Jewish soccer fans are also being banned from a match in Manchester: "Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans is a terrible decision – and a depressing one. The idea that barring the Israeli club’s supporters from Villa Park will de-escalate a volatile situation just doesn’t stand up."
This is just obscene. What happened to England?! And what next, making Jews wear the yellow star?
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The Times of Israel 10-19-25
"A Jewish lawyer was arrested in August at a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protest in London and detained for 10 hours during which officers claimed his Star of David necklace was “antagonizing” demonstrators, British media reported on Saturday.
"The lawyer was arrested at a rally on August 29 at 7 p.m. outside the Israeli embassy in London, where he claimed he was acting as an independent legal observer, watching for illegal behavior by protesters and scrutinizing police conduct, The Telegraph reported.
"The suspect was part of a group called the Society of Independent Legal Observers (SILO), a group he set up earlier in the year with two other lawyers to monitor the growing pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests.
"The protest was organized by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.
"The Metropolitan Police denied in a statement that they had arrested the man over his necklace, claiming that he was violating an order separating the anti-Israel protest from the pro-Israel counterprotest at the scene.
"The Telegraph obtained footage of the man’s lengthy police interview by a detective constable, who said he is usually assigned to robbery cases but has been picked to “deal with any excess prisoners that come in as a result of the protests.”
"After the suspect gave a detailed account of his actions ahead of the arrest, the constable took a break and resumed the questioning at 1:50 a.m. The detective asked the man why he didn’t wear anything that “anything that overtly identifies you as a legal observer” and accused him of “quite closely” approaching the protesters with his camera.
"The detective asked if the suspect was “stoking the fire with these pro-Palestine protesters,” then asked him, “What necklace are you wearing?”
"As the accused showed and explained the Star of David necklace, his lawyer said he was “concerned about you raising my client’s religion and wearing a sign in relation to that which I don’t think is appropriate.”
"The suspect’s lawyer asked the detective if he knew what IJAN, the protest organizer, was, to which the officer replied that he “had to familiarize myself with it [IJAN] because I wasn’t at the start of the interview.”
“But correct me if I’m wrong. It’s the International Jewish Solidarity Network,” the detective said.
"After correcting him, the lawyer added: “In any event, the pro-Palestinian protest was organized by a Jewish organization…. And the Magen David [Hebrew for Star of David] is a sign of being Jewish. So I’m not sure what your point is — bearing in mind the protest was organized by a Jewish organization.”
“It’s not to discriminate. I want to have that on record,” the detective insisted. “I am not asking that question to cause you any offense. However, if we had proceeded with my line of questioning, the officers have noted in their statements that they believed because the Star of David was out and present to people… they felt that was antagonizing the situation further.”
“With respect, that is appalling and shows a complete… ignorance on behalf of those officers because if they were familiar with the fact IJAN were organizing the protest then they would recognize that how could a Magen David cause offense?” the suspect’s lawyer answered, using the Hebrew term for a Star of David.
“Notwithstanding the fact we shouldn’t be in a situation where people can’t walk around wearing a sign of their religion,” the suspect’s lawyer said.
“We are not talking about [the accused] walking about with a Star of David chain on his neck in an open forum in public generally,” the detective said. “We are talking about a hostile environment where pro-Palestinian protesters are obviously objecting to what is happening in Israel and Gaza. That’s what I want to say on that… I don’t want this to become a political debate in an interview.”
"The police interview ended at 2:25 a.m., and the suspect was released on bail at 4:30 a.m. The Telegraph reported that the suspect is still under investigation and is still on bail.
"The man, who remained anonymous for his own safety, told The Telegraph that “police crossed the line.”
“They [the police] are trying to criminalize the wearing of a Star of David. They said I was antagonizing and agitating pro-Palestine protesters with my Star of David. In an environment of antisemitism, I will not be cowed by this. I will carry on wearing it,” he said.
"The man said that he has been called a “Zionist baby killer” at protests and has documented up to 30 criminal incidents by pro-Palestinian protesters, none of which have resulted in convictions.
“This is one of the clearest examples of two-tier policing you will ever see,” he told The Telegraph.
"A Metropolitan Police spokesperson denied that the man was arrested over his necklace and told The Telegraph that the suspect “was arrested for allegedly repeatedly breaching Public Order Act conditions that were in place to keep opposing protest groups apart.”
“The conditions required protesters from the pro-Israel group, Stop the Hate, to remain in one area while protesters from the pro-Palestinian group, IJAN, were required to remain in a separate area,” the spokesperson said.
“Over the course of an hour, the man is alleged to have continuously approached the area allocated to IJAN, getting very close to protesters to film them and in doing so provoking a reaction. Officers had to intervene on at least four occasions to ask the man to return to the Stop the Hate area,” the spokesperson added. “When he failed to do so after multiple warnings, he was arrested.”
“The Star of David is a symbol of Jewish identity, not provocation,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X, slamming the arrest. “The fact that Jews are warned in central London not to display it publicly shows how rampant antisemitism spread through hateful ‘pro-Palestinian’ marches in Britain has poisoned the streets.”
“This is a moral disgrace. British Authorities must act: ban antisemitic slogans and conduct a full institutional review,” he wrote
"Like much of the Western world, the UK has been rocked by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre sparked the war in Gaza.
"Antisemitism has soared in the UK since the start of the conflict, and data from the UK’s interior ministry earlier this month showed Jews suffered the highest rate of religious hate crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025."
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