Farce as Met Police apologise for threatening to arrest 'openly Jewish' man caught in pro

Release time：2024-05-21 21:49:03 Source：Culture Chronicle news portal

The Metropolitan Police has apologised and retracted a statement saying sorry for the actions of an officer who threatened to arrest a man he described as being 'openly Jewish' after the communication was slammed as 'appalling victim blaming'.

London's police service issued a statement on Friday afternoon apologising after Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) boss Gideon Falter was stopped from walking through a pro-Palestine march last Saturday by a Met officer.

The Met's initial statement accused counter-protesters at the regular rallies of being 'provocative' by filming themselves as they turned up on the routes to express their views. Mr Falter maintains he was 'going for a walk' after attending synagogue.

But after the CAA furiously accused the force of 'abject victim blaming' it pulled the statement, replacing it with a further apology for causing further offence which added: 'Being Jewish is not a provocation'.

And following the first Met bulletin the campaign group issued further footage of exchanges between the officer and Mr Falter in which the policeman says that his Jewish faith is 'part of the factor' as to why he can't cross the road during the march. 

 The officer was seen blocking Campaign Against Antisemitism boss Gideon Falter from crossing the road, and said he was stopping him because he looked 'openly Jewish'

Mr Falter was interviewed alongside the footage and accused the Met of failing to make London safe for Jews

The Met Police has apologised (above) for an earlier statement in which it suggested counter-protesters at pro-Palestine marches were being deliberately 'provocative'

The CAA labelled the earlier statement 'atrocious' and claimed the Met was not outlining how it would protect Jewish people in London

Another clip from the protest was also shared of a second officer telling the Jewish man: 'I am trying to make sure you are safe and that no one attacks you or your group or anyone else, that's all.' 

The Campaign Against Antisemitism shared correspondence between Mr Falter and the Met Police about what the force labelled a planned protest on April 27

Mr Falter told the Met that the gathering - which will have at least one predetermined meeting point - is not a march, but a 'walk'

In the footage, which the group had not released as part of the earlier clip, the officer says: 'I'm sure there are an awful lot of people of all sorts of faiths and creeds who want to go where they want, but unfortunately today is different.'

Mr Falter then asks: 'So basically because I am Jewish, I can't cross the road today?'

The officer replies: 'Because of the march, that is part of... unfortunately part of the factor.'

READ MORE: Met Police arrest nine as Palestine and Israel demonstrators trade insults as thousands march through London to protest about Gaza conflict 

Sharing the new statement, the Met said: 'Earlier we posted a statement about a video released on Thursday evening by the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

'That statement has now been removed. We apologise for the offence it caused.'

The statement read: 'The use of the term "openly Jewish" by one of our officers is hugely regrettable. We know it will have caused offence to many. We reiterate our apology.

'We have reflected on the strength of the response to our previous statement. In an effort to make a point about the policing of protest we caused further offence.

'This was never our intention. We have removed that statement and we apologise.

'Being Jewish is not a provocation. Jewish Londoners must be able to feel safe in this city.

'Our commitment to protecting the public extends to all communities across London. It's important that our public statements reflect that more clearly than they did today.' 

The CAA labelled the earlier statement 'atrocious' and claimed the Met was not outlining how it would protect Jewish people in London. 

Contacted for further comment, a Met Police spokesperson told MailOnline the force would not be making any further comment on the earlier statement.

CAA is calling on Jewish Londoners to go for a walk being 'quite openly Jewish' on Saturday April 27, the date of the next pro-Palestine march.

It insists the #WalkTogether event - which will have at least one predetermined meeting point - is not an organised protest.

Mr Falter said in an email to the Met Police shared on CAA's account on X, formerly Twitter: 'I am not planning a protest on 27th April. I am going for a walk as a private individual.

'I have not yet decided where I will walk, however it is likely that whilst walking I will be quite openly Jewish.

'Others might decide to join me. They might not. That is a matter for them. They might also be quite openly Jewish. They might not. That is also a matter for them.'

The row began earlier this week after the CAA shared footage of the Met Police speaking to Mr Falter at the side of a pro-Palestine procession on Saturday.

The officer can be heard saying to Mr Falter, who is wearing a kippah: 'You are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.' 

Mr Falter, pictured here on Good Morning Britain in 2018, is the CEO of Campaign Against Antisemitism

Met Police assistant commissioner Matt Twist (above) accused counter-protesters at pro-Palestine marches of being 'provocative' in an earlier statement 

Mr Falter claimed in the video that he 'did what I normally do' on a Saturday: going to synagogue and going for a walk in London. He denied engaging with pro-Palestine protesters, and claimed the Met was creating 'no-go zones' for Jews in the capital.

