British Prime Minister Keir Starmer does not want to ban pro-Palestinian protests. He said this in an interview on the British radio station BBC Radio 4, in the aftermath of the anti-Semitic knife attack in London last Wednesday. He does brush aside demonstrators who chant the slogan “Globalise the intifada”. Bystanders should respond to it, he believes.
Sven Van Malderen
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
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The chief prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales has seen “a deeply worrying rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the country”. Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the London police, also warns of a “pandemic of anti-Semitism” and requests 300 extra troops. He is “concerned” about the scale of pro-Palestinian protests planned for today and May 16 in the British capital.
“Speak to them about it”
“I will defend very strongly the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression,” Starmer told the British public broadcaster. “But when you participate in a march or protest where people are chanting ‘Globalize the intifada,’ you have to stop for a moment and ask yourself: Why don’t I call them out on that?”
In Arabic, ‘intifada’ means ‘to shake off’. The term symbolizes two uprisings by Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories. The First Intifada took place from 1987 to 1993, the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005.
With “Globalize the intifada,” pro-Palestinian demonstrators call for international pressure on Israel. However, critics believe that the slogan incites violence against Jews worldwide.
