A neo-Nazi “anti-Jewification” demonstration that was due to take place in Golders Green, north London, on Saturday has been moved out of the area following a robust response from the local community and weeks of pressure from Jewish leaders and MPs.



Police said the static demonstration would now be confined to one hour and would take place in central London. Organisers of Golders Green Together (GGT), formed to mobilise the community against the antisemitic protest, welcomed the decision.

“This sad little gathering of Nazi admirers was rejected by Golders Green Together, and has now been forced out of Golders Green altogether. Our community and many others stood together in unity, pride and strength and we have won,” said Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The Community Security Trust, which advises Jewish communities on safety, said the decision sent “a strong message in support for British Jews at a time when fears of antisemitism remain high”.

Under the Public Order Act, police have powers to impose restrictions on a demonstration – including its time and location – to prevent a threat to public order or intimidation. There are no powers to ban a static demonstration.

Far-right activists had organised their protest for the Jewish sabbath in an area with a 40% Jewish population. They planned to burn copies of the Talmud – the book of Jewish law and tradition – and effigies, in private in order to avoid arrest but filmed for sharing online.

GGT was formed by the Board of Deputies, the London Jewish Forum and Hope Not Hate, an anti-fascist alliance, with the support of other local groups and individuals, including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. Over recent weeks it has leafleted the area, lobbied MPs and the police, and urged local shops to drape their properties with gold and green banners and ribbons in opposition to the neo-Nazis.

More than 40 MPs signed a parliamentary motion raising concerns about the demonstration and praising the community’s response.

But the response was not without anxieties. “Of course there is a dilemma about whether we are giving oxygen to the fascists and increasing their capacity to act by our reaction,” said Laura Janner-Klausner, the senior rabbi of Reform Judaism. “But you cannot not react. For so many years Jews were powerless and silenced. Now we are blessed to be in a country where we have an equal voice, so we should use it.”

Dave Rich, of the CST, said: “It’s always a dilemma, whether to ignore or confront. But we’ve seen over the years that ignoring doesn’t always work. Sometimes it’s more important to stand up for a positive set of values.”

There has been some strain between the mainstream Jewish organisations in GGT and other groups. Some expressed concerns that a proposed counter-demonstration would attract leftwingers who take a strong line against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. “Everyone’s against [the neo-Nazi demonstration], but they may be against it in different ways,” said one insider. “This is revealing tensions within the community.”

Arkush said some of those who were planning to protest against the neo-Nazis had “a discordant message themselves. I fear all extremists, whether from the far right or the far left. They should not be permitted to hijack the agenda and take over the streets.”

Some viewed the neo-Nazi demonstration as a distraction from more significant threats to the Jewish community. “It’s very unpleasant and upsetting, but one shouldn’t forget that the antisemitism that most concerns the majority of UK Jews today comes from Islamic fundamentalism and the [anti-Israel] left,” said Keith Kahn-Harris, co-author of Turbulent Times: the British Jewish Community Today.

“The groundswell of effort to mobilise against this demonstration is because it’s relatively straightforward to do so. It’s much more difficult with other forms of antisemitism.”

Unease and uncertainty remain high after hostility triggered by last summer’s war in Gaza and Islamist terrorist attacks on Jewish targets in Europe this year. “There’s definitely increased anxiety in the community,” said Esti Hamilton, while shopping in Kay’s kosher supermarket in Golders Green Road. “Is antisemitism on the rise? Is England a safe place for Jews? Every time something like this happens, we all wonder if we have a place here.”