An estimated 105,000 people gathered at the “March Against Anti-Semitism,” far exceeding even the rosiest forecasts
Given that Britain’s entire Jewish population is about 280,000, it was a historic turnout. This compares to the 300,000 attendance for Washington’s “Stand with Israel” rally two weeks ago, in a country with one-fifth the US population, and one-twentieth of its Jewish population.
Highlighting the way that anti-Semitism is seen by many as a national problem, not just a Jewish one, many non-Jews turned out as well, from the Christian, Hindu, and Sikh sectors.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis addressed the crowd, emphasizing the fact that the gathering was London’s largest demonstration against anti-Semitism since the 1936 “Battle of Cable Street.” At that event, hundreds of thousands of counter-demonstrators showed up at a march by Oswald Mosely’s fascist Blackshirt movement. He recalled the import of that historic event for the current moment.
“We must teach our children that the superheroes of our society are those who pursue peace and loving kindness, and not those who glorify violence and murder, and we must teach people that they must draw their conclusions from historical facts and not from what they see and hear on social media,” Rabbi Mirvis said.
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