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The Jewish Chronicle

Anglo Jewry finds its voice

Leon Symons January 8, 2009

Pro-Israel demonstrators assemble outside the Israeli Embassy in West London on Wednesday night

Anglo-Jewry has united in solidarity with Israel, organising five days of action designed to culminate on Sunday with rallies in Trafalgar Square in London and Albert Square in Manchester.

The events began on Wednesday night when 1,000 people gathered at the Israeli embassy in Kensington, a demo that clashed with the nightly gathering of anti-Israel groups.

The anti-Israel demonstration, about 400-strong at its height, began at its regular time of 5.30 and was addressed by Respect MP George Galloway. Instead of leaving at around 7pm, as on previous nights, the demonstrators remained in place.

The two groups were separated by three police mini-buses and were penned in behind crash barriers. As the first of the Jewish contingent arrived, some of the anti-Israeli protesters surged forwards into the police line.

There was a lengthy chanting contest between the two groups. As more of the Jewish group arrived, their volume grew. One man was hauled away after a confrontation with police.

Worse clashes occurred when police decided it was time to bring things to an end. In what was clearly a well-rehearsed operation, dozens of police pushed and manhandled the anti-Israeli protesters along Kensington High Street. When the protesters sat down in the road, they were moved bodily. Scotland Yard said there had been six arrests.

The Community Security Trust and Scotland Yard’s diversity unit worked with the organisers of the demo and Sunday’s rally to try to ensure that the events passed off peacefully. The impetus for Wednesday’s demonstration came from Hendon property developer Moti Freedlander, who appealed for support on the social networking website Facebook.

On Tuesday, the Jewish Leadership Council bowed to the inevitable and decided to give this independent initiative the official backing of the organised community — a move that won plaudits from the Israeli embassy.

Israel’s deputy ambassador Talya Lador Fresher, who attended the JLC meeting, said: “It is gratifying to have this support because we have been sitting here in the embassy for days and days since the operation started, being demonstrated against by hundreds of people on a daily basis.

“So, naturally, to have solidarity with Israel would send the right message to both the British public and the British political echelon, that the street is not one-sided and that there are many people who support Israel. Also, for us as an embassy and for the people in Israel, we all need to know that there are people here in Britain who support us and understand why Israel had to take military action.”

Mr Freedlander said: “There have been demonstrations by pro-Palestine groups for days now and I felt it was time we showed our support for Israel. It was a great success.”

He was one of a small delegation who met Ambassador Ron Prosor: “He thanked us and said he was happy that we had organised the demonstration.”

Speaking about the anti-Israel protesters, embassy spokesman Lior Ben-Dor said: “We know they are there but they do not disrupt our normal day-to-day running.” He said the ambassador and senior staff had carried out more than 70 media interviews since the action in Gaza started. However, one interview did not take place when Mr Prosor was first invited and then uninvited by the Islam TV channel.

“Mr Prosor was due to record an interview last Friday but the channel then said there were ‘technical difficulties’ with a studio and it could not go ahead. I have asked them to reschedule the interview because we want to put our point of view across to everyone,” said Mr ben Dor.

The Islam Channel’s press office said that for technical reasons on the day Mr Prosor was due to be interviewed, the channel had to change its entire programming schedule.

Would the ambassador receive another invitation? “I can’t say specifically. It could be tomorrow or anytime. With the current climate, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunity to revisit this.”
Israel’s decision to launch its offensive in Gaza received overwhelming support from the readers of London Lite, one of the capital’s giveaway evening papers. In a poll on Monday asking the question “Is Israel right to send troops into Gaza?”, 900 people voted at a cost of 50p each. Of that number, 82 per cent voted yes while 18 per cent said no.

Lorna Fitzsimons, chief executive of Bicom, said: “Israel’s opponents are often vociferous and their demonstrations are covered by the media. But this shows that regular Londoners understand the cold, hard reality that Israel had no option but to defend her citizens from constant rocket attack.”

Yesterday and today (Friday) were designated as days for members of the community to write to MPs and the media. Tomorrow, a special prayer written by Rabbi Julian Shindler will be recited in Orthodox synagogues and on Sunday, the culmination will be the rallies in London and Manchester.

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks is expected to be among the speakers in Trafalgar Square. Meanwhile Israel came in for predictably heavy criticism during a UN Security Council debate on Wednesday. British foreign secretary David Miliband joined in, saying that Israel’s response had been disproportionate and could harm a possible political solution to the Middle East conflict.

Diplomats from Britain, America and France were locked in talks with their Arab counterparts to try to head off an anti-Israel resolution that would almost certainly be vetoed by America.