On Sunday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan attempted to block the London vigil for Jewish victims of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre, according to Campaign Against Antisemitism’s CEO Gideon Falter.
The event in Parliament Square was intended to commemorate the tragedy in Australia and the second night of Hanukkah.
However, Falter said that Khan tried to stop the vigil, even though Khan had stated earlier in the day that he would do everything in his power to keep London’s Jews safe, and had asked police to step up to cover Hanukkah events.
“Officials from the Greater London Authority turned up with clipboards telling us that we are not allowed to set up on Parliament Square at all,” Falter said.
He added that the Metropolitan Police closed the road right next to Parliament Square, but that he would have preferred to keep crowds on the square itself for security and to avoid traffic disruptions, which should have been obvious.
'Too dark' for memorial, mayor says
“It’s pretty galling, we’ve just seen the terrorist attack in Sydney, and now we’ve got the mayor of London – instead of solidarity – telling us, apparently, [that the vigil is] too dark. You couldn’t make it up.”
Some politicians made an appearance, including Richard Tice of Reform UK, the shadow attorney-general, Lord Wolfson, and another shadow minister.
Falter said that his group had approached the Labour Government, which had promised to send the Communities Secretary, Steve Reed, as a speaker.
“We were told to expect contact from Mr. Reed’s team, but did not hear from them until after the event started, when they apologized and said he had decided to attend a different event for Jewish members of the Labour Party.”
Following Falter’s announcement, MP Sarah Pochin wrote to Khan expressing her concern at the reports.
“At a time when London is regularly disrupted by protests organized by Palestinian activists, many of which appear to be condoned or inadequately challenged by authorities, you owe it to the Jewish community in this country to provide clarity as to your position,” she wrote.
She then asked him for reassurance that he did not attempt to prevent the vigil from taking place.
Regarding the UK’s response to Jewish safety following the Australia attacks, Lord Wolfson told a House of Lords meeting on Monday that “the debate around Jewish security needs to move away from higher walls around our synagogues and more guards outside our schools, and on to the root causes of why we need such security.”
Then, on Tuesday, Reed announced that the UK Government would unveil a national antisemitism action plan within days.
His comments were made at the Jewish Labour Movement’s Hanukkah reception, held at a London synagogue.
“Whether it’s in our universities, our schools... Whether it’s marches and the appalling things that are said and written on banners, and the places where people think it is appropriate to go to intimidate people simply because of their faith – institutions such as broadcasters – it will no longer be tolerated,” he said.