To think that London, or anywhere else for that matter, does not belong to any one demographic

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I’m glad that people are beginning to recognise that. I am far from happy about having thinly veiled accusations of antisemitism I have received for saying as much from the outset. I always remember my mother’s words when antisemitic words were heard - ‘Our Lord was a Jew’.

Now that more information has become available it does appear that the situation was not as it first appeared to be.

foxie48

Driving home I listened to the news on radio 4, the account that GF made concerning the incident was very inaccurate compared with what is seen and heard on the Sky news video.

I watched him being interviewed on Sky news this morning. To say that his account of the incident is inaccurate is being extremely polite.

fancythat

He did want to cross the road.
Yes he is a journalist.
Yes he may be wanting to do so for whatever reason. But he wanted to cross the road.

If you study the Sky video and the transcript of what was said you will see that GF did not want to cross the road. He wanted to get in amongst the marchers and film them - given what some of them were shouting it’s easy to see what could have happened had he done so. The policeman saved him from harm. And for that some here pick on him and his words - a few amongst many spoken during the exchange - and insist he is antisemitic. What a horrible slur on a man trying to keep the peace.

We have been on many of the marches and have never seen any anti-Jewish placards. In fact there are many Jewish marchers and Jewish organisations who march in support of Palestinians.

Driving home I listened to the news on radio 4, the account that GF made concerning the incident was very inaccurate compared with what is seen and heard on the Sky news video.

Skye17 I totally agree with you

fancythat

^This could have caused an affray so the policeman did not act illegally in trying to stop a breach of the peace.^

I dont know enough about breach of peace law.
A policeman can stop something before a breach of the peace may happen? Or not happen?

The police are trained to watch for potential trouble and intervene before harm is caused. GF was walking against the marchers and taking photographs. Some people may not have been happy with his behaviour and he and others could have been caught up in an incident and been hurt.

AGAA4

Some of those carrying placards with swastikas on them will have been known to the police. It's difficult for the police to go into the crowd and arrest those people as there would have been a riot because of the type of people they are.
We don't know if the police have
contacted those people since. I agree though GG13 swastikas have no place in Britain anywhere. My father who fought in the war would have been appalled.

AGA44
I agree, swastikas (and calls for the genocide of Jews, or any peoples) have no place on the streets of Britain.
We have laws against that so why it has all been ignored is bewildering.

My father too, and DH's father, who lost his life doing his part to fight the Nazis, would be horrified at what is happening.

Perhaps what happened last weekend will result in a rethink about the marches.
They are certainly doing nothing to change the situation in Palestine.

Germanshepherdsmum

You do realise that this man, as a journalist and CEO of an antisemitism charity, is perfectly capable of exposing the situation? It’s what he does. The police may well bring charges against some marchers after reviewing cctv footage. It would be impossible for them to arrest marchers at the time - there were too many of them and a riot could have ensued.

There shouldn’t be a need to stop him exposing antisemitic behaviour in whatever way he chooses. Perhaps, in addition to showing that openly Jewish people cannot walk freely where they want, he was not able to film clearly some of the antisemitic placards and chanting from the side of the road.

Who is causing trouble, the ones expressing hatred of Jews or the ones publicising it?

I agree that it may well have caused a riot if the police had arrested marchers at the time. (It might have been easier if they had arrested people for this sort of thing from the beginning of the marches.)

There seem to be three choices in this situation.

1. Betray the Jewish community by allowing Jew-hatred to be expressed every weekend and telling Jewish people to stay away from the no-go areas. This is the choice the police have taken so far.

2. Ban the marches. This might also cause rioting, and not just in London.

3. Clamp down on expressions of Jew-hatred by arresting the perpetrators. This would also carry a risk of rioting, and probably a high risk of police officers being injured. To enforce this would mean pouring even more money and police officers into policing the marches, even bringing in the army.

Hard choices. But those who seek to publicise the betrayal are not the trouble-makers. The aggressive marchers (not all the marchers) are the trouble-makers.

On our way to a recent demonstration we crossed Waterloo Bridge. As we walked towards the junction with the Strand we could see Israeli flags and a group of protesters across the junction. There were a group of police and one approached us, asking/politely telling us to go down the steps to the Embankment. I asked if we could continue, as I had already gone up and down several staircases. He was polite and obviously felt it wasn't in our best interests to go past the protesters who were shouting loudly and waving their flags. So we took our own responsibility and walked on, with no objection.
I suggest that the officer at the heart of the matter was also trying to prevent trouble and protect us. By the way, we were wearing keffiyehs and the officer had identified which side we were supporting from that. So it isn't only the man at the centre who is identified.
These marches are always very peaceful.

