Met Police deny responsibility for covering up Holocaust memorial during pro-Palestinian march
Scotland Yard has denied being responsible for a decision to cover the Holocaust memorial in Hyde Park during Saturday’s pro-Palestinian march.
The monument, which is a tribute to the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis, was hidden under a blue tarpaulin as tens of thousands of anti-Israeli demonstrators gathered in central London to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Metropolitan Police, which has faced criticism from the Jewish community over its handling of the pro-Palestinian marches, denied ordering the monument be covered, insisting it had been Hyde Park officials who had taken the decision.
In a statement Scotland Yard stressed: “The decision to cover the memorial was taken by park authorities, not the police.”
Explaining the move, a Royal Parks spokesman said: ”During demonstrations and major events, the Royal Parks works closely with the Metropolitan Police to ensure the safety of park users and its environment.
“In the past this has included protecting memorials. We will continue to be informed on our approach by the Metropolitan Police.”
It is understood the memorial, which was unveiled in 1983 and was the first in Britain dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, was covered to negate the risk of it being vandalised.
Lord Mann, the Government’s adviser on anti-Semitism, described the precaution as “sad but necessary to avoid further offence to the Jewish community”.
The peer said he had advised police and the parks authority that the Holocaust memorial be protected.
No other monuments in Hyde Park were covered up on Saturday.
Lord Mann said: “We could take the risk that it would get defaced with the likes of placards and cause additional offence to the Jewish and other communities.
“It would have been nice if the organisers [of the rally] stopped to pay their own respects at the memorial.”
But other anti-Semitism campaigners have expressed dismay at the move, describing it as “shameful”.
Noemi Ebenstein, 82, a Holocaust survivor, said: “It is shameful. Seeing this. It feels like they are winning. Those who are Jew haters, those who are Holocaust deniers, they are winning because we are afraid of them.”
Jonathan Sacerdoti, the broadcaster and anti-Semitism campaigner, said: “The people most in need of seeing Holocaust memorials are those who today strike fear into the hearts of many Jewish people with their presence on our streets.
“Members of the mob which every weekend threatens the world’s only Jewish state, who falsely accuse Jews of genocide, are the very people who need such reminders of where demonisation and hatred of Jews has lead in our recent history.
“Perhaps the police and Royal Parks authority ought to put up more Holocaust memorials along the route of the marches, rather than cover them up.”
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: “Covering up a Holocaust memorial is a new low. At every turn, the authorities seem to be trying to keep Jews and anything Jewish out of sight to appease these mobs.
“When we organised our march against anti-Semitism, we were told that there was no way that our route could pass along a road owned by the Royal Parks. Now for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Royal Parks seem to have allowed the march to enter Hyde Park proper, culminating at a huge stage, and for good measure it seems that they have covered up the Holocaust memorial.
“A fortnight ago police tried to remove Gideon Falter for being ‘quite openly Jewish’. Now the Royal Parks seem to be hiding a memorial for quite openly commemorating the murder of six million innocent Jews. This abject spinelessness on the part of the authorities will not end with sacrificing the rights of Jews. Those in power need to stand up to this hatred before it’s too late.”
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took part in the 13th organised march to have taken place since Oct 7.
The protest was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with police under heightened scrutiny for their response following a controversy earlier in the month when campaigner Gideon Falter was described by an officer as “openly Jewish” and threatened with arrest.
The demonstrators on Saturday were met by a counter-protest near Piccadilly in central London organised by the Enough is Enough group, which is critical of the Met’s approach.
Two men from the main demonstration were arrested.
One man was detained in Parliament Square with a placard bearing a swastika, police said.
The second was arrested as he passed the counter-demonstration for shouting a “racist remark towards those in the Enough is Enough protest”, according to the Met.
