Joint statement from Board of Deputies, CST and JLC on antisemitic chants at US Embassy protest

In response to the antisemitic chants heard and documented at last Friday’s protest outside the US Embassy in London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Community Security Trust and Jewish Leadership Council have issued the following joint statement:

The ‘Khybar, Khybar’  chant heard and documented at Friday’s protest outside the US Embassy in London can only be interpreted as a call to incite violence against Jewish people. It is outrageous that these protesters thought that such a chant would be acceptable on the streets of London in 2017. That this comes in the context of a firebombing of a synagogue in Sweden and an attack on a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam only increases our concern. These acts are not criticisms of a decision by the US government but demonstrations of antisemitism.

We welcome the condemnation by the protest organisers of this notorious Jihadi chant – which was clearly audible at the height of the demonstration –  but urge them to take action to ensure that such acts do not go unchallenged at their events in the future. We further call on all of those who addressed the rally to unequivocally condemn the chants and undertake not to support or organise any event at which such activity is tolerated in the future.