Low initial police numbers blamed for failure to deal with anti-Israel activists outside JW3
Around 150 anti-Israel protesters arrived outside the sell-out Haaretz conference event following call to protest against 'war criminals' ex PM's Tony Blair and Ehud Olmert
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Low initial police numbers and a delay in officers receiving permission to move an ugly pro-Palestine demonstration to the opposite side of the road have been blamed for concerned scenes outside JW3 last Sunday.
A capacity audience of around 650 people arrived for the Israel After October 7th conference to be greeted to a demonstration by hostile demo which was initially allowed to gather directly outside the front and side entrances of the building on Finchley Road.
The mainly Jewish audience were left facing taunts of “genocide enabler” and “Nazis” on Sunday morning, with other masked engaged in chants of “Zionist conference – shut it down” at the side entrance to the venue, which was used for the event, the second to be staged there by left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Images posted on social media showed attendees to the all-day event, backed also by groups including the New Israel Fund UK and Yachad, looking deeply distressed by the scenes, which continued for around an hour as people arrived for the event.
Inside the conference was dominated by debates on how to forge closer links between Israelis and Palestinians as the deadly Middle East conflict continues, and strong condemnation of the Benjamin Netanyahu government.
Many attendees and speakers at the event also voiced support for the UK government to bring tougher sanctions against Israel’s far-right coalition.
Jewish News can confirm that, despite claims made on social media, protesters had not arrived at the venue in response to a call from organisers to directly confront the community or a “Jewish building”.
Social media messages distributed to anti-Israel activists said the Haaretz conference would feature speeches from “war criminals” Tony Blair and former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, and that the group. some of whom described themselves as “the resistance” should congregate outside JW3 at 8.45am.
But the initial low number of police officers outside the venue allowed the activists to come within a few metres of those arriving for the event.
It is understood that the Haaretz conference, and its potential for demos outside, had not been on the agenda at a meeting between communal organisations with the police the previous Tuesday.
On Sunday one protester was spotted with a gun tattoo on her arm, while others engaged in pro-Houthi chants.
Responding to the situation, and complaints from many arriving at JW3, reinforcements arrived at the Finchley Road venue before 10am, when the conference officially began.
Jewish News also understands there was never any threat to JW3 itself from the protests outside.
The venue has robust security and is in regular contact with the Community Security Trust, among other organisations to ensure attendees inside remain safe.
But there was an unfortunate delay before officers were given a Section 14 order by those in charge, giving them the power to move the protesters across the busy road closer to the Camden Arts Centre.
The Met later posted a statement on X, reading: “We are dealing with a protest outside a venue in Finchley Road NW3. Officers were quickly on scene and remain there.
“Conditions under section 14 of the Public Order Act have been imposed on those protesting. One person has been arrested for criminal damage.”
Jewish News contacted local MP Tulip Siddiq’s office for comment, but they failed to respond.
The conference itself was widely praised by those inside and included speeches from Lord Michael Levy, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; Haaretz editor Aluf Benn, MKs Naama Lazimi and Ayman Odeh and a video address from former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair.
Dr Sharone Lifschitz, the British-Israeli woman whose parents have been kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, and former JLC chair Sir Mick Davis also spoke at the event.
Several Palestinian speakers also addressed the audience and received a warm response.
Ex-PM Ehud Olmert and Dr Nasser al-Kidwa, a former Palestinian minister and a Fatah member, discussed their recent efforts to kickstart negotiations for a solution to conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
The former Palestinian minister added: “We have to start accepting each other and accepting each other’s existence” which would conclude with two states within agreed 1967 borders.
He called for the public “on both sides to come up and give their support to the ideas proposed by us”. He added: “Secondly, some important relevant governments have to be supportive of these plans.”
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