Home secretary holds talks over Jewish community safety fears

Home secretary James Cleverly has held urgent talks with Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl over concerns about the policing of regular pro-Palestine protests in the capital in which he said protecting the community’s right to show they were Jewish is a “red line” issue.

In a frank telephone conversation, Van der Zyl expressed “great concern” at some of the policing at protests and the subsequent responses from officers to what she said had been “disturbing incidents.”

The home secretary is understood to have responded by stressing that not only should the community feel safe on London’s streets, but that they should also be able to “safely communicate their Jewishness publicly and visibly.”

At one point in the discussions, Cleverly reasoned: “For Jews to hide their Judaism is a red line that cannot be crossed.”

The Board’s president later expressed her gratitude to Cleverly for his concern over the matter, and stressed her desire for the communal organisation to continue to maintain good relations both with himself, and with the Metropolitan Police moving forwards.

Van der Zyl, who stands down as Board president after next month’s elections to find her successor, has been determined to work towards ending tensions between the police and the community over the handling of the protests, before she leaves her role.

Her call with the home secretary came ahead of a meeting on Thursday between the Board, the Jewish Leadership Council, the Community Security Trust, London Jewish Forum and Union of Jewish Students, which was held with Sir Mark Rowley, the Met’s commissioner to discuss policing matters.

In a statement the Board said:”Since the horrific terror attack of October 7th almost every weekend we have seen tens of thousands of people march through the centre of London on ‘anti-Israel’ protests.

“While many marchers have genuine concerns regarding the terrible situation in Gaza, others have taken the opportunity to amplify hideous antisemitic conspiracy theories, while a number clearly wish for the complete destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.”

The Board said that during the policing of the protests a number of “high profile errors” which were “entirely avoidable” have damaged the “previously high level of trust held by the UK’s Jewish community in the police.”

Tensions again came to the fore last week after a video was released of a conversation between campaigner Gideon Falter and a police officer, who warned him about appearing “openly Jewish” as he repeatedly tried to cross the road into the path of pro-Palestinian protesters.

There is widespread concern over a threat by Falter to repeat his action, accompanied by supporters at a protest this weekend.