Up to 100 people gathered
The rally in Manchester(Image: Joel Goodman)
A pro-Palestine rally was held in Manchester city centre today, Saturday, after the terrorist attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall.
Crowds were pictured gathering outside Manchester Cathedral in the rain ahead of a planned march. Supporters grew to around 100 before speeches began outside.
The first speaker told those gathered not to engage with the media. A second spoke of those who have lost their lives in the Gaza conflict.
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As a third speaker began, counter-protesters approached, with one holding a Union flag. Police officers quickly intervened to get between the two sides.
Pro-Palestine marches – of far more than 100 – have been held in Manchester on Saturdays for many months now, but the organisers of today’s protest faced calls to postpone in the wake of the terrorist atrocity on Thursday – Yom Kippur – at Heaton Park synagogue on Middleton Road in Crumpsall.
It’s thought that, and the rain, led to smaller numbers in Manchester on Saturday.
At St Peter’s Square, where Saturday’s protest was due to conclude, a smaller group gathered, with photographs of casualties in Gaza laid out on the floor.
The crowds in Manchester(Image: Joel Goodman)
Two men – 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, both from Crumpsall – died after terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, launched a knife and car attack at the synagogue. Others were injured.
Al-Shamie was shot dead at the scene.
After a vigil for the victims was held at the scene on Friday evening, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, and Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, called for organisers of protest marches in Manchester and London to reconsider in the wake of the attack.
The PM urged groups behind the demonstrations and attendees to ‘respect the grief of British Jews’ as he said demonstrations could cause further pain to mourners.
But a protest in central London, campaigning against the proscription of Palestine Action, will go ahead. The organisers, Defend Our Juries, said: “Cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win.”
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The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had begun making arrests at a Defend Our Juries protest in Trafalgar Square. The force said people displaying placards in support of Palestine Action are being detained.
In a statement on Twitter, the Met said: “Officers have begun making arrests in Trafalgar Square where people are displaying placards in support of Palestine Action. The square is busy, but quite a few people in the crowd appear to be observing/supporting but not carrying placards themselves.”
Police forces have deployed extra officers to synagogues and other Jewish buildings to offer protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the attack.
Sir Stephen urged would-be attendees at the Manchester protest to ‘consider whether this is really the right time’.