A Jewish woman was reportedly assaulted by two young girls during a pro-Israel counterprotest outside Brent Civic Centre.
The incident happened as a petition from the Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s was presented at a Brent Council meeting calling for the council to divest from companies “complicit in Israel's genocide and apartheid against Palestinians”.
The event sparked heated exchanges and protests with police present to prevent clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists.
Sarah, 48, who was demonstrating for the pro-Israel side, was seen in a viral video engaging in a verbal disagreement with a group of young girls who were not apart of the demonstration.
A girl was spotted in the clip attempting to snatch Sarah’s phone out of her hand, followed by the girl “scratching” her and “causing bleeding”, Sarah, who is Israeli, claimed.
Speaking to the JC, Sarah said: “They weren’t a part of protest which was shouting ‘Free Palestine’ for an hour and half. They were just hanging around the area.”
One of the girls involved with the incident was immediately stopped by the police after she attacked Sarah. Then just moments later, the video showed the girl throwing a bottle of water at a police officer and she was subsequently detained.
Israel supporters outside Brent Civic Centre, where a petition was put to the council to divest from companies connected to Israel
The Metropolitan Police released a statement which read: “On Thursday, 19 September, officers detained two girls [A and B] following reports of the attempted theft of a mobile phone and a water bottle thrown outside the Brent Civic Centre.
"A 17-year-old girl [A] has been interviewed under caution. Enquiries continue in respect of a second 17-year-old girl [B] who will be spoken to in due course.”
Sarah then expressed her feelings regarding safety around her Israeli identity after the incident.
Expressing concerns for her safety as an Israeli living in London, she said: “As long as any identity is concealed, I am safe. When it is revealed, I am not safe. If I am being associated with Israel, this is when the danger comes in. There’s always a fear that someone wants to track you down, stalk you, find where you live. It’s always in the back of my mind.”
Regarding the petition for Brent Council to divest from Israel, Sarah, who lives near Willesden, said: “I think even if they vote for divestment, it has no implication on me or the state of Israel. I won’t lose sleep at night.”
Ahead of the meeting UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said the petition to divest from Israel was “illegal”.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI claimed: “The issues relating to the war in Gaza are clearly controversial.
"In these circumstances the fiduciary duty of the trustees and managers of pension funds, as well as other funds held by the Council, is to focus on the financial factors, not foreign policy, as observed in the Law Commission’s report.”
In July, London Borough of Waltham Forest Council announced plans to pull pension funds from companies linked to supplying Israel with arms.
