Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday in London for a rally against a severe wave of antisemitic incidents that have occurred over the past month. Among the participants were hundreds of Iranian demonstrators, one of whom was seen holding a sign depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wearing a crown and royal robes.
The wave of antisemitic incidents in Europe led to the arrest of nine people in London on suspicion of involvement in a series of arsons and attempted attacks against Jewish targets in the city.
Days earlier, London police were called after a man placed a bag containing bottles of flammable liquid outside a Jewish business and set it on fire. Additionally, two masked suspects threw Molotov cocktails and a firebomb at a Reform synagogue in the Finchley neighborhood. Last month, four ambulances belonging to Hatzalah were set on fire outside a synagogue in the Golders Green neighborhood.
The Jewish community has expressed concern about the situation. Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that “an ongoing campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community in Britain is gaining momentum.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism also sharply criticized the authorities’ handling of the wave of attacks, calling the situation “a catastrophic failure of the state.” The organization called on the British government to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, citing radicalization and foreign interference. Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg emphasized that the Jewish community “will not be intimidated by these acts of hate.”