Jewish body holding rally after 488 arrested over Palestine Action support

A British Jewish organisation is marking the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel with an event in Trafalgar Square on Sunday – one day after almost 500 people were arrested over pro-Palestine protests in London.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) is holding the commemorative event ahead of Tuesday’s anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Speakers include Sharone Lifschitz, a British Israeli academic and filmmaker and daughter of two former hostages, and Adam Ma’anit, a British-Israeli writer and campaigner whose cousin was taken hostage on October 7.

Shaun Lemel, a survivor of the attack on the Nova music festival, is also scheduled to speak while British-Israeli former hostage Emily Damari will address the event via video.

The BDBJ said security checks would be in place and there would be an enhanced police presence at the event following the Manchester synagogue terror attack.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to announce the release of the remaining hostages from Gaza “in the coming days”, with indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on US President Donald Trump’s peace plan due to start in Egypt on Monday.

The BDBJ called for those arrested under the Terrorism Act at Saturday’s protests to be investigated for stirring up racial hatred.

The Metropolitan Police said 488 arrests were made for supporting the proscribed organisation Palestine Action, including six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the proscribed group on Westminster Bridge.

Most of the arrests occurred in Trafalgar Square, where protesters held placards showing their support for Palestine Action.

The Met said the youngest person arrested was 18 and the oldest 89, with a final total of 492 arrests, the others for being drunk and disorderly, common assault, a public order offence and being wanted for an unrelated matter.

On Saturday night, 297 remained in custody while the rest had been bailed.

In a statement on X, the BDBJ said: “The crass insensitivity shown by the protesters, more than 400 of whom were arrested for supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation, is an affront to public decency.”

Organisers Defend Our Juries said more than a thousand people had gathered at the central London landmark to hold a mass, silent vigil protesting the proscription while the names of Palestinian children killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict are read out.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had urged protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews”, while Jewish figures have called the action “phenomenally tone deaf” following Thursday’s killing of two people in the terror attack.

The Met had urged the group to call off its plans, with Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley saying: “By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”

A similar event held by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine also took place on Saturday.

After a crowd of about 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral to listen to speeches, they moved off en masse to march through the city centre.

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Stephen Watson urged would-be attendees at the protest to “consider whether this is really the right time”.

Police forces have deployed extra officers to synagogues and other Jewish buildings to offer protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the attack.