Violence Erupts Outside London Synagogue as Protest Turns Chaotic, 14 Arrested

Clashes between protesters and counterprotesters Sunday turned violent outside a London synagogue, leading to the arrest of 14 people.

Edgware United Synagogue held a real estate event that anti-Zionists claimed involved sales of land in the disputed territories, although the organizers of the event said that the land sales were contained within Israel’s internationally recognized borders and did not cross the Green Line.

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Adding insult to injury, about 100 British lawmakers wrote a letter to the foreign secretary demanding the cancellation of the event because, they said, it was “firmly embedded in Israel’s project of colonial expansion by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians.” In addition, anti-Israel groups wrote the synagogue warning it that the land sales are illegal and that the synagogue could be implicated in illegal activity.

Others acted as if holding the event in a synagogue was especially nefarious.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said that the fact “the event has been relocated to a synagogue is disturbing, suggesting that organizers are using a place of worship as cover for potentially criminal activity.”

My Home in Israel, which organized the event, said that the allegations were “motivated by anti-Israeli and terrorist supporters.”

Adrian Cohen, the acting president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said he was “deeply disturbed at the wholly unjustified protest.”

“The event organizers have publicly refuted claims that the event is marketing real estate over the Green Line,” he said. “Protesting at a synagogue based on false pretenses seems to be little more than an excuse to harass and intimidate members of the Jewish community,” he said.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews issued an online statement calling on police to put protections in place to prevent the intimidation of Jews at their places of worship.

“We are deeply disturbed at the wholly unjustified protest called for this morning outside a synagogue,” the group said. “We are calling on the police to ensure such protests are kept a significant distance from places of worship to prevent intimidation to members of the Jewish community.”

Despite the event’s location being shrouded in secrecy, several anti-Israel groups showed up to protest outside the synagogue, hailing from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Jewish Bloc for Palestine UK, and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.

Police estimated that the number of protesters from both sides was about 1,000.

“We are mindful that Jewish communities are experiencing heightened fear and concern following two and a half years of sustained protest and, in recent months, a series of arsons and other attacks,” said Metropolitan Police Commander Adam Slonecki.

“There is a distinction between protesting in central London and protesting in the heart of communities where the potential to cause serious disruption and intimidation is greater, and our policing plan reflects that,” he added.