The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which has held counter demonstrations to the pro-Palestine marches across the capital since Oct 7, have cancelled their mass walk on Saturday – Paul Grover for the Telegraph
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has cancelled its “walk together” initiative on Saturday amid safety and security concerns.
Thousands of people were expected to attend the event, which was intended to counter the large pro-Palestinian march planned for the same day. But the CAA has now announced the walk has been cancelled because of concerns over the safety of those taking part.
Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the CAA, had called for supporters to gather and walk through central London in defiance of the weekly anti-Israeli protests.
His call came after he was prevented by police from crossing the road in central London earlier this month as a pro-Palestinian march was going past.
During an exchange with a Metropolitan Police officer, he was told: “You are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.”
Another officer threatened to arrest him if he did not leave the area and the Met was forced to apologise after subsequently suggesting the presence of Jewish people at pro-Palestinian protests was “provocative”.
Sir Mark Rowley’s position came under mounting scrutiny following the incident, with the Prime Minister describing the threat to arrest Mr Falter as “appalling”.
More than 1,000 people were expected to join the “walk together” event on Saturday, which the CAA insisted was not a march or a protest and therefore did not need to be approved by police.
But on Friday, the CAA announced that the decision had been taken to cancel the walk.
March receives threats from ‘hostile actors’
A spokesman for the group said: “We have received numerous threats and our monitoring has identified hostile actors who seem to have intended to come to any meeting locations that we announced.
“The risk to the safety of those who wished to walk openly as Jews in London tomorrow as part of this initiative has therefore become too great.
“We are no less angry about these marches than our Jewish community and its allies. We want to walk.
“We want to force the Met to police these marches, not merely manage them. But we cannot encourage thousands of people to walk when there are such risks to their safety, and there are.
“We have reluctantly decided not to go ahead tomorrow. We will be announcing our plans in the coming days. We are aware of many people who are likely to walk nonetheless, and we urge them to stay safe.”
Protest policing ‘double standards’
The pro-Palestinian march will begin in Parliament Square at 1pm on Saturday and will take a route along Piccadilly and Park Lane before finishing Hyde Park.
A static pro-Israel “Enough is Enough” demonstration is due to take place in Pall Mall on Saturday afternoon but the two events are not scheduled to cross paths.
A CAA spokesman complained that there appeared to be different standards applied to the way marches were being policed.
The spokesman said: “Tomorrow’s march by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign meanders for two-and-a-half miles, from Parliament Square to Reformer’s Tree in Hyde Park.
“When we organised our peaceful March Against Antisemitism a few months ago, we were told that there was no way that Royal Parks could be used.
“Yet again, it seems that there is a double standard. For the hours that this march drags on, central London will be snarled up yet again.
“Police have told us that they intend to handle the march no differently from the passive way that they have become accustomed to over the course of more than six months.”
Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles – and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.
News Related
-
Asylum seekers travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England (Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP) Up to 40 Conservative MPs are poised to rebel over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation policy as they question ministers’ commitment to the scheme. A major row is ...
See Details:
Up to 40 Tory MPs ‘set to rebel’ if Sunak’s Rwanda plan doesn’t override ECHR
-
In the saltmarsh fringing where the Ballyboe River dissolves into Trawbreaga Bay, a little egret wears its plumage like a windblown stole. Our car swoops across the 10 arches of Malin bridge and we park along the village green. Malin is almost as far north as you can get on ...
See Details:
Country diary: A tale of three churches
-
Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/EPA Hampton Court is an enduring monument to the power of Henry VIII, a pleasure palace down the Thames from Westminster and the City of London. On Monday it was the scene of power projection of a different kind, as Rishi Sunak pitched for investment from some of ...
See Details:
Sunak woos business elite with royal welcome – but they seek certainty
-
-
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to bring an overseas defender to the Premier League in January, according to a fresh report. Postecoglou’s centre-back options The Lilywhites currently have Micky Van De Ven, Ashley Phillips, Cristian Romero and Eric ...
See Details:
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January
-
A £100m campaign urging households and businesses to use less water will be funded from customers’ bills, Ofwat has said. Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign The regulator’s chief executive David Black told MPs that if the measures worked it would be cheaper than building ...
See Details:
Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign
-
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 – Group B – Canada Training – Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia – July 24, 2023 Canada’s Christine Sinclair during training REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo (Reuters) – BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be renamed “Christine Sinclair ...
See Details:
Soccer-Venue renamed 'Christine Sinclair Place' for Canada soccer great's final game
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Phil Taylor makes his pick for 2024 World Darts Championship winner
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Soccer-Howe aims to boost Newcastle's momentum in PSG clash
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Hamilton heads for hibernation with a word of warning
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich after 1-10 start to the season
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
This exercise is critical for golfers. 4 tips to doing it right
-
Michael van Gerwen is hunting down a fourth World Championship title (Picture: Getty Images) Michael van Gerwen is Phil Taylor’s tip to lift the World Darts Championship trophy for a fourth time in January, expecting a backlash from the recent defeat in the Players Championship Finals. The 2024 World Championship ...
See Details:
One in three households with children 'will struggle to afford Christmas'
-
OTHER NEWS
Kobbie Mainoo made his first start for Man Utd at Everton (Photo: Getty) The Football Association are reportedly confident that Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo will choose to represent England ...
Read more »
Michael Smith will begin the defence of his world title on the opening night (Picture: Getty Images) The 2024 World Darts Championship is less than three weeks away and the ...
Read more »
For the first time a long haul commercial aircraft is flying across the Atlantic using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). A long haul commercial flight is flying to the US ...
Read more »
The King has met business and finance leaders from across the world at a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the conclusion of the UK’s Global Investment Summit. Charles was introduced ...
Read more »
After Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan Saturday, many college football fans were wondering where Lou Holtz was. In his postgame interview after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 17-14 in ...
Read more »
Darius Slay wouldn’t have minded being penalized on controversial no-call No matter which team you were rooting for on Sunday, we can all agree that the officiating job performed by ...
Read more »
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) Quarterback Mac Jones remains committed to finding success with the New England Patriots even though his future is up in the air following ...
Read more »