Met and GMP to arrest protesters over 'intifada' chant

Police in London and Manchester say the context has changed. After the Sydney Bondi Beach attack and October’s fatal assault outside a Manchester synagogue, both forces now plan to arrest people who chant or display “globalise the intifada” at protests. Their joint line is blunt: “words have meaning and consequence… we will act decisively and make arrests,” alongside extra patrols near synagogues and community sites.

To understand why the shift happened this week, we need the facts. On Sunday 14 December in Sydney, a father and son opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering near Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed, with dozens injured. Police say the attack targeted Jewish Australians; the son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, has since been charged with multiple counts including 15 murders. His father died at the scene.

Britain’s recent trauma is close to home. On 2 October at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, two worshippers were killed on Yom Kippur and the attacker was shot dead by police. That incident has been formally treated as terrorism, with Greater Manchester Police appealing for further witnesses in the weeks since.

So what does the phrase mean? Intifada is Arabic for “to shake off” and entered global use during the Palestinian uprisings of 1987–93 and 2000–05. For some activists today it signals resistance to occupation and a broader push for rights. For many Jewish groups, it reads as an endorsement of violent uprisings; the American Jewish Committee defines “globalise the intifada” as a call for aggressive resistance that is often understood as encouraging violence against Jews. The same words can land very differently depending on who hears them and where they are said.

UK law draws a high line between offensive speech and criminal incitement. Prosecutors look at context and intent. “Stirring up religious hatred” offences require threatening words and an intention to stir up hatred; by contrast, some public-order offences cover threatening or abusive words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. In practice, each case rests on what was said, where, to whom, and with what effect.

Police leaders say they have been advised that many chants causing fear did not meet prosecution thresholds-but that recent violence means they will now intervene earlier, including setting conditions around synagogues during services. Expect a more assertive policing approach at demonstrations, with officers briefed to act and visible patrols stepped up near Jewish venues.

Community responses split along familiar lines. The Board of Deputies of British Jews “strongly” welcomed the announcement, having long argued the chant incites violence and merits robust enforcement. The Campaign Against Antisemitism called it a necessary first step and urged consistent follow-through by police and prosecutors.

Protest organisers pushed back. Ben Jamal of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign called the policy “another low” in the repression of protests for Palestinian rights, said the police had not consulted representative groups, and argued that intifada is widely understood as “shaking off” injustice rather than a call to attack Jews.

Your rights still matter. In the UK, free expression and assembly are protected, but not absolute. If you are heading to a march, know that context counts: the same words shouted near a synagogue may be judged differently from a general rally. Police can impose conditions to prevent intimidation, and prosecutors weigh whether speech is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. Peaceful, non-threatening protest remains lawful; targeted intimidation and incitement do not.

Politics is moving too. In Parliament on Wednesday 17 December, the Prime Minister said funding for Jewish security has been increased to £28m this year and confirmed a review of protest and hate-crime laws. For teachers and students, this is a live case study: how states balance protection from harm with the room to protest-and how words can be heard very differently across communities.