A Jewish lawyer was questioned by police after wearing a Star of David necklace which officers claimed ‘antagonised’ pro-Palestine supporters during a demonstration.
Officers interrogated the man at Hammersmith Police Station in west London over the silver 2cm Judaic symbol after he was arrested for alleged Public Order breaches on August 29.
At one point, the questioning detective says officers noted in their statements that they believed the ‘presence’ of the Star of David could cause ‘offence’ to those who had gathered at the protest.
The lawyer, a man in his 40s, was arrested outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington, where a pro-Palestine march had descended that evening.
He claims to have been acting as an independent spectator, watching the protest for illegal behaviour by participants and to observe how police responded to challenges on the ground.
However, the Metropolitan Police say he had allegedly ‘gone beyond observing to provoking’ pro-Palestinian supporters and was arrested on suspicion of violating conditions that had been put in place to keep opposing protest groups apart.
The man was then reportedly detained for nearly 10 hours at the station before being released at around 4.30am the following day.
The Met say their investigation into the incident is continuing, but the lawyer – who has chosen to remain anonymous over fears for his safety – has accused the police of trying to ‘criminalise the wearing of a Star of David’.
A Jewish lawyer was questioned by police after wearing a Star of David necklace which officers claimed ‘antagonised’ pro-Palestine supporters during a demonstration (Stock Image)
Speaking to The Telegraph, who obtained the police interview footage, the man furiously labelled the police questioning as ‘outrageous’, saying that the force ‘crossed the line’ to mention his wearing of the Judaic symbol.
He said: ‘They [the police] are trying to criminalise the wearing of a Star of David. They said I was antagonising and agitating pro-Palestine protesters with my Star of David. In an environment of anti-Semitism, I will not be cowed by this. I will carry on wearing it.’
In a statement, police said the man was not arrested for wearing the necklace, but that he had allegedly ‘continuously approached the area’ allocated to the pro-Palestinian protestors on the evening, which in turn provoked a reaction.
Footage of the police interview shows the detective asking the man what necklace he was wearing, later adding that officers in their statements believed that the Star of David being on show was ‘antagonising’ the situation further.
The man’s defence labelled the officer’s statements as ‘ignorant’ and said he had a ‘great deal of concern’ with the line of questioning.
The detective said he did not want to offend by asking the question, adding that it was not a question about the man wearing the Star of David generally but in a ‘very niche environment where tensions are high’.
He then said that he did not want ‘this to become a political debate in an interview’.
The arrested lawyer says he has witnessed dozens of instances of alleged criminal behaviour while observing pro-Palestine protests, during which he claims to have been labelled a ‘baby killer’.
Members of the pro-Palestine group International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), pictured in February last year, had descended on the Israeli embassy in Kensington on August 29 this year
He said that those chants going unpunished, while he is questioned over his wearing of the Star of David, is ‘one of the clearest example of two-tier policing you will ever see’, and denies any wrongdoing on the night he was arrested.
The protest at the embassy in August was also observed by Gill Levy, who served with the Met Police for 20 years, and set up the Society of Independent Legal Observers with the arrested lawyer and a third man, a Jewish KC.
Mr Levy told the newspaper he was ‘distraught’ by his acquaintance’s arrest, adding: ‘When I was an officer I was always thinking about the reputation of the police, and how I could ensure what I was doing did not expose the organisation to risk.
‘This arrest beggars belief. I am part of this Jewish tribe, but I am also part of the police tribe, and for them to have let me down like this is heart-breaking.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman told the Daily Mail: ‘The claim that this man was arrested for wearing a star of David necklace is not true. He was arrested for allegedly repeatedly breaching Public Order Act conditions that were in place to keep opposing protest groups apart.
‘The conditions required protesters from the pro-Israel group, Stop the Hate, to remain in one area while protesters from the pro-Palestinian group, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), were required to remain in a separate area.
‘The man told officers he was acting as a legal observer, but his actions are alleged to have gone beyond observing to provoking and as such, actively participating as a protester.
‘Over the course of an hour, the man is alleged to have continuously approached the area allocated to IJAN, getting very close to protesters to film them and in doing so provoking a reaction.
‘Officers had to intervene on at least four occasions to ask the man to return to the Stop the Hate area as required by the conditions.
‘When he failed to do so after multiple warnings, he was arrested. He was subsequently released on bail and the investigation continues.’
