UK Jews rally against Palestinian statehood recognition, demand action for hostages

Demonstrators marched to Downing Street, insisting no recognition of Palestinian state and that hostages be freed.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hundreds gathered in London over the weekend for a pro-Israel rally organized by Stop the Hate UK, uniting Jewish communities across the country in opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state next month.

Max Royston, a leader of the organization, told Arutz Sheva the march aimed to demand justice for Israeli hostages held by Hamas and to challenge what he called a dangerous policy shift.

“He did not put any conditions on Hamas,” Royston said of Starmer’s proposal. “In doing so, he made getting the hostages back harder.”

The event followed a tense Saturday in which two major demonstrations took place in London: the ongoing PSC National March for Palestine and a pro-Palestine rally in Parliament Square, where, according to Royston, participants displayed antisemitic placards and expressed support for proscribed terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestine Action.

He said that Palestine Action has vandalized Jewish charity offices, stolen a bust of Israel’s first president Chaim Weizmann, and attacked an RAF base. Police made 450 arrests after clashes, which Royston welcomed as a necessary stand for the rule of law.

Royston said such protests have created an atmosphere in which “90% of Jews avoid central London on protest days,” but he stressed the importance of standing firm.

Sunday’s rally, the second national march for hostages organized by Stop the Hate, was inspired by recently released videos showing what Royston described as Hamas’s “brutality, starvation, and cruelty” toward captives held for 673 days.

Demonstrators marched to Downing Street, insisting there be no recognition of a Palestinian state and that hostages must be freed.

“We saw every strand of Judaism in the UK come together,” Royston said. “Even the left that supports a Palestinian state agreed—until the hostages are home, there can be no Palestinian state.”