The JW3 protest is a new low for the ‘anti-Israel’ set

When Jews in the UK can’t attend a conference hosted by an anti-Netanyahu, left-wing newspaper, featuring two Palestinian politicians, without being barracked by bigoted protesters, you know that ‘anti-Israel’ activism has morphed into something much darker.

That is exactly what happened on the streets of north London on Sunday morning. Haaretz, Israel’s oldest newspaper, hosted a conference titled, ‘Israel After October 7: Allied or Alone?’. Speakers included Nasser al-Kidwa, a former Palestinian foreign-affairs minister and the nephew of Fatah founder Yasser Arafat, as well as left-wing Arab Israeli MP Ayman Odeh.

Many of the conference’s speakers were deeply critical of the Israeli government. ‘How do allies committed to liberal democracy relate to a hard-right Israeli government?’, the blurb asked. ‘Who are the Palestinian partners for building a common future?’

But even this kind of event, it seems, was a step too far for ‘pro-Palestine’ protesters. Outside JW3 – a leading Jewish community centre, where the conference was taking place – attendees were jeered at by activists. In videos posted on X, masked protesters can be seen calling attendees ‘mass murderers’ and demanding that Zionism ‘no longer exist in the Middle East, because Zionism is a racist ideology’.

Footage from the protest shows one elderly woman reduced to tears as she’s shouted at. Another chant that rang out was: ‘There is only one solution, intifada revolution.’ Jews have good reason to fear when, on the streets of a supposedly civilised city, mobs start talking about ‘solutions’ to their existence. It is a testament to Haaretz that it wasn’t cowed by the protesters and the conference carried on.

So far, not a single government frontbencher has come out to condemn the scenes outside JW3. The usual suspects, such as ‘anti-racist’ campaign group Hope Not Hate, haven’t said a word. Yesterday’s grim stand-off will no doubt fade from the media’s memory all too quickly, too.

What other minority would be expected to put up with this? Now more than ever, British Jews need our solidarity.

Hugo Timms is an intern at spiked.