Starmer Urges Students to Shun Pro-Palestinian Protests on Hamas Attack Anniversary

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged students across the United Kingdom to avoid taking part in planned pro-Palestinian protests marking the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, calling such demonstrations “disrespectful.”

Students from several London universities were expected to walk out of classes at 2:00 p.m. before marching through central London. Similar events, including rallies and vigils, were planned in cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Manchester — where a recent attack outside a synagogue left two people dead.

Writing in The Times newspaper on Tuesday, Starmer said that recent pro-Palestinian protests had been exploited by some as “a despicable excuse to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility.”

He described the trend as “a total loss of empathy and humanity,” adding, “It’s un-British to have so little respect for others — and that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again.”

In response, the Jewish Bloc for Palestine accused the government of “weaponising the fear and grief” of Jewish communities, rejecting claims that pro-Palestinian demonstrators pose a threat to Jews in Britain.

Marking the anniversary separately, Starmer condemned rising antisemitism in the UK, referencing the Manchester attack that occurred during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. “This is a stain on who we are,” he said, vowing that Britain would “always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.”

The October 7, 2023, Hamas assault killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 hostages taken — with 47 still in Gaza, 25 of whom the Israeli military says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory operations have since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the United Nations deems credible.

Starmer, who last month joined several allies in recognising the State of Palestine, said the UK would continue to support U.S.-led efforts toward peace in the Middle East.

Despite government appeals to postpone demonstrations after the Manchester tragedy, pro-Palestinian rallies proceeded over the weekend. Activist group Defend Our Juries said linking such protests to the attack “wrongly conflates the actions of the Israeli state with all Jews.”

On Sunday, around 3,000 people gathered in central London for a separate commemorative event marking the Hamas attack anniversary, waving Israeli and Union Jack flags and holding posters of hostages.