London police officer tells Jewish woman ‘swastikas need to be taken in context’

Robin Simcox, Britain’s counter-extremism tsar, warned last week that pro-Palestinian protests were turning London into a ‘No-Go Zone’ for Jews.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

After a Jewish woman complained to a London Metropolitan police officer about swatstikas brandished by pro-Palestinian protesters, she was told that the Nazi symbols “needed to be taken into context.”

The statement echoes Congressional hearings last December of Ivy League college presidents who all said that calls to commit genocide against Jewish should be considered “in context.”

When the @metpoliceuk refuse to arrest Hamas supporters with a swastika sign today in London one officer told a girl that swastikas disturbing public order “depends on context”

If you’re holding a sign with a swastika at an anti-Israel march — this is blatantly antisemitic. Come… pic.twitter.com/MjDNnHomnv

— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) March 30, 2024

Standing close by a pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday the woman was shocked when the officer responded to her complaint by saying a swastika is “not necessarily anti-Semitic or a disruption of public order.”

The woman approached another policeman featured on a video and asked him why the people holding swastika signs weren’t arrested.

The officer began by saying, “So I think the symbol in of itself…” and after the woman quickly interjected telling bystanders to film it, they said, “it is antisemitic,” to which the officer responded, “I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

The policeman then went on to explain to the woman who was apparently from North America why the UK’s public order laws might not have necessitated his taking action in this case.

The woman interjected, “If someone is carrying a sign with a swastika, you said you wouldn’t arrest them on the spot, it would have to be investigated online?”

A second officer responded, “A swastika on its own, I don’t think is…”

The first officer concluded, “Everything needs to be taken in context,” implying that carrying a sign with a swastika at a pro-Palestinian demonstration doesn’t necessitate police action.

Jewish campaign groups told the UK newspaper MailOnline that the interaction was “absolutely gobsmacking” and “an indictment of the Met.”

Prior to the pro-Palestinian demonstration, London Metropolitan police assured the action that they would take “swift and decisive action” against people who broke the law.

Robin Simcox, Britain’s counter-extremism tsar, warned last week that the intensity of pro-Palestinian protests was turning London into a “No-Go Zone” for Jews.

LondonLondon policepro-Palestinian protestsswastikas