LONDON: A former senior police officer said on Monday that initial reports of an incident involving a Metropolitan Police officer and a Jewish man during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London, which prompted significant criticism of Scotland Yard, “did not fully represent the situation.”
Footage shared by the Campaign Against Antisemitism on Friday showed a police officer warning the organization’s CEO, Gideon Falter, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration this month that his “openly Jewish” appearance might provoke protesters.
The initial version of the video gave the impression that Falter was being prevented from going about his business in the vicinity of a pro-Palestinian rally simply because he was Jewish. However, a longer version of the video, broadcast subsequently by Sky News, showed the officer expressing concern about Falter’s actions because they seemed to be deliberately attempting to provoke the demonstrators.
Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent with the Metropolitan Police, said on Monday the extended footage revealed “a completely different encounter than what Mr. Falter reported.”
He told BBC Breakfast it showed Falter “attempting to go against the march, trying to push past the officers, and I think for 13 minutes the officers showed great restraint.”
Babu added: “They offered to take him to a crossing point, they offered to help him, and the group he was with the opportunity to cross at a more appropriate place. So the narrative that’s been pushed for the past few days is not accurate.
“Personally, if I was policing that march, I would have been inclined to have arrested (Falter) for assault on a police officer and breach of the peace.”
The short version of the video released by the CAA shows Falter standing beside the protest march in central London, wearing a kippah, the Jewish head covering, and attempting to cross the road through the path of the protesters. A police officer offers to escort him elsewhere and tells him that if he chooses to remain where he is, he could be arrested for breach of peace because his presence could be considered antagonizing in the context of the march.
The extended footage provides further context, including the fact that Falter had deliberately walked into the middle of the march, as a result of which the officer talking to him was concerned that he was attempting to incite a reaction.
The Metropolitan Police commissioner was due to meet with leaders of Jewish groups on Monday to discuss the incident. The CAA previously has faced criticism for allegedly attempting to equate support for Palestinians or anti-Zionist views with antisemitism.
