Jewish leaders have warned MPs some members of a London synagogue may miss Shabbat service tomorrow because of concerns over a nearby pro-Palestinian protest.
The “Nakba Day” protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is taking place on the same day as a far-right rally led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – also known as Tommy Robinson – and the FA Cup final.
Police are mounting an “unprecedented” operation to maintain order, but there are questions over the permitted route of the pro-Palestinian march.
On Thursday, the Home Affairs Select Committee heard that the impact of anti-Israel protests on Jewish communities has “got worse” over the past two and a half years, with congregants avoiding shul because of the rallies.
Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) director of public affairs Russell Langer told MPs the experience of Jews in the capital when the rallies take had deteriorated rather than improved.
He said: “It has gone backwards,” and suggested the Metropolitan Police should use existing powers to reroute the march away from the synagogue.
“It has now been two and a half years of these protests. We have had two governments in that time. There has been legislation that has gone through as part of the crime and policing act,” he said.
“Yet this Saturday we are now once again at a point where I have been told that there are people who will not be going to synagogue in this country because of one of these marches,” he went on.
“It has actually got worse in that time because in the past we have seen the police impose conditions under Section 12 in order to move the route away from those marches and that’s not happening this weekend despite the evidence of the impact on a central London synagogue.”
‘We are going backwards’ - @R_Langer of @JLC_uk expresses the dismay felt by many Jewish Londoners who are afraid to go to Synagogue on Saturday because the police have refused to take action to recommend stopping the pro-Palestine and Unite the Kingdom marches. pic.twitter.com/LWoo7c5kDI
— Lord Walney (@LordWalney) May 14, 2026
A number of Labour MPs and leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch have called for this year’s march to be banned, given the recent spate of high-profile antisemitic attacks.
The scale of the police operation this weekend is expected to be “unprecedented in recent years”, according to Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman.
He acknowledged there are “fears in Jewish communities”, and that many Jewish Londoners “feel intimidated and afraid of these protests”.
But the Met’s decision not to reroute the march has baffled some observers.
Lord Walney, co-chair of the APPG on defending democracy and formerly the government’s independent adviser on political violence and extremism, said: “The Met’s assessment that there is not sufficient risk of serious public disorder in these circumstances to recommend the marches don’t go ahead is baffling.”
The Met has been approached for comment.
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