By Catarina Demony and Andrew MacAskill
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s government and police have called for a pro-Palestinian protest in London on Saturday to be cancelled following a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester that has shone a light on rising religious hatred.
Thursday’s attack follows a politically charged summer where incidents of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate have remained high, and pro-Palestinian marchers have routinely taken to the streets to denounce Israel, drawing criticism from some members of the Jewish community.
Saturday’s demonstration is organised by a group called Defend Our Juries to oppose the British government’s decision in July to ban the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, making it a crime to be a member.
POLICE SAY THEY NEED TO PROTECT FEARFUL COMMUNITIES
Police urged organisers to cancel or postpone the event, saying it would divert police resources needed to protect fearful communities in the wake of the attack.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood urged protesters to “take a step back” and give the Jewish community time to grieve. In Thursday’s attack, two people were killed when a man drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing them outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester.
The attacker has been named by police as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, who was shot dead at the scene by armed officers.
PROTESTS OVER BAN ON PRO-PALESTINIAN GROUP
Police, the government and supporters of Palestine Action have been locked in a standoff since the group was banned, with more than 1,500 arrested, many of them elderly, who describe the ban as an attack on free speech.
Police said that by demonstrating, the Defend Our Juries group was drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they were needed most.
Defend Our Juries said they condemned the attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, and told the police to focus on that, not policing their demonstration.
In the hours after the attack on Thursday, several pro-Palestinian protests took place in British cities. Other pro-Palestine marches have drawn thousands of people.
Most demonstrators carry Palestinian flags and hold signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
Across Britain, the number of reported antisemitic acts last year was the second highest in modern times.
The race equality think tank Runnymede Trust said that rising far-right rhetoric was fuelling racist violence.
Tell MAMA, a group monitoring anti-Muslim hatred, said that between June and September this year there were 17 attacks or threats against mosques and other Islamic institutions in Britain, describing it as “toxic to community relations”.
(Reporting by William James, Catarina Demony and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Aidan Lewis, William Maclean)
