London must remain a beacon of tolerance, ministers and the Mayor said on Monday amid warnings that Jewish people have been too afraid to enter the centre of the capital during pro-Palestinian protests.
The Prime Minister was convening a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to discuss security risks from the Middle East conflict, as Israel mounted ground incursions into Gaza three weeks after Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,400 people on Israeli soil and took 230 people hostage, including Britons.
The death toll in Gaza itself has now surpassed 8,000, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, as desperate Palestinians break into UN warehouses to take aid supplies with the territory under Israeli siege.
After 70,000 people staged a pro-Palestinian protest in the capital for a third weekend, Minister for London Paul Scully told the Standard: “People are understandably concerned about what is happening in Gaza, as well as the horrors of the terrorist attack by Hamas.
"Israel has a right to defend itself and Palestinians should be able to live a peaceful and equitable life. It’s really important that people in London should choose their words carefully and not inflame hatred and violence,” he added.
“London is a really tolerant city that values people from all faiths and backgrounds.”
A spokesman for the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Mayor is clear how important it is that we have empathy and show understanding for Jewish Londoners and Muslim Londoners amid the terrible loss of life and suffering in Israel and Gaza.
“Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but the Mayor is clear that no one should have to feel scared or vulnerable because of the community they belong to. London has a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime in all its forms and the Met will arrest anyone who steps over the line by committing a hate crime.
“The Mayor understands that Londoners care deeply about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza right now. But we must stay united as Londoners, ensuring that London is a place where everyone feels safe and welcome, and we treat our fellow citizens with respect.”
Mr Halfon, who is Jewish, said on LBC: “Can you imagine being a Jewish person trying to walk around central London over the past three weekends with people shouting, screaming, ‘jihad’ and ‘army’ and ‘war’ and ‘from the river to the sea’?” While staunchly defending the right to peaceful protest, he said that the anti-Israel chant “from the river to the sea” was “horrific”.
“London should be a safe place for those of the Jewish faith — as much as it is for other communities,” he told the Standard.
The Community Security Trust, a UK Jewish charity, has recorded about 800 incidents of anti-Semitism since the brutal Hamas raids into Israel on October 7. There has been a 14-fold increase in anti-Semitism in London and a nearly three-fold rise in Islamophobic incidents targeting the Muslim community since then, according to Met chief Sir Mark Rowley, who called yesterday for a review of legislation governing extremism. The Muslim Council of Britain said it was “deeply concerned by the sharp uptick in hate crime” including break-ins at mosques across the country.
A spokesman added: “Despite the tensions, communities in Britain have a rich history of inter-faith work and community cohesion.
“We hope all will continue to come together and we remain dedicated to fostering greater understanding, and strengthening community relationships at this time.”
Mr Halfon stressed the Government’s view that existing laws covering anti-terrorism, public order and racial harassment were “strong”. He was backed by Jonathan Hall, the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, who said the challenge of defining and outlawing “extremism” had defeated previous governments.