He was seen telling the officer: 'I don't want to stay here, I want to leave.'

The officer then replies: 'In that case sir, when the crowd is gone I will happily escort you out.'

READ MORE: Israel strikes back at Iran as explosions rock airbase in city linked to Tehran's nuke program

Later on in the video, another officer says: 'There's a unit of people here now. You will be escorted out of this area so you can go about your business, go where you want freely or if you choose to remain here because you are causing a breach of peace, with all these other people, you will be arrested.'

He clarifies: 'Your presence here is antagonising a large group of people that we can't deal with all of them if they attack you... because your presence is antagonising them.'

In response to the footage, Met Police assistant commissioner Matt Twist said the video shared by the CAA would 'further dent the confidence of many Jewish Londoners which is the opposite of what any of us want'.

AC Twist continued: 'The use of the term "openly Jewish" by one of our officers is hugely regrettable. It's absolutely not the basis on which we make decisions.

'It was a poor choice of words and while not intended, we know it will have caused offence to many. We apologise.'

The top cop went on to accuse counter-protesters of being 'provocative' by appearing on pro-Palestine march routes in order to express their differing views. He did not refer to the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

He continued: 'The fact that those who do this often film themselves while doing so suggests they must know that their presence is provocative, that they're inviting a response and that they're increasing the likelihood of an altercation.

'They're also making it much more likely officers will intervene. They (officers) don't do so to stifle free speech or to limit the right to protest, but to keep opposing groups apart, to prevent disorder and to keep the public - including all those taking part in or opposing the protest - safe.'

AC Twist concluded: 'It is up to us to review these interventions and to determine whether we are getting the balance right, adapting our approach as we do so.' 

But the CAA blasted the Met's response, labelling it in a statement on X, formerly Twitter as 'appalling, abject victim blaming' that it 'absolutely reject(ed)'.

It said: 'Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has sent Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist to blame us for putting a "dent in the confidence of many Jewish Londoners" by releasing the video and claiming that the presence of Jews crossing the route of the march was "provocative".

'What puts a "dent" in Jewish Londoners' confidence in the Met is the Met's own decision to curtail the rights of Jews in order to appease lawless mobs.

'What is "provocative" is telling a Jewish Londoner that his presence will "antagonise" crowds and that unless he leaves he will be arrested.

People hold a variety of flags and placards at the protests in London on Saturday, including Palestine and Israel national flags

The CAA added: 'It is the right of every Londoner, Jewish or not, to walk freely around the city. 

'If police threaten Jews with arrest for doing so or consider the mere presence of Jews to be "provocative", then the Met has decided wholesale to curtail the rights of Jews in order to appease lawless mobs.

'We must not be intimidated by protesters or prevented by police from exercising our rights.'

READ MORE: Signs twinning Bournemouth with Israeli city mysteriously disappear as police launch probe into 'hate crime'

In a video interview published alongside the footage, Mr Falter accused the Met of creating 'no-go zones' for Jewish Londoners due to its rigorous enforcement of pro-Palestine marches, which he described as being 'anti-Israel'.

He said: 'Despite being told repeatedly that London is safe for Jews when these marches are taking place, my interactions with police officers last Saturday show that the Met believes that being openly Jewish will antagonise the anti-Israel marchers and that Jews need protection, which the police cannot guarantee.

'Instead of addressing that threat of anti-semitic violence, the Met's policy instead seems to be that law-abiding Jewish Londoners should not be in the parts of London where these marches are taking place. 

'In other words, that they are no-go zones for Jews.'

Nine people were arrested following last Saturday's pro-Palestine march through central London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

One man was arrested for a public order offence after making cut-throat gestures towards protesters at a significantly smaller pro-Israel counter-demonstration at Aldwych, the Metropolitan Police said.

Nearly 1,000 officers to police the events, which also included a demonstration held at the Cenotaph by right-wing group Turning Point UK. 

Israel's ongoing war with Hamas has threatened to explode across the Middle East.

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Israel last week after a deadly strike on its Damascus consulate, the blame for which was put on Tel Aviv. 

Pro-Israel protesters hold signs stating 'Hamas are terrorists' and 'release the hostages'

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London today to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and urge the Government to stop all arms sales to Israel

Israel has responded with further strikes today against Isfahan, home to Iranian nuclear facilities, though no serious damage is thought to have been dealt in the strikes. 

To date, 34,012 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began air and ground offensives in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The war with Hamas began following the October 6 attacks that saw terrorists enter Israel and indiscriminately slaughter 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Israel has been accused of perpetrating genocide through its offensives in Gaza in the International Criminal Court by South Africa.

Meanwhile, international observers have continued to urge Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to enable the safe delivery of aid to the 1.7million displaced Palestinians across the occupied territory.

Related articles