A pro-Palestine mob branded Iranian dissidents “filthy Zionists” at a rally in London on Saturday.
Thousands marched through the capital in support of Palestine, with some brandishing placards bearing images of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the words "the right side of history".
Chants of "long live the ayatollah" could be heard as demonstrators marched past Aldwych on their way to Downing Street.
The Iranian regime has killed thousands of Iranian protesters in recent weeks, with the death toll exceeding 30,000, according to some estimates.
A counter-demonstration organised by pro-Israel campaign group Stop the Hate was stationed at the junction of Kingsway and Aldwych Street, where a large screen had been put up. Footage of torture carried out by Hamas and of the Islamic Republic Guards Corp (IRGC) attacking protesting Iranians played on the screen. Stop the Hate said it aimed to highlight how the "silence" of Saturday’s protesters when it came to Iran’s brutal crackdown.
A banner held by one pro-Palestinian demonstrator targeted Iranians who want the exiled Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, to return to replace the ayatollah. It read: "Pahlavi-supporting Iranians who stand alongside the Israeli flag are just filthy Zionists."
Another demonstrator called on the Home Office to "deproscribe Hezbollah and Hamas", while several banners read "Globalise the intifada" – an arrestable offence in Greater London.
One protester, who did not want to give his name, told the JC of his belief in the need for Palestinian "resistance" and attempted to justify the atrocities of October 7 by saying "Hamas didn't have a choice", adding that "Israel should have never existed in the first place."
He also praised the chant popularised by anti-Israel rap duo Bob Vylan calling for “death” to the IDF. The protester characterised IDF soldiers as "baby-killing murderers" and insisted that Zionists will one day "repent for their sins".
A pro-Palestinian protester gave a Nazi salute to the counter-demonstrators as he marched past, while many made rude gestures as footage of terrorist attacks played on screen.
Talia Yosef, an activist who addressed the counter-protest, said of the pro-Palestinian marchers’ apparent lack of interest in the Iranian uprising: "It was never really about human rights. Why are these people silent about what is happening in Iran right now? Real people are risking everything – women, men, students, workers [are] standing in front of a regime that will imprison them, torture them and kill them, just for demanding basic freedoms.”
Yosef added: "They are silent because for them it was never about human rights. It was never about caring for the innocent...it is about being cool and trendy, about buying a $20 keffiyeh on Amazon and wearing it as a cute little scarf."
Fellow activist Inon Dan Kehati, echoed her comments. He said: "The claim that they care about human rights for all rings empty and hollow...Right now, there are Iranians rising up in masses against the [regime] and they are being gunned down for it...Their response is silence.”
Kehati also claimed that the marches were “never about [helping the] the oppressed”. Instead, he argued they were “about being against Israel and the story of the Jewish people”.
The Metropolitan Police said there were 13 arrests made from the Palestine Coalition protest and one from the Stop the Hate counter-demonstration.
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