British police plan tougher action against anti-Semitic chants and protests

LONDON – British police on Dec 17 said they would take tougher action against people who use placards and chants to target the Jewish ‍community, ​saying recent violent incidents had changed the context ‍around such protests.

The move comes days after 15 people died in

a mass ​shooting at ​Australia's Bondi Beach

targeting an event for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, and following an

attack at a synagogue in Manchester

in ‍northern England in October in which two Jewish worshippers were killed.

“We know ​communities are concerned about placards ⁠and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” London’s ​Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said in a joint statement. 

“Violent acts have taken ‌place, the context has changed – words ​have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests.”

Jewish groups have been calling for tougher action over the language used at pro-Palestinian protests while the Community Security Trust (CST), which works to provide security to protect British Jews, says anti-Semitic incidents have been soaring in Britain.

“Is there ‍a connection between this embrace of a call for death in ​the name of Palestinian rights, and people inflicting actual death apparently in the name ​of the same cause? As soon as you ‌ask the question, the answer seems obvious,” Dr Dave Rich, the CST’s director of policy, wrote this week. REUTERS