Despite calls from officials to hold off on demonstrations out of respect for victims of Hamas’ attack, protests went ahead across the country. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had warned that while freedom of protest exists, “it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do,” calling the Oct 7 rallies “un-British.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also appealed to activists to give the Jewish community “a few days of respite.”
Some protesters shouted, “Long live the intifada,” others referred to the Hamas assault as the “glorious Al-Aqsa flood,” the same term used by the terror group for the 2023 massacre in Israel that killed around 1,200.
Hundreds of students rallied at universities including Sheffield, UCL, Edinburgh, and Strathclyde, chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “there is only one solution — revolution, revolution.”
At University College London, fights broke out after counter-protester Jonny Nagler, who held an Israeli flag, was heckled and told to “f*ck the Zion” by a demonstrator. “They shouldn’t be here,” Nagler told The Telegraph, describing the rallies as “just another celebration” of violence.
At the University of Strathclyde administrators urged students to postpone rallies, calling them “insensitive,” but dozens still gathered waving Palestinian flags. In Edinburgh, hundreds chanted “shame” and “end the occupation” outside the main library before marching through campus.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sent letters to universities urging them to ensure Jewish students’ safety, saying, “It is critical that Jewish students can conduct their studies and express their identities on campus in safety.”
At the London march, one student protester told reporters it would be “immoral” not to demonstrate on the anniversary.
“We reject the notion that we should avoid protesting today,” said Tommy Roberts, 20, a UCL student. “We are doing this in defiance of the decades-long occupation of Palestine."
