OPINION: Torrent of antisemitic hate that’s followed the ceasefire is beyond belief
Our beautiful capital city is still being defiled by thousands of people chanting nauseating messages of hate and destruction
Surely if what the pro-Palestinians have been demanding for the last two years – an end to Israeli military action in Gaza – is now within touching distance then the marches are unnecessary? With a cynical realism and suspecting otherwise I headed into town to join Stop The Hate at their designated protest spot on Saturday, where Waterloo Bridge meets the Strand. Having attended countless rallies organised by Jewish communal bodies since the nightmare of 7 October, this was to be my first counter-demonstration.
As I exited Waterloo station, my eyes were opened seeing countless young parents with children, many in pushchairs, all clad in keffiyah-chic. Loads of the kids had Palestinian flags face-painted on their cheeks as people queued to buy their snacks and food before joining the march. It was all just so ordinary to them, as if they were preparing for a day-trip to the seaside.
As these groups of families and friends laughed and chatted among themselves, all while preparing to join a hate march, all I could think of as I left the station and headed towards the bridge was the scene in Kander & Ebb’s musical Cabaret where ordinary German citizens gradually join to sing Tomorrow Belongs To Me, voices slowly coming together to passionately sing a Nazi anthem.
Stop The Hate’s organisation of their static protest was immaculate, and credit too to the Metropolitan Police for keeping the counter-protesters safely cordoned off, 20 yards or so back from the marchers.
Before the pro-Palestinians arrived, there were short speeches from Josh Howie, Itai Tal, who had organised the event, and Jackie Lee Hersh, a congregant from Heaton Park shul in Manchester whose husband had survived the Yom Kippur terrorist attack. Itai had installed a powerful sound system and it was uplifting to be singing (and dancing) to Am Yisrael Chai and other Israeli and pertinent pop-chart bangers as the marchers started to stream by our counter-protest. Whatever filth the marchers may have been screaming was drowned out by our music.
Stop The Hate’s organisation of their static protest was immaculate, and credit too to the Metropolitan Police for keeping the counter-protesters safe
But while our spirits were strong, the sheer volume of the antisemitic hatred that I witnessed was literally unimaginable. I could only stand and watch the first 90 minutes of the march pass by before having to head home. As I left and in the interests of my own safety, I removed my yellow-ribbon pin and folded away my Israeli flag, to head back south across the bridge.
The view from Waterloo Bridge has long been one of my favourites. To one side, the dome of St Paul’s rises among the commercial skyscrapers and to the other, the Houses of Parliament. I love London and yet here, on a gloriously sunny weekend afternoon, this beautiful city was being defiled by thousands of people chanting nauseating messages of hate and destruction.
It was not just a hatred of Israel and a display of antisemitism that this seemingly endless stream of vileness represented. It goes far, far deeper than that. That there was not one Union Jack to be seen among the crowd is an indication of that hateful horde showing no love for this country whatsoever.
The hatred that Jews face in the United Kingdom is clearly massive and deep. But we must also remember we are not alone. We have many allies here, with countless righteous gentiles prepared to stand alongside us and face the storm of hatred.
We should bind ourselves to our friends with hoops of steel.
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