Thousands rallied in central London on Sunday against surging antisemitic attacks across Britain, with Jewish leaders, politicians, and church figures warning that hatred of Jews has become “normalized” and poses a threat to the country’s democratic values.

Organizers said as many as 20,000 people attended the event outside Downing Street, the location of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official residence, including many non-Jews. Others estimated the crowd at closer to 10,000. Participants held Israeli flags and protest signs, while several held Iranian flags in protest of what speakers said was an insufficient British response to human rights violations by the Islamic regime.

Speakers described a community shaken by attacks on synagogues, schools, and individuals in London and beyond, but determined to stand publicly and demand decisive action.

The rally was organized in response to a series of recent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions, including the stabbing of two Jews in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green, the torching of four Hatzolah ambulances, arson attacks on synagogues, and a deadly shooting on Yom Kippur at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester.

Some 63 percent of Britons say antisemitism is a major or significant problem in British society, according to a YouGov survey published last week in the aftermath of the Golders Green stabbings.

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Speaking first, UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that antisemitism has become “normalized” across British society and urged the country to confront the rising tide of hatred.

“It is unacceptable that poisonous antisemitism has become normalized in the UK,” he said, noting its presence in politics, the media, universities, schools, the arts, the National Health Service, and on the streets.


British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis at a rally against antisemitism in London, May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/ YouTube)

Mirvis condemned social media platforms for allowing “Jew-hatred” to spread and accused Iran of fomenting violence against British citizens.

“Why has the Iranian ambassador not been expelled [from the UK]?” he asked. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a group that is reportedly linked to Iran, has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.


Participants at a rally against antisemitism in London, May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/YouTube)

UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch vowed to confront rising antisemitism, saying the country “must always be a sanctuary for Jewish people.” She linked antisemitism in Britain to a broader surge in global extremism, recalling Islamist attacks and the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel.


UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaks to a rally in London against antisemitism on May 10, 2026. (Screenshot)

“The people who want us to be afraid must never be allowed to win,” Badenoch said, and pledged to fight for “a Britain where Jews can go to school and worship freely.”

Other political figures speaking at the event included Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, Lord Walney, Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey, and deputy leader of Reform UK Richard Tice. The latter two were greeted with some boos from the crowd, but organizers asked that they be respected.

In a strongly worded speech, United Synagogue president Saul Taylor said Great Britain faces an “epidemic of anti-Jewish hate.” He criticized the broader anti-racism movement for failing to stand up for Jews.

“If this were any other country, there would be a national outrage,” he said. “Where are the Jewish Lives Matter marches? Where is the so-called anti-racist movement? As we know only too well, Jews don’t seem to count.”

British Jews have been rooted in the country for 370 years, and “are not going anywhere,” Taylor said.

“We are, and we always have been, proud British Jews, and we do not want to leave,” he said. “We will not be beaten.”


United Synagogue president Saul Taylor at a rally against antisemitism in London, May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/ YouTube)

Taylor cited security measures that cost the United Synagogue about £1 million a year, calling it a “tax on being Jewish in Britain.” One synagogue alone spends £20,000 a month on security, he noted.

Gideon Falter, CEO of Campaign Against Antisemitism, was also outspoken, comparing the current wave of violence in the UK to the Palestinian Intifada. Coining the term “Britifada” to drive the point home, he charged that the country’s failure to stem violence had made it “a disgrace amongst the nations.”

“When Jews are murdered at synagogue on Yom Kippur, that is what the Britifada looks like,” Falter charged, concluding with a shout of “Shame!” “When Jews are stabbed at the bus stops in Golders Green, that is what the Britifada looks like. Shame.”

Other speakers included Adrian Cohen, senior vice-president and acting president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews; Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leads of the country’s nascent Progressive Judaism movement; Bishop Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy; and Muslim anti-extremism activist Fiyaz Mughal.

British singer Boy George, who recently spoke out publicly in defense of Israel, also spoke briefly in a video address.


Singer Boy George addresses via video a rally against antisemitism in London, May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/ YouTube)

Ahead of Sunday’s rally, religious leaders from across the country published a signed open letter declaring that antisemitism is “a problem for all of us to fix,” British media reported.

Organized by the Together Coalition, signatories from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Zoroastrian communities, as well as leading business and sports leaders, offered their support for British Jewry, stating that “this country belongs to you as much as any of us.”

Other senior politicians were invited to speak at the rally but did not do so, including Starmer and Nigel Farage, who heads the far-right Reform UK.


Green Party leader Zack Polanski speaks as a candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election. Hannah Spencer is announced in Manchester, England, January 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Zack Polanski, the Jewish, anti-Israel leader of Britain’s far-left Green Party, was not invited. Polanski, whose party has been engulfed in antisemitism scandals, has made anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian issues a centerpiece of his party’s platform, and he recently criticized police officers who arrested the suspect in a stabbing attack targeting Jews — for which he apologized.

The rally followed local elections on Thursday that saw significant victories for Reform UK as well as the Greens, and heavy losses for Labour, leading to mounting calls for Starmer to resign.