Police told me, ‘Hide your Jewish identity at anti-Israel rally… we cannot protect you’

A man filmed being asked by Edinburgh police to hide his Jewish identity during a pro-Palestinian march says it wasn’t an isolated incident.

Speaking to Jewish News, 48-year-old Itamar Nitzan, who was wearing a Magen David necklace at the event on 3 February, has lived in Scotland for the past 12 years. He says he only started wearing the Judaica jewellery after reading that the Metropolitan Police in London were advising Jewish school children to hide their own identities.

“I was outraged and immediately ordered a Magen David for myself.”

Nitzan says the moment during a 1,000-strong anti-Israel protest on 3 February, where a concerned police officer, whilst stressing he is doing nothing illegal, suggested he hide his Star of David necklace to avoid triggering the crowd, was caught on video by accident.

The footage has since been widely shared across social media.

He says: “I just took the phone out to take video of the protest when the police officer approached me and the camera was running. I have been to previous similar protests, one just a week after 7 October in the city centre. I went there with an Israeli flag and it was the same thing. The police approached me immediately, saying they weer under-staffed and if it kicked off, they couldn’t protect me and to remove my flag and walk away. This is not an isolated incident.”

Originally from Israel, Nitzan says it’s not his first time being involved in protest marches, although “this time I didn’t have my Israeli flag, I was just standing there.”

“The first time that I went, was a week after the (October 7th) massacre. There were two police officers standing not far from  me. And there were two random people from the crowd who identified with me and stood by me protectively, knowing I might be at risk.

“The second time I went to a similar protest, I was standing alone with a flag. The police could see me but by the time they approached I was surrounded by protesters with balaclavas and they were trying to get violent. They were pulled back by older protesters. The police didn’t try to approach me initially and, when they did, they asked me to take down the flag because I was triggering people. Luckily it wasn’t violent, but it was very close. There was someone with a balaclava in my face trying to initiate a fight.”

Itamar continues to attend marches because he has a personal connection with everything that is happening in Israel, beyond his immediate family living there.

He says: “I lost a friend who lived in Kfar Aza. He was the commander of the response unit there. We studied together in college. He was murdered on that day (October 7). Luckily his wife and children survived. Later on a relative of mine was killed in action in the Gaza Strip fighting to try and find the hostages and get rid of Hamas. It’s very personal for me, that all these people are calling ‘From the River to the Sea’, and for the destruction of Israel.”

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Nitzan has since approached his MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) Miles Briggs with the video. “He forwarded it to Police Scotland, and made an approach to the local commander asking about the incident. I’m also speaking with Police Scotland. I will ask them if this is a policy.”

Itamar completely disagrees with “this whole notion that the Jews need to hide now; that you shouldn’t tell anyone you are Israeli. My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. My other grandfather had to flee Iran because of persecution. It’s a personal thing not to cave in and hide.”

He adds that while the police are always very courteous, “I’m very proud of my heritage and my religion and I’m not going to listen to the recommendations of the police. I’m a big boy. I can take of myself. I’m not intimidated by these thugs.”

He adds that the few who do fly the Israeli flag “gives hope for the many others who are afraid to walk against the stream. I love Israel. And I’ve lived there most of my life. But my life is set here now and I’m very happy to fly the Israeli flag. Nothing much has changed. It’s the same approach from the police to the victim: ‘You may want to hide. We can’t control it.’ Then what are the police for?”

A Police Scotland spokesperson told Jewish News: “We are aware of the video and the contents are being reviewed.”

The Home Office referred Jewish News to today’s statement from Home Secretary James Cleverly: “The rise in antisemitic hatred and abuse we have seen in the UK in recent months is utterly deplorable. We’ve taken strong steps to confront this head on – increasing funding for protective security at Jewish schools and places of worship, working with the police to ensure that hate crime and expressions of support for the terrorist organisation Hamas are met with the full force of the law, and proscribing Hizb ut-Tahrir, an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism.

“But we know the Jewish community need to continue to see that tackling antisemitism is a priority for us. I recently met with members of the community, including the very professional Community Security Trust who have been doing such vital work, and heard first-hand the impact on their feeling of safety. I will do everything in my power to ensure they are safe, and just as importantly feel safe.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Yet again, a supposed peace march has proved to be about everything but peace, so much so, that police felt that they had to ask Jews to hide signs of their identity.

“For months now, we have been calling for restrictions to be placed on these marches. The police are so outnumbered that they cannot cope and are unable to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and, instead, are appeasing the mob. If you want to know why 90% of British Jews say that they avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration is taking place there, this is why. Police have powers to ban or restrict these marches under the Public Order Act and it is high time that they used those powers so that they can finally bring Britain’s streets back under control.”

A CST spokesperson told Jewish News: “The police have a difficult job, and while it is obviously never acceptable for Jewish people to have to hide their identity, the officer in this case appears to be trying to protect an individual Jewish person whom he considers to be at risk. The bigger issue is why these rallies and marches are allowed to continue at all if the police believe that it is not safe for a visibly Jewish person to be standing nearby.”

Jewish News has approached the Minister for Policing for comment.