Police intervene after anti-Israel protesters target conference held at JW3
Overwhelmingly Jewish audience arriving for Sunday's Haaretz Conference: Israel After October 7th: Allied or Alone? forced to endure chants of 'Palestine Is Not Your Home'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Anti-Israel demonstrators greeted an overwhelming Jewish audience attending a conference at the JW3 centre in north London discussing efforts to find solutions to the deadly conflict in the Middle East with chants of “Palestine Is Not Your Home” and “genocide supporters.”
Police appeared to be taken by suprise as around 150 protesters stood directly outside the Jewish community centre as Sunday’s Israel After October 7th conference, hosted by the respected Israeli media outlet Haaretz, begun on Sunday morning.
Ticket holders for Sunday’s sold-out event were forced to endure the hate-filled chants as they filled past police and security guards to make their way into the venue for a conference, which included speeches from Lord Michael Levy, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; Haaretz Editor in Chief Aluf Benn, MK’s Naama Lazimi and Ayman Odeh, and a video address from Sir Tony Blair.
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.”
A government spokesperson told Jewish News: “Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are committed to tackling it in all its forms. We are working closely with policing and community partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but hate toward any nation, religion, or group will never be tolerated.”
Others to speak at the event, backed also by Jewish Community Centre London, New Israel Fund UK, Yachad, A Land for All and Standing Together, included Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer and Sharone Lifschitz, whose parents were taken hostage on 7 October. Her father is still held in Gaza.
As police numbers increased the anti-Israel protesters, many of whom covered their faces as they gathered outside JW3’s front and side entrances were moved across to the other side of the Finchley Road, while a small group of activists with Israel flags arrived to stand outside the venue.
Some of the protesters held placards with the Muslim Association of Britain’s name on it, while two demonstrators held one reading Jewish Anti-Zionist Coalition.
Others chants included: “One state – Palestine” and “Israel is a terror state.”
Ironically, opening speakers at the all-day event, including Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken, were openly critical of the Israeli government.
Haaretz editor-in-chief Esther Solomon said: “Few people would have believed that a year after its savage assault on October 7, Hamas would still be holding hostages captive, and Israel would still be fighting in Gaza. But here we are, with a conflict that has escalated across the Middle East, from Yemen, to Lebanon, to Iran, with excruciating cost in civilian lives on all sides.
“The impact of the war has gone global – including its potential influence on next week’s U.S. elections. The conflict and its management by Israel’s hard-right government has had immense and uncomfortable repercussions on Israel’s politics, for its Jewish and Arab citizens, for its foreign relations, and for Jewish communities around the world, including, of course, here in the UK
“Here, at this conference, we hope to shed light on these crucial and still evolving dynamics, including what is a rare opportunity these days – to hear from both Israeli and Palestinian voices.”
Schocken said that the establishment of a Palestinian state was a “simple and necessary solution” to the conflict raging in Israel today.
It has yet to happen, he said, because “the Netanyahu government wants to continue the proliferation of settlements and “doesn’t care about the cruel apartheid” regime in the West Bank.
“Netanyahu wants to perpetuate the occupation and expand it,” he added.
Raymond Simonson, the chief executive officer of JW3, said that the the sold-out conference is a “reflection of the hunger we have to be together” and that it shows it is a “time to listen, be informed, and to engage in high-quality conversation.”
The chief executive of the New Israel Fund UK, David Davidi-Brown, said: “We can support Israel and stand against the extremist of Israel’s government.”
He spoke out against taking a “binary” view of the conflict, and described how the New Israel Fund has allocated the funds it has raised since October 7.
Hannah Weisfeld, executive director of the political organisation Yachad, called the past year “difficult and traumatic with no end in sight,” and said that “everything needs to be done to ensure that out of this horror, a new reality emerges” that will bring security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
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