Around 250 protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy with anti-Israeli banners and waving Palestinian flags on Tuesday evening.
The demonstration was peaceful and no arrests occured. However, as protesters stood in the pouring rain they chanted “Khyber al-Yahud” – an Islamic battle cry which celebrates the death and defeat of Jews in the battle of Khyber in 629.
They also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a chant which calls for the destruction of Israel. Other chants called Israel “terrorist” and “apartheid”, one saying “Israel if you want war, don’t keep knocking at the door.”
A small boy, given the microphone by protesters shouted: “Jews! How can you take this land?
He added: “There was a boy, only five years old in Gaza, and he was kidnapped by Jews. Can you believe that?”
The activists surrounding the boy, conscious of the media droves in front of the protest barriers, swiftly confiscated the microphone.
A man in a red cagoule had a quiet word in the boy’s ear and gave him back the microphone. The boy added: “The Jews have also been helping us too. People all over the world help us.”
Sarah Glynn, from Scottish Jews for a Just Peace, said: “We utterly condemn these actions. They are absolutely not in our name. We are here to support you and I know there are many others who wish they could be here."
Another national pro-Palestinian protest is planned this weekend.