Now ban ‘globalise the intifada’ chant after Sydney attack, MPs from across parties demand

Braverman served in the cabinet under Rishi Sunak but was fired in November 2023 after she wrote an article labelling pro-Palestine demonstrators “hate marches”, claiming that they were treated more leniently than by authorities than far-right protestors.

Braverman said she thought that police forces “have failed the Jewish community because of their two-tier approach”.

She added: “It's clear pro-Palestinian marches are a breeding ground for antisemitism.

“The police need to apply to the home secretary to ban the hate marches. Maybe then we might see safer streets.”

Luke Akehurst, Labour MP for North Durham, said that he thought that authorities should be more robust in tackling provocative displays on anti-Israel demonstrations.

He said: "Given the horrifying attacks in Sydney and Manchester we need to be a lot less tolerant of coded incitement to terrorism during anti-Israel protests. It should be illegal to call to ‘globalise the Intifada’ or to use the Hamas red triangle symbol."

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform, added: “The hate-filled slogans such as ‘globalise the intifada’ are an incitement to uprisings and violence. This is why the pro-Hamas marches masking as pro Palestine should be banned. They prove the lie behind the supposed peace marches.”

The term “globalise the intifada” is seen by many as a deliberate reference to terrorist campaigns in Israel, following the “first intifada” in the late 1980s and the second in the first few years of this century. Others have claimed the phrase is simply an expression of support for the Palestinian cause.

In the aftermath of the Heaton Park terror attack in October this year, Sir Keir Starmer said he agreed that calls to “internationalise” the intifada could only be interpreted as “a call to attack Jewish communities around the world”.

In an interview with the JC, he also said that he thought that the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was antisemitic, in contrast to the mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, who thought it depended on the context.

Addressing MPs at Parliament’s Liaison Committee, Starmer described the mass shooting in Sydney targeting Jews on the first night of Chanukah as an “appalling antisemitic terror attack”.

He said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by this attack … It has impacted on Jewish communities here in the United Kingdom that I know feel more insecure today than they did before”.

The prime minister said that he had been in contact with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday as well as the CST, and the Home Office and that he also spoke the Chief Rabbi to “make sure that every consideration is given” to the security of Chanukah events in the UK.

Starmer went on to say: “This is clearly not an isolated incident. These incidents are chillingly focused on some of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. We have in our minds Heaton Park here in the UK in October. I want to reassure our Jewish communities here in the United Kingdom that we will take every step that we can and use all of our powers to make sure they’re safe and secure as they should be.”

Asked by reporters on Monday whether the Prime Minister planned to expedite any plans to ban the chanting of specific slogans at pro-Palestine marches in the wake of the Sydney terror attack, a Downing Street spokesman said: “Free speech is an important right in this country, but that can't extend to inciting hatred or harassing others, and we've seen antisemitic incidents proliferate at these marches, and we won't tolerate that.

He added: “As the Prime Minister has said recently, in addition to the police using their existing powers more robustly, the Home Secretary is also looking at the cumulative effect of marches … that includes looking at marches that happen in the same place every time, where they happen repeatedly, and the distress and affect that that has on parts of our community, such as Jewish people living in the UK. But clearly the police also have existing powers, and we expect them to be used more robustly.”