How have we come to a state where the police confront someone for being overtly Jewish?

[mids2019]

Just how?

I think at best this inept policing at worst vile anti semitism.

I suppose it is now in the open that central London has become effectively a no go area for Jews given the potential for abuse from hate marchers.

Can't we just stop these marches so Jews can go about their business?

Quite.

Hi I'm not sure if I'm missing something here but that's a link to a quote about supporting Hamas, but I'm not sure how this is relevant. There's quite a complex issue being discussed with different views on whether GF was being provocative and why just being openly Jewish is considered to be a provocation. However no where on this thread has anybody offered their support to Hamas.

@Mercurial123
Any protesters from any background who are caught being abusive should be asked to leave the march. If the march organisers want their marches to be seen as peaceful, they should be inclusive and give a clear warning that participants who break the rules will be asked to leave the march. They should be rigorous in enforcing this. It does the marches no favours to be seen as hostile and aggressive in tone

Does that include Gideon?

I meant that too. But while it’s within our abilities to do so, the marches will continue. And the opening post is blatantly untrue.

> It matters because they're acknowledging that simply BEING JEWISH puts you at risk from protestors.

No they're not, at all. They are keeping two sets of protestors separated. If they didn't do this, there would be aggressive chanting between the groups. Then people start to jostle one another or shout directly at one another. People on both sides who don't want confrontation walk away while people who are interested in it get closer. Eventually someone gets pushed and then actual violence starts.

This isn't evidence that pro-Palestinian protesters are targeting Jewish people any more than it is evidence that pro-Israel supporters are attacking Muslims. It simply reflects what happens when groups of young men who feel very strongly connected to one side or another are allowed to confront one another.

And that’s what the police did. Kudos to them for handling counter protestors so even handedly and professionally.

'Openly' Jewish people have been to marches before in London.

Why should freedom of speech be allowed to be used as an excuse for regularly spewing racist hate? I think I speak for the majority of people in and around London who are sick of these marches.

You can't have it both ways!
The march either does not put Jewish bystanders at more risk than anyone else, or it is antisemitic and intimidating to Brititish Jews
(The policeman clearly showed us which!)

Thanks
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IcecreamWhatSandwich · Yesterday 23:24
My perception of what happened here was different. The guy in the video wasn't going about his business. He had come to the march intentionally in order to provoke some participant into committing some aggression against him. Maybe they would have, maybe they wouldn't. But the police were right to stop him from doing this. They were perfectly willing to help him get where he was going without walking across or into the demonstration.”

This. Was deliberately being filmed, too.

noblegiraffe · Today 07:27
There are lots of Jewish people on the marches. They are welcomed and often thanked.
**
It seems to be welcomed as a Jewish person by the marchers you have to carry a banner denouncing Israel. This is antisemitic”

Why is denouncing Israel anti-Semitic? I denounce the conservative government. I’m not anti-British.

Exactly. I’m truly grateful to live in a society where protest and dissent is allowed and all people can make their voices heard. Gideon Falter could dance the Hora up and down the side of the march dressed only in his underpants, blowing a shofar and that would still be exercising his rights in a liberal democracy. Just as Jews are expected to ignore the more antagonistic, antisemitic elements of the marches, the peace protestors could have ignored him.

But the Jewish guy is not there as a protestor!

If GF is not a counter protestor, who is he? A foreign asset?

He was there to antagonise the marchers and the police. Unfortunately for him, it didn't go as planned. Instead of inciting sympathy, he has shown himself up.

I didn’t say denouncing Israel was antisemitic, I said that expecting British Jews to denounce Israel is antisemitic.

Posters keep saying ‘oh but there are loads of Jews at the protests who are welcomed’ and then post pictures of those Jews holding banners denouncing Israel.

Falter was a Jew not holding a banner denouncing Israel. He was called Nazi and scum.

The police say the problem was he was visibly Jewish. Actually the problem was he was visibly Jewish and not visibly denouncing Israel.

Yeah that was the only problem @noblegiraffe ...as if.

His agenda appears to have been to demonstrate that just being visibly Jewish in the vicinity of these marches makes you unsafe, and that they are therefore not the peaceful protests we have been told and they impinge on the freedom and safety of British Jews.

he has demonstrated that - the police clearly feared for his safety simply because he was identifiably Jewish.

Yes, exactly Hermione.

That's your opinion, and I disagree.

I disagree too

I wonder if the police knew in advance he would be turning up to cause a scene, if you watch the footage the way they politely dealt with him was probably nicer than they way they'd usually dealt with agitators.

I think the police probably got in trouble for throwing that Iranian guy to the ground and arresting him when he got attacked by protestors for holding a “Hamas are terrorists” sign.

So what happens to Jews and Arabs the rest of the week? Do they go back to working side by side and going about their daily lives and are only a threat to each others on one day a week?

Unless he is a big supporter of all the killings why is Gideon there? Why does he need to walk pass the march ? These people are demonstrating against the genocide, if he hates seeing these marches then perhaps he should demand a ceasefire from the Israeli government .