The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) has been committing time every week to protesting against far-right ambassador Tzipi Hotovely, who has previously egged on the genocide in Gaza. But the Metropolitan Police have once again banned IJAN from gathering near Hotovely’s residence in Swiss Cottage, London, where the group had promised to protest until the UK followed the example of other countries by expelling its Israeli ambassador.
Swiss Cottage protests banned
The Met released a statement on 7 May saying it:
has intervened to block a protest group gathering in Swiss Cottage this Friday in an effort to prevent further serious disruption to the life of the community.
By “the life of the community”, the police are apparently referring to the ambassador of a country currently being investigated for genocide and whose prime minister is a wanted war criminal.
The Met has placed “Public Order Act conditions” on the IJAN protest, stating that:
It may now not take place in Swiss Cottage or anywhere in the shaded area on the map below.
Because of the wide area the police designated as a no-go zone, the ban seriously limits the protest from having any significant impact on Hotovely. But IJAN’s commitment to pushing for Hotovely’s expulsion is clear:
On 28 April, we protested in front of the Israeli ambassador's residence. @metpoliceuk banned us with an exclusion zone of 500 metres. 'Whether we are 1 or 500 m away, we still want @TzipiHotovely expelled for inciting genocide!' pic.twitter.com/K0utIEPTPD
— IJAN (@IJAN_Network) April 29, 2025
Previous ban and relocation
As the Met explained:
In February, conditions were imposed requiring the protest to relocate outside the Swiss Cottage area. After an eight-week period where protests were held outside New Scotland Yard, the protest returned to Swiss Cottage last week, prompting a further assessment of its impact.
Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart suggested that “confrontation between this protest and counter protest groups” has played a part in encouraging the police to “use our powers to require the protest to take place elsewhere”. Counter protests have involved particularly aggressive scenes from genocide apologists:
https://twitter.com/IJAN_Network/status/1918215031264625122/video/2
Before the previous ban, the Swiss Cottage protest had been growing in size, and increasing police discomfort was clear. Police cracked down on activists – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – who were opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
One was Haim Bresheeth, a 79-year-old Jewish peace activist and an “advanced cancer patient with a serious heart condition”. His parents survived the Holocaust. He grew up in Israel, and fighting in two wars for the country turned him into a pacifist. Police arrested him in early November because of his opposition to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and its decades-long oppression of Palestinian people.
Last week, around 200 people turned up at the protest:
Friday 2 May, IJAN & close to 200 people were back in Swiss Cottage to demand the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador who is advocating for the deliberate starvation of Palestinian children. Watch the event on Crispin Flintoff Show: https://t.co/2CoPqCgoL4
— IJAN (@IJAN_Network) May 3, 2025
Pro-genocide agitators also attended, but “failed to disrupt” the event:
The Zionists, led by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, failed to disrupt the protest and were exposed as supporters of war crimes against children and women. They literally danced at the thought! pic.twitter.com/M5clpP1EIn
— IJAN (@IJAN_Network) May 3, 2025
Featured image via the Canary
