Anti-Netanyahu demo staged outside Israeli ambassador to UK’s north London residence

Around 300 anti-Netanyahu campaigners have staged a protest outside the north London residence of the Israeli ambassador to the UK in a spontaneous response to the chaos unfolding in the Jewish state.

Following the news from Israel that Benjamin Netanyahu had dismissed defence secretary Gallant after he opposed a judicial overhaul, a large crowd of mainly UK based Israeli’s congregated outside Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely’s residence, and frequently chanted for her to resign.

Hotovely did not appear to be in the property on Sunday evening, but the protest, called through the Defend Israeli Democracy WhatsApp group, continued until 11 pm.

Protesters chanted “Tzipi, resign! Tzipi, resign!”, along with the now familiar chants that have come to characterise weeks of protest, including “Busha” (Shame) and “Democracy.”

Metropolitan Police officers arrived at the scene shortly after the demo began, but it remained trouble free throughout.

The protesters kept track of the news in Israel on their mobile phones with as many as 700,000 people were out on the streets also in spontaneous protest against the government’s actions.

The crowd dispersed peacefully at around 11pm after singing Hatikvah.

One of the protest organiser’s Sharon Shochat told Jewish News: “We saw what was happening in Israel in the news and could not keep still.

“Everyone arrived within 15m of being called. The sense of obligation – being ‘called to the flag’ – that’s developed during this protest is quite spectacular.

“We now need true friends of Israel to wake up and protest with us. This is not a time for half-hearted expressions of concern but to join in solidarity with the people of Israel, defending our democratic state.”