Chris Matthews and Arthur Parashar
22:56 07 March 2024, 08:08 08 March 2024 Updated
- Pro-Palestinian protesters held several protests in London during the war
Pro-Palestinian protesters are turning London into a “no-go zone for Jews”, Britain’s counter-extremism czar has claimed.
Robin Simcox accused the government of leaving extremists “for too long”.
The Home Office’s independent adviser on extremism has warned that the government is allowing extremists to “lurk just one step away from terrorism”.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters have marched through the streets of London since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Anti-Semitism has increased significantly in the capital since the horrific Hamas attack on October 7, when 1,139 people were massacred and 240 were taken hostage.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Simcox said the UK “has an enabling environment for radicalization and needs to be addressed urgently”.
He added that the government needed to play a “leading role” in tackling all types of extremism.
The anti-extremism tsar said Downing Street had an opportunity to take control of the situation while upholding “the rule of law, civility and respect for decency”, but since October 7 it has “fallen short”. ”, he said.
Mr Simcox is thought to want tougher restrictions on protests to be put in place, including forcing marches into static demonstrations instead.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has previously called on the Metropolitan Police to take tougher action against protesters.
Mr Sunak also promised to address the “root causes” of the problem and “ensure that extremist organizations and individuals are not given legitimacy by their actions or interactions with central government”.
However, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner later defended the police’s crackdown on protests, declaring: “We should police the law as it is, not as others would like it to be.”
But Mr Simcox said the government could do more, such as denying entry to hate preachers who tour the UK.
Michael Gove will next week announce a broader definition of extremism that will allow the government, universities and parliaments to stop funding to Islamist and right-wing groups.
When the new definition is announced, ministers are reportedly likely to clarify which groups fall under it in parliament.
The new definition could prohibit government officials from engaging with or funding groups or individuals deemed extremist.
But it has raised concerns from some on the right that groups opposed to same-sex marriage, abortion and new transgender rights could be inadvertently punished.
“While debates over definitions may feel like academic navel-gazing when extremist behavior is so common in practice, this study has a clear purpose,” Simcox said. “It will be used to guide future decisions about whom the government will and will not act on.” engage with and provide funding.
“The government is right to act. Evidence of states collaborating with or funding extremists appears in independent reviews and government strategies dating back more than a decade. Extremism New definition or not, this needs to be fixed.”
He suggested that the government and its agencies already have powers to combat extremism, but are failing to deal with groups that fall below terrorist standards.
He said Whitehall had “more power to tackle extremism than is sometimes thought”.
“Ultimately, the Iranian government has no inalienable right to operate schools or mosques in the capital.
He said: “It is not an irreplaceable democratic principle that Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood should be allowed to do a lot of charity work.”
“We have not betrayed our democracy if extremists are no longer able to run our TV channels.”
Last week, former home secretary Suela Braverman urged Mr Sunak to introduce emergency legislation to tackle extremism.
Echoing Mr Simcox, she said: “Parts of London have become no-go zones for Jews.”
“That’s completely unacceptable. We’ve seen a surge in anti-Semitism.”
Mr Braverman was responding to Mr Sunak’s speech in which he said there had been an “alarming increase in extremist chaos and crime” since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
He warned demonstrators not to let extremists “hijack” the march.
Official figures show anti-Semitism hit a record high last year amid an “explosion of hatred”.
The Community Security Trust’s annual report said there had been a surge in anti-Semitic attacks, threats and abuse that appeared to “celebrate” Hamas’ massacre of innocent Israelis.
According to statistics, there were 4,103 anti-Semitic incidents in the UK last year.
This is almost double the previous record in 2021 and covers all types of “hatred” against Jews.
A shocking example of anti-Semitism occurred late last year in London when a poster of an infant kidnapped by Hamas was defaced with two swastikas, including one on the infant’s forehead. Can be mentioned.
In October, a synagogue in Sussex was daubed with red paint reading ‘SS IDF’. “SS” is depicted as the emblem of the Nazis’ genocidal elite SS, while “IDF” refers to the Israel Defense Forces.
Just last week, a Jewish man wearing a skull cap was told on the London Underground that “your religion is killing Muslims.”
And this week, Jewish students spoke of their horror after 100 pro-Palestinian protesters rioted at a stall promoting anti-Semitism awareness.
Jewish groups said they were yelled at and had orange squash thrown at them by some counter-protesters.
One Jewish student, Rojinsena Kantai, 20, told MailOnline that she felt students had been subjected to intimidation and anti-Semitic abuse.
“It was really heartbreaking to put into words. We were assaulted and had juice poured on us,” she said.
“We were surrounded by a group of over 100 people. They were all standing in a circle and shouting at us. It was one of the most terrifying events of my life.
“They came in groups, and it was very sudden that the groups got this big.”