Zack Polanski today defended pro-Palestinian marches through London saying they do not make British Jews any more ‘unsafe’.
The Green Party leader said that accusations that the marches were hotbeds of anti-Semitism were a ‘distortion’.
Appearing on TV in the wake of the Golders Green terror attack in which three people were attacked he said that people had the right to march to protest against the bloodshed in Gaza.
It came after Sir Keir Starmer lashed out at chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, amid concerns about the growing threat to British Jews.
The Prime Minister also suggested he wanted to see ‘tougher action’ against people using certain phrases at Gaza demonstrations, but stopped short of agreeing with calls for a ban on the marches.
Mr Polanski told the BBC that ‘globalise the intifada’ was not a racist chant, though he said he would not use it himself.
He also refused to accept that police used ‘proportionate’ action when arresting a suspect at the scene in Golders Green, having last week been criticised for suggesting they were heavy-handed.
The Green Party leader said that accusations that the marches were hotbeds of anti-Semitism were a ‘distortion’
It came after Sir Keir Starmer lashed out at chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, amid concerns about the growing threat to British Jews
The UK terrorism threat level has been raised to ‘severe’ by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, meaning a terror attack is ‘highly likely’, after two Jewish men were stabbed in the incident.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Keir said: ‘I will defend the right of peaceful protest very strongly and freedom of speech. I have defended those principles all my life and I will continue to do so. And so I’m not stepping back from that one bit.
‘But if you are on a march or a protest where people are chanting, ‘globalise the Intifada’, you do have to stop and ask yourself, why am I not calling this out? Why am I on a march where this is the chant? And I do think it’s time for people just to ask themselves that.
‘I’m not saying, of course, that there aren’t very strong legitimate views about the Middle East, about Gaza. We all have deep concerns about it. This Government has recognised Palestine just last year. So, of course, there are important issues.’