London Jew accused of "breach of the peace" by looking "openly Jewish"

[everydaywonderful]

I'm gobsmacked by this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68856360

@SerendipityJane - that was a nice thing to do.
I am reminded of the occasion on one of these marches when someone had an anti Hamas banner, and was attacked. The police then arrested him.
Hamas is a proscribed organisation.
These are supposedly peaceful marches.
It's very worrying.

Reshowing "Gandhi" would be a start.

Davessoaredeckchair
This sketch was exactly what popped into my head when I saw this news.

same! Showing my age now. It was so shocking to hear what that policeman said. Feel so worried for Jewish people in London at the moment.

Apparently I'm just "so wrong" that not only have things not progressed, they have gone backwards. Because of iPhones.

Or something.

What's that expression ? Don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining ?

Has anyone actually read the details of the incident? The long reads that explain the context? People are taking very click baity headlines at face value for some reason.

What I’m absolutely certain of is that the officer meant ‘visibly Jewish’.

It’s also clear to anyone who can be bothered to read that the bystander’s presence wasn’t a matter of blame etc and that if a visibly Muslim male had been wandering around a right wing anti Palestinian protest he would have been told the same thing. Where would the media outrage have been then?

Has anyone actually read the details of the incident?

There is a video

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/met-police-officer-threatens-arrest-jewish-man-breach-peace-pro-palestine-march/

Not a video, the explanatory context which isn’t given in the video

"I don't want anybody antagonising anybody... and at the moment sir, you are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march,"..... if you choose to remain here because you are causing a breach of peace, with all these other people, you will be arrested. 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."

Yep sounds just as bad when you say:

Openly Muslim
Openly Black
Openly gay
Openly disabled
Openly insert any other minority group here

The idea that the presence of someone looking Jewish being enough to be arrested for "antagonising" other people is abhorrent

Ah ...

Context ...

What context would make it ok? The article @SerendipityJane shared has a longer and more detailed explanation. But really, there is not any possible justification which could make this reasonable or acceptable.

surely its the ones that misbehave are the ones that would be breaching the peace ?

I wonder what proportion of the marchers are purely asking for peace as is the supposed purpose and what proportion are there because they already hated jews and Israel and see this as a useful opportunity.
Presuming there will be semi pro agitators in the mix too.
I think this incident is disgraceful. I can imagine riots if other groups had such a thing said to one of them. It seems like the scarier you are the more the police will prioritise your rights rather than the rights of those who behave well.
I detest the way london is being used for mob rule during these marches and as for the police justifying the shouts of jihad by explaining it can have another meaning well the meaning we have seen it used for throughout the world has been a call for extreme violence.

@Blackcats7 it has been more noticeable in other places, I think. For example a ceasefire march in Toronto paused to cheer the Iranian bombs of Israel! Somewhat undermines their veneer of being neutrally pro peace, and shows they’re actually just using this as an excuse to unleash their hated.

It’s also clear to anyone who can be bothered to read that the bystander’s presence wasn’t a matter of blame etc and that if a visibly Muslim male had been wandering around a right wing anti Palestinian protest he would have been told the same thing

You really believe a Muslim man would be threatened with arrest because he happened upon a right wing/anti palestinian march? Delusional.

Tbh I could believe the Met Police capable of this either way, they are capable of multiple biases at the same time on a regular basis

It's just it wouldn't be acceptable no matter who it was

This abuse of our democracy and the intimidation towards british jewish people has actually made me question my views on immigration which makes me very uncomfortable.
I have always been very pro and of course am entirely sympathetic to people fleeing from terror but displays of hatred we have seen has given me pause for thought. I don’t like myself for it but it is how I feel now. I naively thought those escaping to Britain would largely welcome our more tolerant society but that is not what we have been seeing.
I know it is not representing everybody who has immigrated but I don’t hear many voices critical of the marches from this group of people.
Or maybe I have missed that?

I’m Jewish, not religious and don’t look Jewish but have family who do and are. This has scared the absolute shit out of me.

@Blackcats7

I can imagine riots if other groups had such a thing said to one of them.

Well quite.

Compare it to the kangaroo court up in Wakefield with a mother pleading for her son's life over of a scuffed koran. And the police nodding along with enthusiasm for fear of upsetting self-appointed "community" leaders.

You see this is why the police can be absolute dicks to Jews because they know the worst that will happen is a stiff letter to The Times or a disapproving column in the Jewish Chronicle.

Suella was right about the police.

One of my colleagues in New York had paint thrown on her car for no reason other than looking Jewish.... Perhaps we should all deliberately look Jewish (without being disrespectful) as a mark of solidarity?

It seems like the scarier you are the more the police will prioritise your rights rather than the rights of those who behave well

Exactly.

One of my colleagues in New York had paint thrown on her car for no reason other than looking Jewish.... Perhaps we should all deliberately look Jewish (without being disrespectful) as a mark of solidarity?

They do though.
People wearing "Not my King" t shirts or simply holding a poster saying "Not my King" have been told they could be arrested for Breach of the peace - and the Daily Mail would have no problem with that.

I'm not Jewish either but I live close to a Jewish area of town and have made several friends. They are lovely people and super friendly and welcoming, and boy, do they throw a good party 🥳

Eh? The problem here isn't the Daily Mail.
The problem is Jewish people feeling targeted and unsafe on the streets, which is unacceptable.

It's the excuse the police use to arrest people who want to make a point at a protest. If your "presence" could lead to the larger group getting annoyed with you, then the police can say that your presence could cause a breach of the peace.

EXPLAINER: Anti-Monarchy Protests - Liberty (libertyhumanrights.org.uk)

A man was also questioned by police, asked for his details, and threatened with arrest under the Public Order Act 1986 on Monday 12 September, after he held up a blank sheet of paper in Parliament Square – on the basis that he was intending to write ‘not my king’ on it and this “may offend people”. This came after a woman holding a piece of paper reading ‘not my king’ outside Parliament had been led away by police and asked to stand on the other side of the road, but was not arrested.

‘Breach of the peace’ is not a criminal offence in England & Wales, and you cannot be charged with or convicted of it. Instead, the police have the power to arrest you where you have breached, or are about to breach, the peace, and you may then be subject to a court order requiring you to refrain from breaching the peace.

The arrest must only be for the purposes of preventing a breach of the peace or bringing it to an end. Therefore, the police must release you once it is clear that you no are longer breaching, or about to breach, the peace. If your behaviour is lawful, but harm is still likely (e.g. because others might be provoked to commit violence), exercising the power of arrest must be exceptional – ‘only in the clearest of circumstances, and when they are satisfied on reasonable grounds that a breach of the peace is imminent.’

**