The Campaign Against Antisemitism has criticised Police Scotland for asking a Jewish man to hide his Star of David medallion during a Palestinian peace protest in Edinburgh.
Video shared by the group showed the man being approached by an officer during a march in the capital on 3 February and being warned that his chain may “trigger” a "dangerous situation".
The officer tells the man that he’s “not doing anything wrong or illegal” but that if people see his Star of David “they will just get very, very angry".
At a rally in Edinburgh, a @PoliceScotland officer asked a Jewish bystander to hide his Star of David, to avoid “triggering” the protesters.
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) February 14, 2024
The police officer is clearly worried that he and his colleagues are heavily outnumbered and that these protesters could pose a threat to… pic.twitter.com/kI8As7KNCm
He then tells him that just three officers are policing the protest and it may be “difficult for us to manage the situation".
The man replies that he does not “plan to argue or engage with anyone” and that “it is my religion".
“I am Jewish,” he says. “So I don't see a problem with showing my Judaism.”
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The officer says he also does not see a problem. “You're showing the sign of your religion, what you believe in. That's absolutely fine. I’m sure you can appreciate for them…”
The man then interrupts to say it triggers some of the protesters, the officer replies, “It triggers them, yes.”
“That's my concern that once there is an argument that can evolve into a fight, you put yourself in a dangerous situation. Okay. And there's only three of us to manage that. I'm going to ask do you mind tucking your star behind the jumper?”
The man says he does mind. He says if anyone is triggered then they need to “learn how to control their emotions.”
“There's a large group, there's over 1,000 people. I'm guessing there'll be a lot of them walking around the city later on,” the officer says.
He warns that he might end up being surrounded by lots which would not be “a nice situation".
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Yet again, a supposed peace march has proved to be about everything but peace, so much so, that police felt that they had to ask Jews to hide signs of their identity.
“For months now, we have been calling for restrictions to be placed on these marches. The police are so outnumbered that they cannot cope and are unable to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and, instead, are appeasing the mob.
"If you want to know why 90% of British Jews say that they avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration is taking place there, this is why.
“Police have powers to ban or restrict these marches under the Public Order Act and it is high time that they used those powers so that they can finally bring Britain’s streets back under control.”
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Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay said: “It’s chilling to hear a police officer in Scotland warning a member of the public about a possible risk to their safety simply because they’re wearing a symbol of their religious faith.
“While the officer may have been seeking to maintain public safety, such an interaction will be of concern to Jewish people whose right to freedom of religious expression should be sacrosanct and no different to those of any other faith group.
“Anyone who might be ‘triggered’ by a Star of David has no right to break the law and the police should robustly deal with any antisemitism in our communities.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the video and the contents are being reviewed.”
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