To think we should avoid London right now?

[StayorgoLDN]

Due to visit London in the next few weeks.

Anxious with Palestinian protests and so forth in the news. I don’t want to be near that with young children, and worried that it may escalate to some sort of attack.

We are not Jews, but presuming as the U.K. is supporting Israel that we’ll all be fair game ie there might be an attack/bomb somewhere prominent to send a message to gov.

Have been in London during terrorist attacks before and I’d rather avoid.

AIBU to consider rescheduling our family trip to next year?

Tbh is London going to be the best place, tube lines get cancellations and delays all the time, the other day I was halfway down the Escalator in Leicester Square and it stopped so they held everyone behind the barriers until they could restart them when everyone had walked off them. Sudden changes of walking routes because the street was packed.

Would you feel better getting a taxi which might be more predictable, less crowded etc?

I hate these threads. For the sake of peace of mind of one OP, a seed of fear is planted in the minds of many of us who live and work in London.

I'm pretty immune to terrorist fear having lived and worked here for over 50 years and been close to many scares and attacks, but seeing these threads does raise my anxiety a bit as generally it doesn't cross my mind to think about it.

I worry more about the potential violence here (in London) from local gangs & the people who really ought to be in secure units/prison.

@Maatandosiris

It’s not ideal, but the range of places to go are aligned to the DCs special interests so off we go.

And yes we are going to walk/take taxi now based on responses on this thread.

i live in london and have never once thought about not doing something in case of terror attack - id never go to work if i worried all the time

Great, that sounds much more manageable. Hope you all have a great time.

@Saverage

It wasn’t my intention to plant a seed of fear. But to get travel advice on what the current situation is as the media aren’t all that reliable and tend to have an agenda.

I am minded to do this having previous experience of living in a city with terrorist presence, and of being in London whenever a major attack was taking place.

It’s practical and sensible to take precautions while going about your business, particularly whenever you are responsible for vulnerable people as I am.

Yes, no worries, I know you have additional considerations with your children. I hope you all have a nice trip if and when you take it.

Never crossed my mind.

It is Sunak's fault of course if religious terrorists attack innocent people./s

When have the British Jewish community ever incited or inflicted violence on the streets of the UK. Or even revelled in the death of others?

I'd be interested to know as a born Londoner.

I live close to a well known Jewish area. There are more police on patrol locally but I’m still going to my local M&S tomorrow morning as on Saturdays it is deserted as the vast majority of customers are observing Shabbat.

What changes are you expecting? There are none.

I live on the outskirts (30 mins by train) - won’t stop me.

@Miyagi99

At minimum we are changing our hotel accommodation and travel plans in relation to the tube over the protests as stands.

Should things escalate further here in response to what is going on between Israel/Gaza, then we may have to reschedule entirely.

Should an issue occur when we are there it could be anything from a blocked road, cancellation of transport, closed attraction to cancellation of a show.

That’s what happens with major protests that escalate to violence and terrorist attacks. People are prevented from accessing their normal activities.

The chances of something happening at exactly the same place and same time as you in a giant city is absolutely miniscule. A thought exercise:

1. A terrorist is planning an attack today. It could be any of the bazillion locations in London. Piccadilly Circus? Trafalgar Square? The Tube?

2. You are going about your day in London. Will you walk through Piccadilly? How long does that take? Assuming it takes 60-90 seconds to go from one side to the other, it's almost impossible to be there exactly at the same time as a terrorist attack even IF an attack is actually planned for that day. The chances of him showing up half an hour later or three hours later or any other random slot of time is statistically much more likely.

3. Now multiply the probability of you being in exactly the same place at the same time as a terrorist by all the possible targets and locations in a city the size of London. It's basically zero.

Another way of looking at it is to think of a single person who also happens to be in London. Maybe a celebrity? Eg Kate Moss. What are the chances you have ever stood across Kate Moss by coincidence in a city the size of London? You could probably go your entire life both living in the same city without meeting each other. The exact principle of "two random moments" applies to actually being caught in a terrorist attack, or car crash for that matter. It happens but you don't live your life in fear of getting ploughed into by another car.

@User767463

Please can people rtft or at least OP posts before getting excited.

To reiterate again…..

I am aware that if there is a terrorist attack or escalating violence at a protest somewhere in London, that I am unlikely to be killed or hurt.

BUT - I have also been in GATWICK when there was a major terrorist attack in London which led to two days of disruption and distress. And have experience of living in a city with frequent attacks/protests/disruption.

I have autistic children and they couldn’t deal with anything like the above. Hence why I am trying to suss out risk/plan cautiously so I can meet my kids needs.

Trauma surfing 🌊

Thanks all for helping me to come to some resolution as to what to do/how to adapt the trip.

Will update at a later stage as to if we went/how we got on.

Content Warning - distressing post (added by MNHQ)

Hamas cut open a pregnant woman's belly, made her watch as they stabbed the baby, then shot her in the head.

They burned whole families alive.

They made women beg not to kill their children, then killed them, one at a time, making their mothers watch.

They decapitated a man slowly with a garden tool.

They gang raped women on their dead friends ' bodies.

They shot elderly people at bus stops.

All in one day, a few hours, over a thousand people. Including many family friends and people I know personally.

They put all this on social media, glorifying it.

Then people all around the world, including in my home city, London, celebrated and cheered these acts and called them "beautiful ".

Does that help to understand my perspective?

Just to add. There is very likely to be protests in some form around South Kensington. (Sorry I’m not sure if you mentioned High Street or South Kensington).

About 3 months ago the pro Palestinian protests took up the main road by Queens Gate up towards the Royal Albert. Horns and everything/slowed traffic etc..

So although no major disruption…I can understand in these circumstances things may be more intense and on a larger scale.

So perhaps try a bit further north towards Baker Street or something..

@StayorgoLDN British Museum is at Russell Square so not West End either.

Not saying South Ken for other museums would be protest free, but just that it’s not the same area as Oxford street. Sorry if any misunderstanding!

I have just come from a quick trip into central London and sat on the tube. Am I meant to be scared of bedbugs? Eek! I thought it was Paris. I had missed anything happening here!

We have a trip booked to London for half term & honestly, the thought not to go hadn't crossed my mind until this thread. I think I will monitor the situation though and see. I think I purposely haven't been reading too much in the media recently as it's all horrific.
Also bedbugs?? I'm off to google this now