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Date | 26 November 2023 |
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Venue | Royal Courts of Justice |
Location | London, United Kingdom |
Participants | 50,000-100,000 |
The March Against Antisemitism was a demonstration held in London on 26 November 2023 organized by Campaign Against Antisemitism.[1][2] The march was held in response to growing antisemitism in England resulting from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; as police reports indicated that antisemitic offences have risen ten-fold compared to the previous year.[3] Estimates from police indicate that between 50,000[3] and 100,000 people attended the march. [4] It was claimed by the organisation to be "the largest gathering of its kind since the Battle of Cable Street".[5] Demonstrators held placards containing slogans such as "shoulder to shoulder with British Jews" and "never again."
The March Against Antisemitism followed a London-based pro-Palestine rally in Central London with approximately 45,000 attendees[3] led by the Stop the War Coalition. The coalition "stressed that those taking part oppose racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia".[6] On the other hand, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Gideon Falter, claimed that "week after week, central London has become a no-go zone for Jews,” [7] and the campaign later produced polling findings suggesting that "90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there" [8][9] Antisemitic hate crimes had increased dramatically during the period, with 554 reports of antisemitic offences in London between 1 October and 1 November in London, compared with 44 in the same period last year. [10]
Having been shunned by the organisers and refusing to leave the event per police request, English far-right activist Tommy Robinson was detained. Sources indicate that one other individual was arrested for racist rhetoric.[2] The chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, Gideon Falter, remarked: “You don’t fight prejudice with prejudice, you can’t fight racism with racism… They don’t realise how naked their attempt is to try to fool us.” [11]