The right to protest is a fundamental freedom

In the wake of the horrific antisemitic attack in Golders Green, politicians and the media have rushed to falsely characterise the marches for Palestine and to call for them to be suspended. These calls dangerously conflate Jewish people with the state of Israel and peaceful political protest with unconnected violent acts. We utterly reject both.

On Saturday 16 May we will march in London for the annual commemoration of the Nakba – the catastrophe inflicted on the Palestinians by Israel since 1948. We will march in opposition to the British government’s complicity in Israel’s well-documented ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide.

This year, we will also march against Tommy Robinson and his far-right supporters mobilising on the same day. The organisers of the demonstration are fascists, racists, and islamophobes who have espoused the antisemitic great replacements theory.

As always, our march will involve thousands of Jewish people – many of them proudly displaying their Jewish identity – as part of the Jewish Bloc, as organisers and platform speakers. By bringing together people from all backgrounds and walks of life, we will reaffirm opposition to all forms of racism including anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitic, and Islamophobia.

The right to protest is a fundamental democratic freedom that must be protected. We call on all those who believe in the universal principles of freedom, justice, and equality to join us at 12 noon on Exhibition Road on Saturday 16 May.