London's Met Police block Palestine march after chief rabbi and MPs intervene
The Metropolitan Police has blocked a pro-Palestine coalition from marching in London from the BBC headquarters to Whitehall on Saturday 18 January.
Officials previously approved the route proposed by the activists in November but reversed course after political pressure.
Pro-Israel groups, MPs and peers reportedly urged Met Commissioner Mark Rowley to order the rally to be rerouted.
An organiser of the march told Middle East Eye that the police informed them in December that Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis had made representations to them.
Mirvis confirmed in December that he was in talks with the police about the march.
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The rabbi has consistently endorsed Israel's war on Gaza and slammed the British government for its partial ban on arms exports to Israel in September.
He accused the Met of failing to keep the Jewish community safe by allowing the rally to take place near two synagogues.
Listening 'solely to pro-Israel voices'
The original route for the march was publicly announced on 30 November by a coalition, which includes the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Muslim Association of Britain, the Palestinian Forum in Britain and Friends of Al-Aqsa among other groups.
It's stated reason for starting the protest outside BBC headquarters was to "protest against the pro-Israel bias of its coverage".
According to a statement by the coalition on Wednesday evening, the route had been agreed with the police before then.
The coalition said that the reason the police gave for the new decision opposing the route "is that our march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue".
The Met said on Wednesday that the protest risked "causing serious disruption" and that they were "hopeful that the PSC [Palestine Solidarity Campaign] will now alter their plans in light of our position".
But the coalition insisted that "the closest synagogue to the BBC is not even on the route of the march.
"Moreover, as the Met Police have acknowledged, there has not been a single incident of any threat to a synagogue attached to any of the marches."
The coalition said that representatives of its Jewish bloc had written to the police seeking a meeting over concerns that the police "are choosing to listen solely to pro-Israel Jewish voices".
Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the pro-Israel Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the Jewish Chronicle: "The Board have been working with the police and the Jewish community on the routes of the marches and appreciate the detailed work by the police and believe that this clarity from them is an important step forward."
The pro-Palestinian coalition said: "Any suggestion that our marches are somehow hostile to Jewish people ignores the fact that every march has been joined by thousands of Jewish people - many in a organised Jewish bloc - and addressed by Jewish speakers on the demonstration platforms.
"We firmly reject any attempt to suppress our right to campaign for an end to Israel's genocidal violence and decades-long violations of the rights of the Palestinian people."
Adnan Hmidan, acting chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said the police appeared "unable to withstand" pressure from pro-Israel groups.
"Their concerns are based on false assumptions with no factual basis," he added. "It is unacceptable for the police to suppress the legitimate right to protest against such atrocities by giving in to baseless fears and fabricated threats."
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