“When you see, when you hear some of those chants... then clearly there should be tougher action in relation to that,” he said.
He added that participants themselves should challenge such rhetoric: “If you are on a march or a protest where people are chanting, ‘globalise the intifada’, you do have to stop and ask yourself, why am I not calling this out?”
Last week, Starmer labelled chants of "globalise the intifada" an example of "extreme racism".
Police officers at the junction of Golders Green Road and the North Circular Road following the double stabbing attack on Wednesday that is being treated as a terror incident (Photo: Getty)[Missing Credit]
Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has called for a temporary “moratorium” on the marches, arguing it is “impossible” for them not to “incubate” antisemitism.
Asked whether he backed Hall’s argument, Starmer responded: “I think it’s time to look across the board at protests and the cumulative effect. I think it’s time for, I would say, some people protesting to just reflect on what the Jewish community is going through and the overall impact that this is having.”
The debate follows a series of attacks targeting Jewish communities, including the stabbing of two men in Golders Green on Wednesday, which police are treating as a terrorist incident. The victims, Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76, have both been discharged from hospital.
Recent attacks also include four Jewish community Hatzola ambulances being torched in March, attempted arson attacks again Finchley Reform Synagogue and Kenton United Synagogue and the targeting of a building that previously housed a Jewish charity.
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Burnt-out Hatzola ambulances after the arson attack in Golders Green last month (Getty)Getty Images
The government last week raised the UK terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe,” meaning an attack in the next six months is considered highly likely.
Starmer emphasised that the idea of restricting some protest marches had been under consideration well before recent events, saying it was “not a discussion that has only been had this week in response to this awful incident.”
It was, he said “a discussion we’ve been having with the police for some time”.
He also highlighted concerns raised by members of the community about the frequency of demonstrations: “In relation to the repeated nature of the marches, many people in the Jewish community have said to me, it’s the repeat nature, it’s the cumulative effect,” he said.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has organised numerous marches rejected Starmer’s characterisation of the demonstrations and insisted future rallies must not be “suppressed”.
"In the wake of the horrific antisemitic attack in Golders Green, politicians and the media have rushed to falsely characterise the marches for Palestine and to call for them to be suppressed," the PSC said in a statement.
"These calls dangerously conflate Jewish people with the state of Israel and peaceful political protest with unconnected violent acts. We utterly reject both."
