Jewish group calls on London police to lift ban on pro-Palestinian protests

More than 660 prominent British Jews have called on the Metropolitan Police to overturn a ban on a pro-Palestinian protest planned to take place outside the headquarters of the British broadcasting corporation, the BBC, in London later this week.

Prominent legal, cultural and academic figures are among hundreds of British Jews calling on police to reverse a decision to block a protest by Palestinian activists outside the BBC, the British state broadcaster, scheduled for January 18.

The most prominent members of the Jewish community protesting the British Police's decision to ban demonstrations in support of Palestinians and condemning the Israeli genocide include Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, writer and director Adam Gantz, Professors Moshe Machover and Jacqueline Rose, writer/comedian Alexei Sayle, Holocaust survivors, including Stephen Kapos, and their descendants.

In a statement on Monday, the Jewish Voice for Labor (JVL) also criticized the ban, calling it a capitulation to "partisan campaigns aimed at preventing peaceful and lawful assembly."

The group said police faced "intense pressure from pro-Israel organizations" who claimed that demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine were threatening synagogue congregations.

"These unsubstantiated claims are strongly contested by the large Jewish camp seen at every major protest since the start of the genocide (in Gaza) in October 2023," the statement noted.

The statement added: "We, as Jews, are appalled by this brazen attempt to encroach on hard-won political freedoms by raising a false threat to the so-called religious freedom of Jews."

Last week, the Metropolitan Police announced that they would impose Public Order Acts to prevent a rally by Palestinian activists outside the BBC premises next Saturday, due to its proximity to a synagogue.

The organizers of the protest say that the BBC has been covering up the suffering of Palestinians, and they see the protest as an important opportunity to hold British broadcasters accountable for their pro-Israel bias.