British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged students not to take part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations marking the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, describing the planned protests as disrespectful.
Students from several London universities were expected to walk out of classes at 2:00 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Tuesday before marching through central London. Similar rallies and vigils were planned in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Manchester, where an attack outside a synagogue last week left two people dead.
Writing in The Times, Starmer said some pro-Palestinian protests had become “a despicable excuse to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility,” calling it “a total loss of empathy and humanity.”
“This is not who we are as a country,” he wrote. “It’s un-British to have so little respect for others — and that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again.”
The Jewish Bloc for Palestine criticised the government’s stance, accusing it of trying “to weaponise the fear and grief of our community” by suggesting pro-Palestinian protesters posed a threat to Jews.
In a separate statement marking the anniversary, Starmer condemned the rise of antisemitism in the UK, citing last week’s deadly attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. “This is a stain on who we are, and this country will always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities,” he said.
Hamas’s 2023 assault on Israel left 1,219 people dead, mostly civilians, and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza have killed at least 67,160 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.
Starmer, who last month formally recognised a Palestinian state alongside key allies, said the UK would continue working to secure the release of British hostages in Gaza and welcomed the latest U.S.-backed peace initiative.
Despite government appeals to cancel demonstrations after the Manchester attack, pro-Palestinian marches continued across Britain over the weekend. Activist group Defend Our Juries said linking the protests to antisemitic violence was “wrongly conflating the actions of the Israeli state with all Jews.”
On Sunday, around 3,000 people gathered in central London waving Israeli and Union Jack flags at a commemorative event marking the October 7 anniversary.
