In defiance of pleas from politicians, police, and Jewish leaders to refrain from protesting in the wake of the Islamist terror attack on a synagogue, thousands of pro-Palestine activists took to the streets of England on Sunday.
Merely two days after a gruesome terror attack that left two dead and three seriously wounded on Yom Kippur by Syrian migrant Jihad al-Shamie at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on Thursday, anti-Israel partisans gathered across England, including in Manchester and London.
In Trafalgar Square in central London, demonstrators explicitly showed support for the Islamist Hamas terrorists responsible for the October 7th terror attacks on Israel. According to the Times of London, one protester waved a placard reading: “I support Hamas resisting occupation.”
Meanwhile, another protester was seen being arrested while wearing a hoodie emblazoned with a Swastika inside of a Star of David, The Telegraph reported. Others were arrested after hanging a banner on Westminster Bridge accusing Israel of “genocide” and declaring support for Palestine Action, a group banned by the British government as a proscribed terror organisation.
Openly showing support for banned terror groups is illegal in Britain. Thousands have been arrested in recent months for demonstrating in favour of Palestine Action, which was banned earlier this year after members of the group broke into a Royal Air Force base and caused damage to two aircraft.
Despite calls from the government, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, as well as the Metropolitan Police, to call off planned protests in support of Palestine Action given the terror attack in Manchester, the Defend Our Juries campaign group refused and went ahead with demonstrations on Saturday.
The Met said that it had arrested 355 for supporting a proscribed organisation as of 5:20 pm local time, however, this number is likely to rise as arrests were continuing at the time of this reporting.
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 4: Police officers detain a demonstrator in Trafalgar Square during a protest in support of Palestine Action on October 4, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
Hundreds also gathered in Manchester city centre, just down the road from the terror attack on Thursday. According to The Telegraph, speakers called for the “dismantling of the Zionist state” and chanted the infamous genocidal “from the river to the sea” chant, which implies the eradication of the state of Israel and presumably the people living within it.
The gatherings came despite Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Stephen Watson issuing an appeal to activists to “consider whether this is really the right time” to hold demonstrations given the terror attack in the city two days prior.
“You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community,” he said.
“I would call upon the common decency and humanity of all people across Greater Manchester to aid us in seeking to support our Jewish communities following such a horrific attack.”
The demonstrations also drew condemnation from Jewish leaders, including director of policy at the Jewish charity, Community Security Trust, Dave Rich, who said: “I think it’s phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians. The two are not the same.”
“And I think it’s remarkably self-absorbed and insensitive to say the least.”
On Friday, the Manchester Police said that they have arrested six people in connection to the attack by Syrian-born migrant Jihad al-Shamie, who became a British citizen in 2006. The force confirmed that they believe he was likely motivated by Islamist extremism, though he was not on a government terror watch list prior to the attack. However, Al-Shamie was out on bail after having been arrested over a suspected rape at the time of the attack.
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