Police make 14 arrests after clashes at protest outside north London synagogue
Footage shared on social media showed angry confrontations between rival groups.
Police have made 14 arrests after rival protesters clashed outside a synagogue.
The Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made during a demonstration outside the Edgware United Synagogue in north London on Sunday.
Protesters gathered after the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other groups claimed a real estate event at the synagogue was “openly advertising the sale of land” in an “illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank”.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the event’s organisers had “publicly refuted claims that the event is marketing real estate over the Green Line” – which refers to 1949 armistice demarcation lines established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War separating Israel from the West Bank.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was “deeply disturbed” at the “wholly unjustified” demonstration, adding that MPs had “inflamed tensions through partial and misleading commentary”.
Angry confrontations
Footage shared on social media showed angry confrontations between protesters waving Palestine flags and counter-protesters waving Israel flags, with police detaining some demonstrators.
Protesters near the synagogue, which is in an area with a large Jewish community, held a large sign saying “stop Israel’s illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land” at the demonstration.
The Metropolitan Police said five arrests were for violent disorder including one person also arrested for assault on an emergency worker, one common assault arrest, and one other arrest for assault on an emergency worker.
There were six arrests for Section 4a Public Order Act offences, with four of those for racial or religiously aggravated matters, and one arrest for Section 18 Public Order Act offences.
The force said those arrested had been taken into custody.
Call for protests to be kept away from synagogue
In a statement, acting president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Adrian Cohen said: “The event organisers have publicly refuted claims that the event is marketing real estate over the Green Line.
“It is very disappointing that MPs and other public figures have not acknowledged this and instead inflamed tensions through partial and misleading commentary.
“Protesting at a synagogue based on false pretences seems to be little more than an excuse to harass and intimidate members of the Jewish community.
“New measures under the Crime and Policing Act, called for by the Board and community partners, will from the end of the month give police new powers to impose conditions on protests near places of worship.
“We are calling on the police to ensure such protests are kept a significant distance from places of worship to prevent intimidation to members of the Jewish community.”
Police response
Metropolitan Police Commander Adam Slonecki said: “We have liaised with the venue and the Community Security Trust and have deployed officers to prevent serious disruption and to deal with any offences, using the full range of powers available to us including imposing conditions under the Public Order Act.
“We are mindful that Jewish communities are experiencing heightened fear and concern following two-and-a-half years of sustained protest and, in recent months, a series of arsons and other attacks.
“There is a distinction between protesting in central London and protesting in the heart of communities where the potential to cause serious disruption and intimidation is greater and our policing plan reflects that.”