12 Holocaust survivors/descendants condemn Gaza protest ban

Group’s open letter slams ‘fabricated’ excuses for repeated restrictions

Twelve Holocaust survivor/descendants have today signed a joint letter protesting against the Metropolitan Police’s ban on the anti-genocide, pro-Palestine march from gathering in Park Lane on Saturday 15 March.

A statement by one of the group’s co-organisers calling on ‘mainstream’ journalists to do their job and report their protest reads:

As descendants of survivors of the Jewish genocide, we are in despair at the UK Government’s complicity in the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Naturally, the Government and other supporters of Israeli crimes want to discredit and suppress any protests against this genocide. Having run out of other arguments, they can only resort to claims that our demonstrations are somehow antisemitic.

As descendants of survivors we take antisemitism extremely seriously. Consequently we would always make sure of our facts before accusing anyone of antisemitism. Unfortunately, many supporters of Israel are rarely so careful and they routinely accuse anyone who criticises Israel of antisemitism without any evidence.

As journalists it is, of course, your role to report what the supporters of Israel – Jewish or otherwise – are saying. But it is also your role to report what those of us who oppose Israel’s policies are saying – including Jewish critics of Israel.

The open letter on the Met’s decision to – again – restrict peaceful anti-genocide protesters, because of pressure from pro-Israel groups on spurious grounds, condemns the Establishment’s ‘fabricated’ excuses:

The Metropolitan police have banned the 15 March Palestine protest from assembling in Park Lane. Their excuse is that Jewish attendees at a synagogue that is well away from the march route will suffer disruption of their religious worship.

We are writing as descendants of Jewish Holocaust survivors to protest against this clear attempt to dissuade people from opposing the Gaza genocide. Along with thousands of other openly Jewish protesters, we have attended numerous Palestine demos in London and have received nothing but support and warmth from our fellow demonstrators. To suggest that the 15 March protest is a threat to Jews, or is in any way antisemitic, is simply a fabrication in order to restrict everyone’s right to protest.

Yours Sincerely,

Agnes Kory (survivor of the Holocaust in Hungary)

Haim Bresheeth (son of two survivors of Auschwitz)

Anne Karpf (daughter of a survivor of Auschwitz)

Mark Etkind (son of a survivor of the Lodz ghetto and Buchenwald)

Peter Kapos (son of a survivor of the Holocaust in Hungary)

Yosefa Loshitzky (daughter of survivors of the Holocaust in Poland)

Carolyn Gelenter (daughter of a survivor of the Holocaust in Poland)

Charlotte Monro (daughter of a survivor of the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia)

Miranda Pinch (daughter of a survivor of the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia)

Peter Hall (son of a survivor of the Holocaust in Austria)

Chris Romberg (son of a survivor of the Holocaust in Austria)

Beatrice Hoffman (daughter of a survivor of the Holocaust in Austria)

The Palestine Coalition of anti-occupation groups has issued a statement describing the police repression and outlining the revised route for the demo:

The Palestine coalition is pleased that we are finally in a position to announce the route of our demonstration this coming Saturday 15 March. We will be assembling at 12 noon on Piccadilly (Green Park) to march to Whitehall.

As we stated last week, we first contacted the police three weeks ago to inform them of our intention to march and our proposed route. Since then, the police have been threatening to impose conditions on the march but refusing until now to tell us what those conditions might be. Had we announced an assembly point in these circumstances, it could have placed protestors in danger of arrest by a police force engaged in increasing repression.

The police have now agreed to our route but have said that they will impose conditions to prevent us from assembling on Park Lane as originally planned. They have also stated that this decision was made following consultation with pro-Israel groups, who again raised concerns about synagogues which were not on the route of the march and more than 12 minutes away from the point of assembly. We will continue to fight these restrictions through every means available, it is clear that supporters of Israeli apartheid are aiming to prevent any marches for Palestine at all.

This unacceptable delay creates significant logistical challenges for the organisers and causes serious disruption to many of those wishing to participate – in particular, those travelling from outside London, members of the Muslim community who need to make appropriate arrangements to pray and break their fast due to Ramadan, and disabled activists wishing to identify and advertise an accessible route to join the main march. The police were fully appraised of these issues and have chosen to ignore them. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this delay was politically motivated and deliberately designed to suppress participation and shield the police from any potential challenge or accountability for these unjustified decisions.

Nevertheless, the reasons for our protest are as urgent as ever. Right now, Israel is refusing to abide by the ceasefire agreement and is instead imposing collective punishment on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Last week, Israel reimposed a total blockade and has now cut off electricity to Gaza’s only operating water desalination plant – using the threat of starvation and water shortages to achieve its genocidal goals. Israel continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza through drone strikes and sniper fire, including 2 Palestinians killed in the Shujaiya neighbourhood on Friday, while it escalates its violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Our best response to this continuing attempt to suppress our movement by the police and pro-Israel groups is to refuse to be silenced and assemble in huge numbers. Join us on Saturday at 12 noon on Piccadilly to demand that the British government end its complicity in these crimes – freedom for Palestine, no to ethnic cleansing, stop arming Israel.

On 18 January, almost 80 peaceful protesters were arrested – some violently – after walking through police lines to reach Trafalgar Square, at the invitation of Met Police commanders, who then accused the group of ‘forcing’ their way through. Despite abundant video evidence proving marchers were invited through by police officers, several have been charged, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal and Stop the War co-founder Chris Nineham, who was beaten during his arrest. Met Commissioner Mark Rowley subsequently boasted to pro-Israel lobbyists of the ‘unprecedented’ restrictions he had imposed.

The Met, after trying to whip up opposition among local residents, has also banned Jewish anti-genocide campaigners from holding their weekly protest outside the Swiss Cottage residence of fascist Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely.

The UK government has been slammed by United Nations legal experts for Keir Starmer’s ongoing ‘lawfare’ assault on journalists and activists who expose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 200,000 civilians and potentially as many as half a million and has now been resumed by the occupation regime with a full, criminal blockade of food, water, fuel, shelters and power.

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