Police officers detain a man in the street close to the 'National March For Palestine' in central London on Nov. 11, as counter-protest groups are monitored by police close to the route of the main march.AFP Contributor#AFP/Getty Images
Remembrance Day weekend in Britain is supposed to be a time to honour the country’s servicemen and women, but this year’s commemorations are more likely to be remembered for protesters clashing with police officers and investigations into possible hate crimes.
On Sunday, around 10,000 veterans took part in a national service of remembrance led by King Charles at the Cenotaph in central London. A day earlier more than 300,000 people marched through the city’s streets in support of Palestinians and police clashed with a group of far-right activists during an Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph.
Police arrested 126 people over the weekend, most of whom were far-right counterprotesters. Officers also released photographs and videos of a handful of pro-Palestinian marchers suspected of hate crimes. In one photo a woman can be seen carrying a sign depicting the star of David with a swastika while others show men wearing Hamas-style headbands. During the march there were repeated chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which for many Jews implies the elimination of Israel.
Throughout the weekend tensions simmered between those who attended the Remembrance Day commemorations and the protesters calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas.
“There was blame on both sides, but it wasn’t a peaceful protest,” said Sarah Pritchard as she watched the remembrance service at the Cenotaph Sunday morning. She comes to the Remembrance Day ceremonies every year and she attended the Saturday event at the Cenotaph as well. But this year she felt uncomfortable for the first time.
“Some of the signs during the march were lovely, but when you see the Hamas headband you don’t feel safe,” she said. “Can you imagine if you were Jewish? Coming out in London I would be terrified for my children and I’d be terrified for myself and I don’t like that. I don’t care where you’re from, what religion, what background, you should never be terrified to come out your front door.”
Andrew Hart came to the service on Sunday to honour the men and women he served with during the Falklands war in the 1980s. He, too, felt uneasy. “There’s a lot of tension that shouldn’t have happened,” he said as he stood next to his wife, Sue Hart. “It’s been stirred up a little bit for all the wrong reasons.”
The couple had also attended the Saturday ceremony and Ms. Hart said the march made her feel unsettled. “It was in the back of my head and it made me feel a bit on edge,” she said. “They’ve got a right to do it but not on Remembrance weekend.”
For protesters like Paul Clifford, Remembrance weekend was an ideal time for a demonstration against war. “The whole idea of Armistice Day is to stop war,” he said on Saturday as he walked in the march wearing a Remembrance Day poppy. He’d never joined a protest before but he felt overwhelmed by the civilian deaths in Gaza. “I’ve just been thinking about all the injustices going on,” he said.
For days leading up to the weekend there had been a fierce debate about whether the march should have taken place and judgments about how the police have managed pro-Palestinian protests.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman caused an outcry by calling Saturday’s demonstration a “hate march” and criticizing the police for not being tough enough on protesters. Opposition politicians and some fellow Conservatives have called on Ms. Braverman to resign and critics said her comments only fuelled the far-right counter protesters.
Matt Twist, the Assistant Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Force, said the differing views on the war and the intense debate about the protests “combined to increase community tensions” over the weekend.
“The extreme violence from the right-wing protesters towards the police [on Saturday] was extraordinary and deeply concerning,” he said, adding that nine officers had been injured. While there was no violence during the march, Assistant Commissioner Twist said “we know that for London’s Jewish communities, whose fears and concerns we absolutely recognize, the impact of hate crime and in particular antisemitic offences is just as significant.”
Ejaz Mansha, who was among the protesters on Saturday, laughed at the suggestion it was a hate march. “Where do you see hate?” he asked as he walked with his three children carrying a Palestinian flag. “As a march this is just the people airing their views.”
On Sunday after days of public silence, Ms. Braverman praised police for their professionalism during the weekend. But she also lashed out at protesters.
“The sick, inflammatory and, in some cases, clearly criminal chants, placards and paraphernalia openly on display at the march mark a new low,” she wrote on X. “This can’t go on. Week by week, the streets of London are being polluted by hate, violence, and antisemitism. Members of the public are being mobbed and intimidated. Jewish people in particular feel threatened. Further action is necessary.”