CST chief says claims London a no-go zone for Jews during Gaza protests ‘deeply troubling’

A newspaper headline claiming London’s streets have become a “no-go zone for Jews” during pro-Palestinian protests is “deeply troubling” the Community Security Trust’s chief executive has claimed, but he added that “it also contains a huge element of truth.”

Mark Gardner was speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme in response to a Daily Telegraph frontpage that led on an op-ed written by the government’s counter-extremism commissioner.

Robin Simcox called for the government to  to “move faster” and “be bolder” in taking action against groups involved with the pro-Palestine demos even if that meant a “higher legal risk”.

Simcox said “we will not have become an authoritarian state if London is no longer permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend”.

Gardner told Radio 4: “I don’t go into town when there’s these demonstrations.”

He said that in collaboration with the London Jewish Forum the CST had collected “dozens and dozens of statement” from members of the community saying they were avoiding central London because of the demos.

Gardner added: “We hear all about the right of protesters to demonstrate, but God forbid anybody say anything against them. Then you will find out about your freedom of speech.”

Asked about the Jewish presence on the protests, the CST chief said:”There are two types of Jews who attend the protests in the main – ultra orthodox Jews who believes the state of Israel prevents the messiah coming.

“Then you have revolutionary socialists using their Jewishness so people get the impression the movement is not fundamentally antisemitic.”

The comments by Simcox followed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to deal with the “root causes” of the problem and ensure that “no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy by their actions and interactions with central government”.

Simcox had been a controversial appointment to the home office post.

His background in the Henry Jackson Society, and with the hard-right Heritage Foundation in the US has meant he has always held forthright views on issues such as multi-culturalism.

He did not respond to a request from Radio 4 to defend claims made in his op-ed.

A definition of extremism, expected to be set out by Communities Secretary Michael Gove as soon as next week, could ban Government officials from engaging with or funding groups or individuals deemed extremist. But it has led to concerns from some on the right that it could inadvertently penalise groups opposed to gay marriage, abortion or new transgender rights.“We have not betrayed democracy if extremists are no longer able to operate television channels.”

The pro-peace organisation Yachad also issued a statement on social media saying:”Every time there is a war in Israel-Palestine, there is a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hatred in the streets of Britain.

“The way in which Israel-Palestine is spoken about is inflammatory, often with conspiracy theories and fake news.

“People too often can’t distinguish between British Jews and the IDF or British Muslims & Hamas. This isn’t equivocating, it’s just a fact. The British Jewish community is small and the rise in antisemitism both online and offline is palpable.”

But they added: “Suggesting that all pro-Palestinian marches are inherently antisemitic isn’t only untrue, it’s dangerous. “Those promoting the idea that pro-Palestinian protests make Jews unsafe or should be banned are pitting Jews and Palestinians against each other.”