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When Tehran’s Hatred Reaches Britain’s Streets

65 0
16.03.2026

Antisemitism rarely announces itself honestly. It prefers disguise. Today it often appears draped in the language of “resistance,” clothed in the slogans of protest, and sheltered by the claim that hostility to “Zionists” has nothing to do with hostility to Jews. That claim is becoming harder to sustain. In Britain and across Europe, antisemitic incidents are rising in an atmosphere shaped in no small part by the Islamic Republic’s propaganda, its sympathisers, and the broader culture of agitation that has made hatred of Israel – and too often of Jews – seem not only acceptable, but virtuous.

The British authorities appear, at last, to understand that something serious is happening. Last week, the British Home Secretary approved the ban on the Al Quds Day march in London after the Metropolitan Police warned of a serious risk of public disorder. Reuters reported that it was the first such ban in fourteen years. The reasons given were telling: extreme tensions, the risk of confrontation, prior arrests linked to support for terrorist organisations and antisemitic offences, and broader concerns about Iranian threats in the UK. That is not the profile of an ordinary protest. It is the profile of a movement that has become a public-order problem.

Even with the march banned, the static rally that followed told its own story. Around 1,000 officers were deployed. Lambeth Bridge was closed. Arrests were made. Police began investigating chants including “death to the IDF,” alongside other allegedly threatening or abusive statements. London is not merely hosting political disagreement. It is becoming a stage on which violent and sectarian........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)