Michael Gove says it is ‘genuinely dangerous’ to be a Jew near London’s pro-Palestinian marches as he accuses protesters of turning a blind eye to ‘lurid demonstrations of anti-Semitism’

It is ‘genuinely dangerous to be Jewish’ near Gaza marches in London and other cities today, Michael Gove warned today as he accused pro-Palestinian protesters of turning a blind eye to ‘lurid demonstrations of anti-Semitism’.

In a major speech at a Jewish community centre today the Communities Secretary raised the spectre of Nazi Germany, warning that attacks on Jews were often ‘the canary in the mine’ for the state of a nation.

Mr Gove called on the organisers of pro-Palestine marches and ‘good people taking part’ to do more to stop symbols of anti-Jewish hatred being displayed by elements on the marches. 

He said Jews were unable to be ‘their authentic selves’ near the marches and while many protesters are ‘thoughtful, gentle, compassionate people’, they are ‘side by side with those who are promoting hate’.

In recent weeks one man has been arrested for carrying a placard emblazoned with a swastika while police sparked outrage by telling a Jewish woman that the notorious Nazi symbol was ‘not necessarily anti-Semitic’.

Mr Gove also lashed out at protests on university campuses, asking which there were no similar protests against human rights abuses by China, Syria or Burma. He pointed out that no-one had killed more Muslims in recent times that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The Cabinet minister described anti-Semitism as the ‘common currency of hate’ that is shared by the Far Right, the Hard Left and Islamists and attacked the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement as ‘explicitly anti-Semitic’. 

Mr Gove’s speech comes ahead of the publication of a long-trailed report by the Government’s independent adviser on political violence, Lord Walney, due to be released on Tuesday.

A Pro-Palestinian protester holds a flare and a flag as anti-Israeli demonstrators gather outside the Embassy of Israel in London

Hundreds of Pro Palestinian supporters gathered in central London on the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on Saturday

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters confronted each other at Piccadilly, exchanging boos and opposing chants. Police maintained a strict line between the groups to prevent any escalation.

The review is expected to recommend measures to crack down on disruptive demonstrations, including possible restrictions on protest groups deemed to be ‘extreme’. 

Speaking to reporters in Austria, Rishi Sunak said: ‘Extremism has no place in our society. Threatening or intimidating behaviour that disrupts the lives of ordinary hardworking people isn’t acceptable.

‘I have been very clear about that, I want to make sure the police have our full backing and the powers they need to clamp down on it.

‘That is why we have given them those new powers, making sure that we can ban the use of face coverings, flares, pyrotechnics, climbing on war memorials.’

He added: ‘Of course, we will study Lord Walney’s recommendations in detail, but I am very clear it is not the British way to behave in an intimidating or threatening manner and we will make sure the police have our full support and backing in clamping down on that type of behaviour.’

Mr Gove urged the House of Lords to pass a bill to stop public bodies such as town halls and universities organising boycotts of businesses linked to Israel.

His comments come after figures revealed anti-Semitism reached a record high in the UK, with 4,103 anti-Jewish hate incidents recorded by the Community Security Trust in 2023, more than half of which took place after Hamas’s terrorist attack of October 7. 

Mr Gove said: ‘It’s an ironclad law of history that countries which are descending into darkness are those which are becoming progressively more unsafe for Jewish individuals and the Jewish community – the Spain of the Inquisition, the Vienna of the 1900s, Germany in the 1930s, Russia in the last decade.

‘It is a parallel law that those countries in which the Jewish community has felt most safe at any time are the countries where freedom is most secure at any time. The Netherlands of the 17th century. 

A protester holds a placard outside the gate of the University College London

‘Britain in the first decades of the last century. America in the second half of that century.’

He added: ‘So when Jewish people are under threat, all our freedoms are threatened.

‘The safety of the Jewish community is the canary in the mine. Growing anti-Semitism is a fever which weakens the whole body politic. It is the mark of a society turning to darkness.’ 

He will add: ‘There is one thing which, increasingly, unites the organisations and individuals which give cause for extremist concern. Anti-Semitism. It is the common currency of hate. It is at the dark heart of their world view. Whether Islamist, Far-Right or Hard-Left.’

And he will say that ensuring the safety of Jewish people is a moral duty for all to uphold, stressing: ‘We said Never Again. And that is a promise we will never, ever, disavow.’

