(Photo from https://www.instagram.com/combatantisemitism/p/C-2zw0moH6X/)
February 6, 2025
I write as Rabbi of New London Synagogue, a Jewish faith community
of 1500 members. The Synagogue is located less than a mile away from the
location of these protests on Abbey Road, NW8 0AT. Many of our members live locally
on the far side of the Swiss Cottage and would pass these protests on the way
to Synagogue. I also write as a local resident living very locally to my
community.
Introduction
As you will be aware, since early 2024, Swiss Cottage in
London has been the site of weekly anti-Israel protests held Friday early
evenings. These demonstrations have been timed to coincide with the onset of
the Jewish Sabbath, a sacred time dedicated to rest, prayer, and community
gatherings. The timing of these protests raises significant concerns regarding
their impact on the local synagogue community's ability to practice their
religion peacefully. The reports I receive of these protests are that they are
boisterous, combative and aggressive in their chants and affect. While I
support the right to protest, I don’t support any so-called right to intimidate
or scare, and the culture of these protests, now well-set over many months,
seems to be designed to do that.
Evidence
I have members who have shared they feel uncomfortable
coming to the Synagogue through these protests which they perceive as being,
too often, angry, aggressive and featuring antisemitic and otherwise offensive chanting.
A 13 year old girl in the community, faces this challenge on
a weekly basis. She walks – and, again, being the Jewish Sabbath, walking is
the only religiously acceptable method of transport for her - from her home to the other side of Swiss
Cottage every Friday evening. She shares, on a weekly basis, her unease and
nervousness. Her parents have looked at circuitous pathways that avoid the
area, but the site of the protests is chosen to make avoiding it especially difficult.
She feels she needs to gee herself up in an act of bravery to walk along the
road. She’s thirteen. That shouldn’t be necessary.
As you will be aware, in September 2024, a 27-year-old man
was arrested in Swiss Cottage for allegedly chanting support for Hamas,
including phrases like "I love the 7th October" and "I love an
organisation that starts with H," referencing the Hamas attack on Israel
in October 2023.[1] Our
community is grateful that Police responded after this alleged event, but this
incident is neither uncommon nor unexpected. The protests seemed geared towards
fermenting this kind of anger. Again, arresting someone suspected of a crime sends an important message, but when incidents
like this happen and stories of this and similar incidents are reported on a
weekly basis, the damage to the local Jewish community, and I would argue the
broader community of decent-minded local residents, is magnified.
Many in my community complain tell me they hear language like
this on a weekly basis. There is a perception in the community that, despite
multiple complaints to the police, there has been a failure to take adequate
action to address these issues by moving these protests away either in location
or time, or otherwise ensuring the culture of barracking aggressive language and
chanting changes.
There have, clearly, been attempts to police these protests
more effectively, but this has largely been through ensuring large numbers of
uniformed officers are sent to the area. Sadly, and I do have sympathy for the
Police in their attempts to balance competing rights, a large police presence
at these protests seems similarly both correct and further-damaging. As a Jew living
in London, I don’t want to feel my right to pass through a major thoroughfare less
than a mile from my home, depends on the presence of scores of officers. Different
preventative strategies are necessary.
Conclusion
The weekly anti-Israel protests Swiss Cottage have a
tangible and adverse impact on my synagogue community and members of my family's
ability to observe the Sabbath peacefully. The documented antisemitic incidents
and the general atmosphere of tension during these demonstrations contribute to
a sense of insecurity among community members. It is imperative for local
authorities to recognise these challenges and take appropriate measures to
ensure that the rights of the Jewish community to practice their religion
without fear or disruption are upheld.
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