The organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that take place in central London have strongly criticised remarks by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, accusing him of spreading “dangerous misinformation” about the intentions of the marches calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Earlier on Friday, Rowley responded to intense questioning over how his police force is keeping the Jewish community safe after a man stabbed two people in Golders Green, a predominantly Jewish area of London.
Rowley told Good Morning Britain that he was “really troubled” by claims that protest organisers intended to march near synagogues.
“I’m really troubled by what we have seen. Many of these marches set out with an intent to march near synagogues, and every single time we have put conditions on to prevent that,” said Rowley.
“Even that intent causes me concern that they repeatedly ask to do such things.”
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He added that the police had imposed conditions to prevent marches approaching Jewish places of worship.
But leading figures from the Palestine Solidarity movement pushed back on these claims, describing the commissioner’s comments as “dishonest and frankly dangerous”.
Ryvka Bernard, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said Rowley’s intervention risked heightening tensions.
“It’s shocking that Rowley would make such dishonest and reckless comments in a moment when his police force should be focused on protecting vulnerable people,” she said.
“We have repeatedly rejected any conflation of Jewish people with the horrific actions and policies of the state of Israel,” said Bernard. “This dangerous misinformation … will only serve to create more fear and anxiety.”
‘None of our marches or proposed march routes has ever targeted a synagogue’
– Ryvka Bernard, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
“Our marches for Palestine are about showing solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against apartheid and genocide, and to protest against British government complicity in Israel’s crimes against them,” said Bernard.
“Our upcoming march on 16 May will be no different.”
She rejected the suggestion that demonstrations had targeted Jewish sites, stating: “None of our marches or proposed march routes has ever targeted a synagogue or even directly passed one along its route, and the Met Police knows that.”
Lindsey German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition, similarly dismissed Rowley’s claims as “simply untrue”.
“We have never set out with intent to march near a synagogue and we have never intentionally held a demonstration outside or near to one,” said German. “We keep our routes well away from them.”
She pointed to a previous dispute with police over a march in January, when organisers were blocked from assembling near the headquarters of the BBC because of a synagogue several hundred yards away.
This incident led to the organisers being forced to hold a static march near parliament and the main protest organisers being arrested for walking towards the headquarters of the BBC to lay a wreath for Palestinian children.
German said organisers had proposed multiple compromises, including altering the timing and route, to avoid disrupting worshippers.
‘No connection’
The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of pro-Palestine protests in the UK after the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, called for a “moratorium” on pro-Palestine marches because of recent antisemitic attacks in London.
“It pains me to say this, but I think we may have reached a point where we need to have a moratorium on the sorts of marches that have been happening,” Hall told Times Radio.
On Friday, a senior rabbi in north London rejected any connection between the pro-Palestine marches and Wednesday’s stabbing attack.
“It is certainly not the marches that caused the tragic stabbing attacks on Wednesday in Golders Green,” Herschel Gluck told Middle East Eye.
‘There are many Jews who participate in the marches. Pro rata, there are more Jews than any other community’
– Rabbi Hershel Gluck
He said that banning the marches over antisemitism concerns would be an own goal because of the large number of Jews who regularly took part in the protests.
“There are many Jews who participate in the marches. Pro rata, there are more Jews than any other community. And the idea of banning speech is something that is a very un-Jewish thing to do.”
Gluck, who is also president of the Shomrim neighbourhood patrol group in North and East London, said police on the ground were “engaging very well” with the Jewish community and taking its concerns seriously.
But he said he believed they were facing political pressure to take firmer action over the marches, and accused Labour, Conservative and Reform politicians of using antisemitism to distract from issues such as the economy, the cost of living and the fragile security situation in the world.
“They are just using the situation for their own ends and not really caring for the Jewish community. They are using the conflict to create more conflict.”
Jewish voices
He called on political leaders to listen to all Jews, including those speaking out against Israel’s actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.
“They’re not marginal, but sadly, certain politicians choose not to listen also to these Jewish voices. And I think that again borders on antisemitism, when they decide not to listen to the concerns, feelings, and strong sentiments of a very large segment of the Jewish community.
“We need to enable and foster a more peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.”
Since the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2023, large demonstrations have drawn hundreds of thousands of participants, while also prompting political debate over public order, community relations and freedom of expression.
Campaigners argue that Rowley’s comments risk undermining trust between protest organisers and authorities, as well as fuelling narratives that conflate pro-Palestinian activism with hostility towards Jewish communities.
Despite the row, organisers say the march planned for 16 May will proceed as intended, with a continued emphasis on peaceful protest and opposition to racism in all forms.
