An estimated 100,000 people protested in the streets of London this weekend in support of the Palestinian cause. The rally appeared to include a number of supporters of Islamist groups and leftist organizations.
Protesters included signs that read slogans such as “Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine!” Another showed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Hitler mustaches with text that read “Crime Minister”
Just as in protests in other cities, such as New York City, protesters chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The same phrase has been used by other protesters to describe the removal of the state of Israel.
Some chanted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is Great.”
Some held black flags with the Islamic Recitation of Faith, which has been used by a number of terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda.
Our colleagues at @NPASLondon really are invaluable on days like today giving us a real time overview of events as they take place on a #PublicOrder day! 🚁
As of 1400 hours we now estimate the numbers in the demonstration to be up to 100,000; the front remains on Whitehall. 👀 pic.twitter.com/waFUXWBXTo
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 21, 2023
Some of the flags held at the protest were that of the radical leftwing group Antifa and other similar organizations.
The large crowd included messages both supporting the Palestinian cause and attacking Israel. One sign included the text describing blood on Israel’s hands, with the letter ‘A’ being replaced by a Star of David.
London’s Metropolitan Police had promised to arrest supporters of groups such as Hamas but did not crack down on other Islamist symbols.
The protest in Britain’s capital city comes after a wave of anti-Semitic hate crimes. The Metropolitan Police announced that the rate of anti-Jewish crimes has increased by 1,350% since the start of October.
This included more than 200 separate incidents resulting in 21 arrests.
There has been a wave of Islamist attacks since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. These include a Pennsylvania student’s dorm room being lit on fire, a stabbing murder in France and a shooting attack that killed two people in Brussels, Belgium. The New York City Police Department is also on alert for potential attacks on Jewish sites.
