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Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that it was “unacceptable that poisonous antisemitism has become normalized in the UK.”
By United with Israel Staff
Thousands of people gathered outside Downing Street on Sunday for a major rally against antisemitism, amid growing concern over a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence across the United Kingdom.
Backed by dozens of Jewish organizations, the protest brought together community leaders and politicians amid mounting concern over antisemitism.
The rally came after a series of violent incidents targeting Jews and Jewish institutions in recent months, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green two weeks ago. Suspect Essa Suleiman has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack.
Other incidents cited by organizers included a deadly ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester last October that killed two Jews and seriously wounded three others, the torching of four Hatzalah ambulances in a synagogue parking lot in March, and attacks on synagogues in Finchley and Kenton, including a Molotov cocktail thrown at one Jewish site.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch received loud applause after telling the crowd: “I promised that I would stand with you,” adding that Britain “must always be a sanctuary for Jewish people.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that it was “unacceptable that poisonous antisemitism has become normalized in the UK.”
Speaking to the BBC, one participant at the rally said many Jews increasingly feel forced to hide their identity out of fear.
“We don’t want to feel frightened as Jewish people,” Zoe Korsner said. “I feel like I have to hide it.”
Ahead of the protest, religious leaders from across Britain, along with prominent figures from business, sports, and media, signed a public letter organized by the Together coalition declaring that antisemitism is “not a problem for Jews to respond to” but “a problem for all of us to fix.”
Mirvis praised the initiative as “a powerful response to hate-filled extremists” and said he hoped the effort would extend into workplaces, classrooms, and social media platforms across the country.
The rally reflected growing alarm within Britain’s Jewish community, which says antisemitic abuse and violence have increasingly moved from online rhetoric into physical attacks on individuals, synagogues, and communal institutions.
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