Deputy Labour leader and shadow communities secretary Angela Rayner said: ‘There is no place in Britain for antisemitic hate and those who push this poison should face the full force of the law. We all have a responsibility to condemn this vile hatred and show that it will never be tolerated.

‘Michael Gove is right that most people on these marches have been protesting peacefully and lawfully, but we cannot tolerate the hateful minority and the appalling incidents of antisemitism.

‘Labour will continue to urge ministers to reverse the downgrading of recording requirements for non-crime hate incidents, bring forward a new hate crime strategy, and crack down on online extremism.

‘Our door will always be open to working together on finding ways of tackling this hate.’

Civil servant firebrands spark fury by accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing – as they also claim Palestinians will ‘inevitably resist’ their ‘oppression’

Civil servant activists have sparked outrage by accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Public sector trade union members have also claimed Palestinians will ‘inevitably resist’ their ‘oppression’ by Israel and so it should be replaced by a secular state.

Some are demanding not only an arms embargo on the country but also the right to refuse to work on any UK arms trade activity with the Israeli Defence Forces.

One branch of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union claimed flying the Israeli flag from official buildings is ‘unacceptable’ and ‘detrimental’ to Muslim staff.

Their controversial remarks have been made in official motions that could be debated and voted on at the union’s annual conference starting in Brighton today. 

Last night they were condemned by leading campaigners.

Lord Mann, the Government’s independent adviser on anti-Semitism, said of pro-Palestinian motions being debated: ‘This has got nothing to do with their [Public and Commercial Services union] members whatsoever – it is self-indulgent’

Israeli flag is projected onto the front facade of Prime Minister’s Office on October 8, 2023

Public sector trade union members have also claimed Palestinians will ‘inevitably resist’ their ‘oppression’ by Israel and so it should be replaced by a secular state.

Lord Mann, the Government’s independent adviser on anti-Semitism, told the Mail: ‘This has got nothing to do with their members whatsoever – it is self-indulgent.

‘If I was a member of that union, I would wonder why this is even getting on the conference agenda.’

Former Labour MP Lord Austin of Dudley said: ‘It is very worrying to see civil servants who are supposed to be impartial and implement government policy singling out one of our closest allies for such one-sided criticism.

‘Iran is at war with the West, Israel is on the frontline and we should be doing all we can to support them in dealing with the terrorists and releasing the hostages.’

Conservative MP Andrew Percy said: ‘The flag of Israel was flown on buildings in the UK following the Hamas attacks of October 7.

‘If the PCS is offended by the Government choosing to mark those horrors, I’m afraid the PCS is a sick and twisted organisation.

‘I am sure every civil servant, of all religions and none, would have been utterly horrified by the rape and butchery committed by Palestinian terrorists on October 7.’

In total there are 115 references to Israel in the conference agenda report, compared with six to Russia and three to Iran.

A dozen motions attack Israel’s response to October 7 but just four specifically condemn Hamas in similar terms and only one refers to the hostages still held by the terrorist group.

One of the most outspoken, tabled by a HM Revenue & Customs branch in Bristol and Reading, calls for PCS delegates to condemn ‘these crimes against humanity, war crimes and the genocidal strategy of Israel’.

Conservative MP Andrew Percy (pictured) said: ‘If the PCS is offended by the Government choosing to mark those horrors [that occurred on 7 October], I’m afraid the PCS is a sick and twisted organisation’

One of the most outspoken motions, tabled by a HM Revenue & Customs branch in Bristol and Reading, calls for PCS delegates to condemn ‘these crimes against humanity, war crimes and the genocidal strategy of Israel’

It wants the union to ‘build our presence in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s protests’.

The branch also calls for members working in firms or departments involved in the arms trade to be identified then helped ‘to refuse to produce, facilitate or transport goods or services in such trade with Israel’.

Another motion tabled by members in the Independent Office for Police Conduct calls on delegates to agree ‘the Israeli government is guilty of war crimes and ethnic cleansing’.

It says there can only be peace in the Middle East with a ‘single democratic secular state’. 

The motion adds: ‘The current state of Israel cannot offer security for Jews as its existence is dependent on continued oppression of the Palestinian people who will inevitably resist.’

A motion by a Ministry of Justice branch said flying Israeli flags on government buildings was ‘unacceptable as it contradicts the role of civil service impartiality’ and was ‘detrimental to our Muslim employees’.

Last night the PCS said this motion had been ruled inadmissible.