VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS: Divisive distraction amid a crisis
The idea that the Met commissioner should resign or be removed may grab headlines but in no way reflects reality and does not help our community in the long run.
Many things have changed beyond measure since 7 October. One is that Jews feel less safe, fuelled by record levels of antisemitism on campus, in the streets, at work and online.
Equally in no doubt is that these fears are compounded by open expressions of hate at pro-Palestinian marches and that the organisers of these events have not been vocal enough in taking a moral stand when this happens.
It weakens the cause they claim to stand for – the Palestinian people – when Hamas bandanas, images of hang gliders, swastikas and signs equating Zionism to Nazism appear. Policing such large and frequent events is hardly an enviable task and there’s no question the Met, on occasion, has fallen short of the standards rightly expected by Londoners in both words and deeds.
One example was the language used by an officer towards Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Gideon Falter at a march earlier this month.
But we also must not ignore the improvements in policing over the last couple of months that have been highlighted by the Community Security Trust and the hundreds of arrests and dozens of charges that have been made in this period.
The idea that the Met commissioner should resign or be removed may grab headlines but in no way reflects reality and does not help our community in the long run.
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