Vans with electronic screens depicting the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas were being driven around London by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) volunteers, when London’s Metropolitan Police demanded that the screens be turned off, according to footage shared by CAA.
“I’ve just had one of the most disturbing experiences in nine years at Campaign Against Antisemitism.”Who are the police protecting here?Those standing up to terrorists, or those who sympathise with them?We are considering our legal options and a public protest. pic.twitter.com/2eTwhXZk19
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) October 19, 2023
Volunteers driving the vans had originally stopped by protesters, when police arrived and allegedly told the volunteers that they must leave London or there would be “a breach of the peace”, CAA claimed. However, an officer later confirmed that the volunteers were “entitled” to display the billboards, but it was for their own safety that they would need to be removed.
The CAA spokesperson in the video claims to have been physically restrained by the police when he was trying to communicate with the volunteers in the van.
“I was just astonished by this,” the spokesperson expressed. “How on Earth could the police stop people in central London, in our capital, from showing the pictures of children kidnapped by a terrorist organization banned by our government? How could they possibly do that? How could they turn on the victims of terror?”
“The police turned up and said for our own safety, we couldn’t show the billboards. Not only that, what they did was they asked me to step across the road with them for my own safety, supposedly, so I didn’t get hit by a cyclist. They then instructed the drivers to turn off the billboards and to clear the area and they wouldn’t let me cross back over to listen to the conversation or talk to our own drivers.
“They actually physically restrained me from trying to speak to the drivers or hear the conversation because they said they were worried about me crossing the road.
“That’s what it has come down to in central London. The question I ask you, when you watch this footage, is who are the police protecting? The victims of terrorism, the Jewish community or is it the sensibilities of people who sympathize with terrorists who are banned by our country?”
The police’s response to CAA’s video
Following CAA’s video, the Metropolitan Police released a statement reading that: “The kidnapping of so many innocent people from their homes, including children, was an abhorrent act of terrorism that we have condemned.
“We absolutely understand why the Campaign Against Antisemitism is raising awareness and calling for the release of all hostages.
“Having watched the video shared this evening, we can understand why the intervention of officers was seen as preventing that protest and why it has caused such frustration and upset.
“In the days since the attacks in Israel took place, officers have worked to facilitate a number of demonstrations, vigils and other gatherings across London. We have no wish to limit freedom of expression or to prevent people from exercising their right to protest in whatever lawful way they see fit. However we do have a responsibility for public safety and there will be occasions where we try to avoid groups with strongly opposing views coming into immediate contact with each other.
“Last night officers were on duty policing a vigil organized by pro-Palestinian groups in Whitehall, just up from Parliament Square where the incident involving the billboard vans and officers was filmed. While many participants had already left due to the poor weather a number still remained and officers were keen to avoid the billboard vans becoming a point of tension or conflict.
“We took similar actions on Saturday where we prevented pro-Palestinian demonstrators from reaching the area around the Israeli Embassy given their doing so would likely have led to an escalation in tension and a possible risk to public safety.
“As with any incident we will carefully consider whether our response was appropriate and what we might do differently should a similar situation arise again. We would welcome the opportunity to talk to Mr Falter about the incident, to share our perspective and the reflections of our officers but most importantly to listen to and reflect on his specific concerns. Officers are making contact with him directly, this evening, to extend this invitation.”
CAA responds to the police
In response to the statement by the police, CAA posted on X that “This matter is very simple. If there are people threatening harm to other people, the priority of the police must be to stop the people threatening harm. It is incredible that something so basic to a free society needs restating.
“In this case, there were protesters at a demonstration in which the genocidal “from the river to the sea” chant was heard. The Home Secretary agrees that this is antisemitic hate speech. The police did nothing. Those protesters then came to a van raising awareness of the crimes of a proscribed terrorist organization and threatened the team in the van, leaving them very shaken.
“Still, the police did nothing. When the police decided finally to take action, it was, incomprehensibly, against the van. Why? Because it was a soft target. It was easier to order law-abiding citizens to take their legal expression of their right to free speech elsewhere than it was to arrest those who were criminally trying to suppress that freedom by intimidating the team in the van.
“How is this policy of policing mean to reassure the Jewish community, or indeed any law-abiding citizen? Worse still, when the van returned at a time when no protesters were present, the police again ordered it to stop displaying the pictures. Apparently there are too many people in London who are offended at a reminder that a proscribed terrorist group has abducted Jewish children for the police to control. The mob has won. What we need now is not further social media statements from the Met. Officers are welcome to speak to us at any time, and we have regular meetings with officers from the Met, including tomorrow.
“But our organization and community deserves an apology, and Londoners deserve a policing policy that protects their rights rather than the rights of those who mean us harm.”
This matter is very simple. If there are people threatening harm to other people, the priority of the police must be to stop the people threatening harm. It is incredible that something so basic to a free society needs restating.In this case, there were protesters at a…
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) October 19, 2023