Global Anti-Israel Protests Prompt Clashes (Video)
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
JERUSALEM/LONDON/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Britain’s prime minister condemned hatred towards Jews and violence on Saturday after hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinians rallied in London for the “biggest march” seen by British police in the Israel-Hamas war, prompting violent counterprotests in which nearly 100 were detained.
There were also protests in the United States and other countries on Saturday, but in Britain, most people turned up, and violence was reported, noted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen from English Defence League [or EDL, a far-right group] and associated groups and Hamas sympathizers attending the National March for Palestine,” Sunak said.
“The despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully,” he added.
At the anti-Israel protests, the controversial chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” reverberated through the streets. Many ignored pleas from Jewish groups who viewed the slogan as a call to destroy the tiny State of Israel and exterminate the Jews.
The chant shouted by many Hamas sympathizers among the crowds refers to the land between the Jordan River, which borders Israel on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea, which borders Israel on the west.
Many Jewish people find this phrase offensive, and it is used by Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by most Western countries, in their constitution.
The anti-Israel protests in London were part of global rage towards the Jewish nation, with similar rallies taking elsewhere, including the United States, South Africa, Scotland, France, and Brussels, the European capital.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
In London, organizers estimated 800,000 people marched through the streets, while police estimated the crowds attending the largest demonstration in five weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting at 300,000.
At least 92 people were arrested when several hundred counter-protesters, described by media as “far right,” arrived in groups in central London “intent on confrontation and violence,” police said.
Witnesses said scuffles broke out between police and counterprotesters at times.
Sunak expressed anger that violence and antisemitism overshadowed Armistice Dav observed annually in Britain to mark the agreement signed between the Allies and Germany that brought an end to the First World War.
Armistice Day also remembers the fallen soldiers during that horrific armed conflict and the millions killed in subsequent wars defending democratic freedoms.
A two-minute silence is held every year on 11 November at 11:00 am local time to mark the end of World War One in 1918. The silence is held then because the end of hostilities between Germany and the Allies was declared “on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”.
“Remembrance weekend,” Sunak said, “is a time for us to come together as a nation and remember those who fought and died for our freedoms. What we have seen today does not defend the honor of our armed forces but utterly disrespects them.”
ATTACKING POLICE OFFICERS
He added, “That is true for [far right] EDL thugs attacking police officers and trespassing on the Cenotaph. And it is true for those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today’s protest. The fear and intimidation the Jewish community have experienced over the weekend is deplorable.”
Sunak said, “All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law,” adding that he also told this to the police leadership. “That is what they are accountable for, and that is what I expect,” he stressed and confirmed there would be more talks with the police commissioner in the coming days.
Massive crowds also descended elsewhere in Britain, including in Edinburgh, Scotland, where thousands gathered to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and an end to Israeli bombing in Gaza. ‘Stop Gaza Genocide, ’ a banner said held by protesters.
Across the sea, more than 20,000 people marched through Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday to show for Palestinians, with many calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Many of the protesters yelled “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide” as they participated in the peaceful demonstration that took place on Armistice Day. Like in Britain, the protest came as Belgium remembered the armistice signing that ended World War I.
Some also cried out, “EU, shame on you” for perceived bias by the European Union, which has its headquarters in Brussels, towards Israel at the expense of Palestinian lives and rights. In neighboring France, several thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday under the rallying cry “Stop the massacre in Gaza.” The left-wing organizers called for France to “demand an immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants. Similar protests have been banned in Budapest, Hungary, where the prime minister and police cited legislation banning terrorism or threats to the public as among the reasons.
In the United States, pro-Palestine protesters also gathered outside the home of U.S. President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware to demand. There has been anger over the U.S. support for Israel, although Washington has called for humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza.
ISRAELI EMBASSY CLOSED?
Elsewhere in the world, anti-Israel protests included a massive rally in Cape Town, South Africa, where the ruling ANC party’s Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, demanded the closure of the Israeli embassy.
“The embassy of Israel must be closed down. It must close down now!” Mbabula told an estimated 10,000-strong crowd.
He urged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “to move faster” on the closure issue.
“We are sick and tired of the apartheid state of Israel, and we must demonstrate it with our actions. As the ANC, I say here today, from [South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon] Nelson Mandela to [President] Cyril Ramaphosa: ‘We stand with the people of Palestine’.”
Israel has defended the military actions, saying its war is against Hamas after it killed 1,200 people in Israel, including babies and toddlers.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims more than 11,000 people have died since Israel’s military actions began on October 7, but those figures have been complex to verify independently.
It was also unclear how many Hamas fighters were among the dead.
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