I want to deal here with the issue of protest marches taking place this weekend concerning what is happening in Gaza. Since October 7th, it seems that each weekend there have been mass demonstrations on the streets of London and other cities reacting to Israel’s response to the atrocities that happened that day.
It’s important to observe here a few things. First that people should have the freedom to protest and governments should not be able to ban demonstrations just because they disagree with the protest. Furthermore, genuine freedom of speech requires that we permit people to say and do things, within the law even if we passionately disagree with them, even if we find them offensive. There isn’t and shouldn’t be a law against causing offence.
Secondly, there are things to protest about Israel. This includes Israel’s actions over a long period of time, as well as aspects of Netanyahu’s response to October 7th. Treating Israel like we would other democratic countries means holding her to account and not letting her off the hook when there are serious questions to answer.
Thirdly, whilst I disagree with the protests, I don’t believe that the majority of people are participating in order to incite hatred or cause fear. Many would be deeply distressed to know that this has been the consequence of the marches, especially in Jewish communities. For that reason, I’m not convinced that the Home Secretary’s description of them as “hate marches” is hateful.
However, I do not believe that the protest marches should be happening this weekend as we prepare to commemorate Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday. Here’s why. It has been suggested that the marches should go ahead for the following reasons.
- Previous marches have been mostly peaceful. It has only been a small minority who have given the marches a bad name through their behaviour.
- The march will not go near or interfere with events at the cenotaph. It will happen after the 11am silence.
- It’s Armistice Day and “armistice” literally means “ceasefire.” It would be ironic to cancel a protest in favour of peace and a ceasefire.
Let me respond to those things in turn. First of all, it is surprising that people can describe protests as “mostly peaceful” with a straight face. We don’t normally need to describe things as “mostly peaceful.” Imagine saying that the queue at the bank was “mostly peaceful” or that your journey home was “mostly peaceful.” Well of course, you don’t expect such things to have any violence at all. They are not fights or battles. Marches are meant to be the same. Furthermore, the use of the word “mostly” invites the question “so what wasn’t peaceful? It draws attention to the fact that the event wasn’t as it should be. There is the crux of the matter. As Paul wrote “ a little yeast leavens the whole dough.” You can’t describe an event as peaceful if it has been contaminated by violent actions or language. That’s because organisers are responsible for the whole thing and should take steps to discourage such behaviour Furthermore, the overall tone and feel of the event creates the environment for such behaviour, it creates cover for antisemitic and genocidal chants.
Secondly, whilst the march itself might not be routed through past the Cenotaph, this doesn’t mean it won’t interfere with the commemorations. Organisers claim that the route of their march is “well away from the centre of London.” Most people will be surprised to discover that Marble Arch and Hyde Park are no longer in the centre of London, especially given the close proximity to the Albert Hall where people will be travelling to for the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday evening. Remember too, that those attending Remembrance Day events will have to travel through London to get there, We have seen over the past few weeks that the chants and aggression have not been limited to the marches but have spilt over onto the underground. Do we expect elderly veterans to be subjected to jostling and noise as they make their way there and home again?
The third claim is an example of a root fallacy. Just because you can derive the term ceasefire from “Armistice” does not mean that the Armistice Day event commemorates the same kind of thing that the marchers are demanding. The armistice ceasefire was the result of victory by the allies over the original aggressor.
This leads me to a further point. It seems ironic to me that those protesting claim to be seeking a ceasefire, a pause in the battle, specifically for Israel to pause her operations and put her objectives at risk. However, when the protestors themselves are asked to pause their actions for a weekend, they are outraged. Finally, it is right that we mourn the tragic cost of war and express our desire for peace. There is an opportunity this weekend for those who want to do that to join with every one else as a nation because that’s exactly what we will
Faithroots 