Police made 14 arrests after protesters clashed outside a north London synagogue where an Israeli property show was being held. Around 1,000 protesters and counter-protesters took to the streets outside the Edgware United Synagogue on Sunday.
Demonstrators gathered after the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other groups claimed the real estate event at the synagogue was “openly advertising the sale of land” in an “illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank”. The Palestinian Youth Movement said more than 100 parliamentarians and human rights organisations had condemned the “criminal event”.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the event’s organisers had “publicly refuted claims that the event is marketing real estate over the Green Line” – which refers to 1949 armistice demarcation lines established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War separating Israel from the West Bank. The Board said it was “deeply disturbed” at the “wholly unjustified” demonstration, adding that MPs had “inflamed tensions through partial and misleading commentary”.
Footage shared on social media showed angry confrontations between protesters waving Palestine flags and counter-protesters waving Israel flags, with police detaining some demonstrators. Protesters near the synagogue, which is in an area with a large Jewish community, held a large sign saying “stop Israel’s illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land”.
The Metropolitan Police said five arrests were for violent disorder including one person also arrested for assault on an emergency worker, one common assault arrest, and one other arrest for assault on an emergency worker. There were six arrests for Section 4a Public Order Act offences, with four of those for racial or religiously aggravated matters, and one arrest for Section 18 Public Order Act offences. The force said those arrested had been taken into custody.
Jeanine Hourani, a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said: “Over the last week, we have mobilised every segment of British society to get this criminal event cancelled. Over 100 parliamentarians, leading human rights organisations, the mayor of London, multiple legal organisations and over 100 grassroots organisations have condemned this event and called for its cancellation. And yet, it is still going ahead and that’s why we are protesting today.”
In a statement, acting president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Adrian Cohen said: “The event organisers have publicly refuted claims that the event is marketing real estate over the Green Line. It is very disappointing that MPs and other public figures have not acknowledged this and instead inflamed tensions through partial and misleading commentary. Protesting at a synagogue based on false pretences seems to be little more than an excuse to harass and intimidate members of the Jewish community. New measures under the Crime and Policing Act, called for by the Board and community partners, will from the end of the month give police new powers to impose conditions on protests near places of worship. We are calling on the police to ensure such protests are kept a significant distance from places of worship to prevent intimidation to members of the Jewish community.”
Metropolitan Police Commander Adam Slonecki said: “We have liaised with the venue and the Community Security Trust and have deployed officers to prevent serious disruption and to deal with any offences, using the full range of powers available to us including imposing conditions under the Public Order Act. We are mindful that Jewish communities are experiencing heightened fear and concern following two-and-a-half years of sustained protest and, in recent months, a series of arsons and other attacks. There is a distinction between protesting in central London and protesting in the heart of communities where the potential to cause serious disruption and intimidation is greater and our policing plan reflects that.”
