Holocaust survivors, MPs, artists demand Met reverse decision favouring fascist march over Nakba

More than a hundred MPs, holocaust survivors, artists, authors and performers — many of them Jewish — have presented a letter to the Met Police condemning the force’s — no doubt political — decision to deny the annual Nakba Day march its usual route so that a fascist march can dominate central London.

The 16 May march will commemorate the Nakba (catastrophe) of around 800,000 Palestinians being violently driven from their homes and land to create the ‘state’ of Israel. The Met has refused to sign off on its route application. Instead it is giving priority to a “hate march called by racist thug ‘Tommy Robinson’” in opposition to the Nakba commemoration.

The letter reads:

Public Letter

The Metropolitan police must not favour the far right over Palestine.We are appalled to hear that the Metropolitan Police have refused permission for the Palestine movement to march to commemorate Nakba day on 16 May on its proposed route and instead given over the political centre of London to a hate march called by racist thug ‘Tommy Robinson’ in response

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The far right has targeted the Palestine movement before. They have done so aggressively with verbal and physical violence directed at the movement and the police.

The Palestine movement marches on the nearest Saturday to Nakba day every year, and they informed the police of their intention to hold the 16 May march in central London on 18 December 2025. While the police have refused their route, Tommy Robinson’s demonstration has been granted Kingsway, the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square.

We call on the police to immediately reverse this shameful decision. We call on everyone of good conscience to join us for Palestine on 16 May. We will march.Signed by:

As well as Palestine solidarity campaigners, MPs and union leaders, the letter is signed by Holocaust survivors Stephen Kapos and Agnes Kory, as well as many leading Jewish and non-Jewish figures, including:

Alexei Sayle, writer and comedian
Andrea Kapos, filmmaker
Andrew Feinstein, author and former ANC MP
Arthur Neslen, journalist
Brian Eno, artist and musician
Francesca Martinez, writer and comedian
Gideon Mendel, photographer
Jen Brister, comedian
Juliet Stevenson, actor
Karishma Patel, journalist
Khalid Abdalla, actor
Matt Black, musician
Maxine Peake, actor
Michael Rosen, author
Mike Leigh, filmmaker
Miriam Margolyes, actor
Misan Harriman, photographer
Norma Cohen, actor and writer
Paloma Faith, musician
Prof Anne Karpf, writer and academic
Rachael Clyne, writer
Taj Ali, writer photographer and filmmaker

Stop the War’s Chris Nineham and MP John McDonnell gave their view on the Met’s move and the Starmer regime’s war on pro-Palestine protest:

In a statement on its Instagram page, the coalition of anti-apartheid groups organising the march also said that it rejected the Met’s decision and called for an immediate change:

Featured image via RedPepper

By Skwawkbox

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