutta and Muzaffar Yousaf, the parents of Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, The (Scottish) Herald reported.

Pro-Palestinian rallies were also held in Edinburgh, Manchester, and other cities in Britain. People supporting Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank also marched elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Canada, and the United States after Hamas called for a “Day of Rage.”

Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of Jews, has condemned the Israeli strikes on Gaza prompted by their atrocities. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have accused Hamas of using hostages, including babies and infants, as human shields.