Anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the St John’s Wood synagogue in London on Sunday, beaming a giant image onto its walls, reading, “Stolen land sold here.” Let’s be absolutely clear: it is unacceptable to protest outside a place of worship and project hate messages as worshippers congregate.
Jews were meeting at the synagogue to attend an Aliyah fair, which provides guidance for Jewish people considering emigrating to Israel. Meanwhile, protesters outside chanted for the complete destruction of Israel. ‘Aliyah’ is not simply emigration – it is part of the Jewish faith. Those who choose to make Aliyah, return to Israel as part of a religious call to return. Therefore, not only was this hate-filled demo targeting a place of worship, but they were also targeting an event that was intrinsically Jewish. But as we have repeatedly pointed out, the antisemite makes no distinction between Jews and their opposition to Israel.
The Metropolitan police has come under fire for allowing the protest to take place. In a statement, the Met responded: “There is no legal mechanism to ban the protest from taking place” but that Public Order Act conditions had been imposed to prevent protestors entering a specific section of the area in the immediate vicinity of the Synagogue.
But as this video shows, the protesters ignored the restrictions. When police were challenged about the breach, the response from an officer was “but we don’t want to antagonise the situation.”
The creeps have already broken the conditions. Abusing a synagogue, are we? That’s OK. https://t.co/EvqzhOw42P pic.twitter.com/G0GHs1SgS6
— habibi (@habibi_uk) November 23, 2025
As a result Jews in London in 2025 had to walk to their own synagogue surrounded by a bunch of antisemites.
Saul Taylor, president of the United Synagogue, said: “It cannot be that in modern Britain it is seen as acceptable to protest outside a place of worship, where Jews come together to pray and to attend community events.
“I commend the police for their swift action in putting in place and implementing the exclusion zone and thank the CST as ever for their support.” He asked the protestors to consider “the appropriateness of targeting our buildings and Jews who simply want to attend a synagogue and Jewish community centre.”
The Stop the Hate group pointed out an apparent disparity in police response between Sunday night’s protest and an attempted protest in Tower Hamlets last month.
“The difference in language used by Met police when UKIP were going to protest in Tower Hamlets: ‘Concerns of serious disorder have prompted the Metropolitan Police to intervene and prevent a demonstration from taking place in Tower Hamlets this weekend.’
“When Pal Pulse protest in St John’s Wood Synagogue: ‘There is no legal mechanism to ban the protest from taking place, however we have used Public Order Act conditions to prevent disorder and disruption.’ Is this policing equally? What is the reason for the difference?”
Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The targeting of a synagogue today by pro-Palestine activists – who protested outside a north London shul and projected offensive language onto the building – demonstrates the total failure of policing policy. Not only have police chiefs abysmally failed to combat antisemitism over the past two years and midwifed an explosion of extremism in our country, but they cannot even protect Jewish institutions in Jewish neighbourhoods from the mob.”
