London (QNN)- A major coalition of pro-Palestinian groups in the United Kingdom has called on Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to retract inciteful remarks suggesting that protest organizers repeatedly sought to route marches past synagogues.
The Palestine Coalition, which includes the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War Coalition, rejected the claims and described them as “incomprehensible and defamatory” in a formal letter sent to the police chief.
The dispute follows claims Sir Mark made in an interview with The Times, where he alleged that initial proposals for protest routes had included passing by synagogues. He claimed that police intervened each time to prevent this and imposed conditions. He also said that such proposals could send a message that “feels like antisemitism,” while acknowledging that interpretation might be debated.
In its response, the coalition firmly denied the inciteful accusation. Organizers stressed that they have never requested routes passing by synagogues and have no interest in doing so.
“The truth is that at no point have we ever requested to ‘walk by’ a synagogue on any of our marches,” the letter states.
The coalition said internal police records and meeting notes would support their account. It also offered to provide email correspondence as evidence.
Organizers detailed recent discussions with police over protest routes. They said their first proposed route for an upcoming march had been used multiple times before and did not include any synagogues. Police rejected it, citing a separate demonstration linked to far-right figure Tommy Robinson, which was granted access to central London.
A second proposed route, stretching from the Israeli embassy through Knightsbridge to Trafalgar Square, also did not pass any synagogues. However, police denied that request as well and imposed a shorter alternative, according to the coalition.
The coalition warned that such public statements from senior officials risk escalating tensions. It argued that false accusations could inflame an already sensitive public atmosphere in London.
It said it is “completely unacceptable” for a senior public official to link protest route proposals to antisemitism without factual basis. The coalition warned that such language could deepen mistrust between communities and law enforcement at a time of heightened political tension over the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
