London police investigating ‘antisemitic verbal abuse’ of Jewish attendees at London Pride

JTA – London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation on Monday into antisemitic abuse at a Pride parade. 

The police department said in a statement that officers were “aware of videos circulating online that show antisemitic verbal abuse directed towards attendees” at the parade on Saturday in central London and that footage was being reviewed to assess whether criminal offences had been committed. The department added that it “continues to work hard to tackle hate crimes of all types”. 

Videos shared online show people carrying rainbow flags incorporating the Star of David being confronted by individuals shouting “Free Palestine”. The harassment escalated, with attendees shouting, “Go back to your Zionist homeland”, “You kill Arab children, you kill gay children”, “Fuck you, Jew”, and “How many babies did you kill?”. 

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reached out to Pride in London for comment. The group had not replied by the time of going to press. 

The harassment comes amid heightened concern over antisemitism in Britain since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, with a record number of antisemitic incidents reported over the past two years. It also comes as Pride celebrations around the world have been roiled by tensions over Israel and antisemitism. 

Pride in London drew tens of thousands of participants and visitors to the Soho neighbourhood in the British capital. Some Jewish LGBTQ+ organisations have in recent years chosen not to participate in Pride, citing hostility towards Zionist Jews. But this year, around 150 people marched as part of a Jewish bloc at the event. 

Organisers said the return this year followed discussions with Pride in London over Jewish inclusion and commitments that organisers would undertake antisemitism awareness training in partnership with the Community Security Trust, the main security consultant to the Jewish community. Jewish LGBTQ+ group Keshet UK stated earlier this year that the measures were intended to help ensure Jewish LGBTQ+ participants could march “safely and openly” following concerns raised after 7 October. 

It was not clear whether the Jewish marchers who endured the abuse were part of the official Jewish bloc. Accounts from marchers who stayed with the Jewish bloc were generally positive. 

“A few people came and chanted ‘Free, free, Palestine’,” Israeli author and LGBTQ+ activist Hen Mazzig told JTA. “They were passing through. And there was another person who was at a café and then they came by and they were just staring at us.” 

Mazzig shared footage from the event on X, writing, ”My pride is not affected by the opinions of others. I am gay, I am Jewish, and I’m here to stay. Am Yisrael Chai.” 

Mazzig splits his time between London and Tel Aviv because his husband is British. He told JTA in a phone interview that Saturday’s incidents “were scary, especially when a Pride parade is supposed to be inclusive”. 

He said that since 7 October, circumstances have been exceptionally challenging for the British Jewish community “but specifically for LGBTQ+ youth that are being forced to choose between their Jewish identity and their queer identity”. 

Mazzig claimed that Jewish marchers are not accepted unless they specify that they are antizionist. “Every statement of solidarity with LGBTQ+ Jews seems to come with a ‘but’,” he said. “‘We support you, but not if you’re physically Jewish, not if you’re supporting Israel. You have to renounce half of your identity first.’ That’s not equality.” 

In advance of Saturday’s event, some 650 Metropolitan police officers were deployed to enforce “zero tolerance” on hate crimes and to ensure that attendees could “safely and securely” enjoy the parade. 

When JTA asked the Metropolitan Police why at least two policemen appeared to stand by as Jews were subject to abuse, the Met requested that JTA provide the video in question. After being supplied with the video, the Met later told JTA that it had nothing further to add at this stage but would provide an update if it did. 

Mazzig said the Metropolitan Police should consider the abuse at the parade “shameful and it should alarm everyone”. 

He added, “I hope that we stop debating whether or not antisemitism is real and accept it. And that communities that are supposed to be inclusive and pluralistic start taking action.”