Germanshepherdsmum

Anniebach

Quote growstuff Mon 22-Apr-24 12:40:13
Pantglas2
Exactly Janestheone! If a swastika is not deemed provocative why would a kippah be?
It wasn't the kippah which the police thought provocative. It was Mr Falter's behaviour. First he was filmed on one side of Aldwych, then on the other. He had already crossed the road at some point. He was then filmed walking in the road against the flow of the march along Aldwych. He was accompanied by people who were filming him.

If not the kippah why did the officer say ‘your openly Jewish’
crossing the street, filming a march ? Why say ‘if you took it off
you could put it back on again ?

Your mind is totally closed, Annie. You just keep saying the same things despite what has been shown of what really happened. You made your mind up at the outset and refuse to budge.

Anniebach has expressed her views and I'm not sure why she should change them just because others disagree with them if that is how she feels.
🤔

I'm sure the Jewish journalist had an agenda.

Equally, some of those on the march have one.

The police are hopelessly outnumbered in the event of a riot and have been ordered to take a softly-softly approach to avoid such.

Therein lies the problem. This incident was inevitable. And the police officer was put in an impossible position.

Some of those carrying placards with swastikas on them will have been known to the police. It's difficult for the police to go into the crowd and arrest those people as there would have been a riot because of the type of people they are.
We don't know if the police have
contacted those people since. I agree though GG13 swastikas have no place in Britain anywhere. My father who fought in the war would have been appalled.

This could have caused an affray so the policeman did not act illegally in trying to stop a breach of the peace.

I dont know enough about breach of peace law.
A policeman can stop something before a breach of the peace may happen? Or not happen?

He did want to cross the road.
Yes he is a journalist.
Yes he may be wanting to do so for whatever reason. But he wanted to cross the road.

Quote Wyllow3 Mon 22-Apr-24 13:52:48
All posts here have called the swastika out including many before this last weekend.

Just checked by googling, the news was in all the major newspapers at the time. It wasn't left to pass on by at all. All condemned.

The police officer certainly didn’t condemn it, his reasoning
‘Taken in context’ , anyone explain how please ?

foxie48

Callistemon21

foxie48

Goodness, anyone who disagrees is either anti semitic or "hard left"! Just for the record, I'm neither but like GSM (who I also think is neither) I can see a "set up", read a transcript and come to my own conclusion about what's really going on.

But can you see what's really going on?

Amongst the well meaning marchers are those with a very nasty agenda.

This is London, this is the UK.
This hatred should not be happening on our streets.

I am discussing the video of the police interaction with GF. I would rather see the police dealing with anyone on the march who is breaking the law than see them remonstrating with GF. I have absolutely no sympathy with anti semitism and I have made that clear in all my posts, just as I have said on a number of occasions I do not support Hamas. tbh I find it a very weak argument for anyone to name call instead of putting together their own strong case in rebuttal.

I have just got home! I have made a general comment (ie anyone) about name calling which refers to the post you have quoted and it was not a comment aimed at you. If it has read like that then I am, as usual, very happy to apologise

Presumably Sky TV we’re also filming and the police didn’t suggest they were causing a breach/affray because they weren’t wearing kippahs?

Germanshepherdsmum

He didn’t want to cross the road. Have you watched the Sky video or just the ‘selected highlights’ posted by GF?

I have watched the video

GrannyGravy13

If it wasn’t for people like Gideon and others the wider public would not be aware that antisemitic chants along with swastikas are now acceptable on pro-Palestine marches in the U.K.

There was a similar incident in Edinburgh not so long ago, that didn’t make headline news south of the border.

A woman was told to take the swastika in context by a police officer when she pointed to them on banners at a pro-Palestinian march in London.

I make no apology for calling these out, to stand by and do nothing would feel like I was complicit in not only accepting antisemitism but agreeing with it.

That's not true. The anti-semitic chants and swastikas have been widely reported.

Agree GrannyGravy 👏👏👏👏

‘Openly Jewish’ the officer made an error ? no

All posts here have called the swastika out including many before this last weekend.

Just checked by googling, the news was in all the major newspapers at the time. It wasn't left to pass on by at all. All condemned.

If it wasn’t for people like Gideon and others the wider public would not be aware that antisemitic chants along with swastikas are now acceptable on pro-Palestine marches in the U.K.

There was a similar incident in Edinburgh not so long ago, that didn’t make headline news south of the border.

A woman was told to take the swastika in context by a police officer when she pointed to them on banners at a pro-Palestinian march in London.

I make no apology for calling these out, to stand by and do nothing would feel like I was complicit in not only accepting antisemitism but agreeing with it.