Starmer accused of 'weaponising' antisemitic attack to target pro-Palestine protests

“Starmer accused of 'weaponising' antisemitic attack to target pro-Palestine protests Submitted by Imran Mulla on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 11:32 UK prime minister says people who chant 'globalise the intifada' must be prosecuted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a statement at 10 Downing Street in central London on 30 April 2026, updating the public on the government’s response to the stabbing of two Jewish men the previous day (AFP) Off British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been criticised for linking pro- Palestine marches to antisemitic violence after saying that "if you stand alongside people who say 'globalise the intifada', you are calling for terrorism against Jews and people who use that phrase should be prosecuted". The prime minister made the comments in an address to the nation following the stabbing of two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, in Golders Green, a neighbourhood of northwest London with a large Jewish population. A 45-year-old Somali -born British national was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after the attack. He had left a psychiatric hospital just days before the attack, Channel 4 reported on Thursday. On Friday, London's Metropolitan Police announced that Essa Suleiman had been charged not with terrorism offences, but with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place. Suleiman is also accused, according to the BBC, of attempting to murder Ishmail Hussein, whom he had known for about 20 years, on the morning of the Golders Green attack. There have been no recorded incidents in the UK of an antisemitic attack involving the phrase "globalise the intifada". However, in December, the Metropolitan and Greater Manchester police forces announced they would arrest people for chanting "globalise the intifada" or holding placards displaying the phrase. In January, three pro- Palestine protesters were charged for allegedly chanting "intifada" at a demonstration. On Friday, it emerged that the Met is reviewing implementing a possible ban on upcoming pro-Palestine marches. The Stop the War Coalition is planning a demonstration in London on 16 May to mark Nakba Day, which commemorates the forcible displacement of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has accused the government of "using the pain of the Jewish community to restrict our right to peaceful protest". Polanski said on Thursday afternoon: "I am the only Jewish leader of a major political party, and I suffer antisemitic abuse every single day. For other politicians to use antisemitism as a political football, especially after these appalling attacks, is utterly appalling and should be beneath them. "We must also be clear that any response to these abhorrent attacks that curtail our civil liberties would be wrong." Surge in antisemitic attacks Starmer said on Thursday evening: "Antisemitism is an old, old hatred. History shows that the roots are deep, and if you turn away, it grows back. Yet far too many people in this country diminish it. "They either don’t see it or they don’t want to see it. Take the marches that happen regularly across Britain. Palestine Action defendants targeted Elbit's use of ‘deadly AI’, court hears Read More » "Of course, we protect freedom of speech and peaceful protests in this country. But if you are marching with people wearing pictures of paragliders without calling it out, you are venerating the murder of Jews." Three women were found guilt y of a terror offence in February 2024 for having displayed images of paragliders on their clothes in a march on 14 October 2023, shortly after the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel. It has not been common for attendees of pro-Palestine marches to display images of paragliders. On Thursday evening, Starmer called on "everyone decent in this country to open their eyes to Jewish pain, Jewish suffering and Jewish fear". There has been a large surge in antisemitic attacks in recent months, including numerous arson attacks and incidents investigated by the Met as antisemitic hate crimes in the past month. In 2020, Suleiman was referred to the Prevent counter-extremism programme. Calls for ban on pro-Palestine marches An obscure group that first appeared online on 9 March, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi), claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday afternoon. The claim has not been verified or substantiated. No details have emerged to suggest how a middle-aged British-Somali man who had been in a psychiatric hospital could have taken instruction from such a group. Hayi has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks across Europe in the past two months. The Israeli government has said the group is linked to Iran , but British police have not established any such connection, although they are understood to be investigating its possibility. Activist groups have criticised attempts to link pro-Palestine protests to antisemitic attacks. Pro- Palestine activists have strongly denied that "globalise the Intifada" is antisemitic or a call for violence, and British Jews have been prominent in pro-Palestine marches in the UK. Ashab al-Yamin: The obscure new group claiming Jewish ambulance attack Read More » Intifada comes from the Arabic root word nafada, which means "to shake off" or "to rise up", and translates to "uprising". On Thursday, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, called for a "moratorium" on pro- Palestine marches because of recent antisemitic attacks. Hall said on Times Radio: "It pains me to say this, but I think we may have reached a point where we need to have a moratorium on the sorts of marches that have been happening. "It’s clearly impossible at the moment for any of these pro-Palestine marches not to incubate within them some sort of antisemitic or demonising language." In response, the Stop the War coalition criticised Hall's remarks as "unacceptable". The coalition said: "We condemn unequivocally these attacks, as we do all forms of antisemitism and racism. No one should be attacked for their race or religion. "However, the attempts by Hall, sections of the media and some politicians to connect such attacks with the Palestine marches are wrong." Stop the War added: "These marches are supported by many Jewish people who attend. They are not the ‘hate marches’ described by right-wing politicians but expressions of solidarity and support for those under attack." The left-wing outfit Your Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, said: "Politicians are weaponising the abhorrent stabbings to take away our civil liberties and baselessly attack the Palestine movement." UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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