Starmer urges tougher action against Gaza protests in U.K. following antisemitic attacks

LONDON — Britain’s prime minister warned Saturday that tougher action was needed against people chanting certain phrases at pro-Palestinian protests, as concerns grew over the safety of British Jews after the stabbings of two Jewish men in London. Keir Starmer said he would always defend the right to protest, but said there may be instances where some marches protesting the war in Gaza should be banned. He suggested that repeated pro-Palestinian marches have had a “cumulative effect” linked to the rise in antisemitic incidents in the U.K. “When you see, when you hear some of those chants - ‘globalize the intifada’ would be one I would pick out - then clearly there should be tougher action in relation to that,” Starmer told the BBC. The Arabic word intifada is generally translated as “uprising.” A 45-year-old man was charged Friday with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed and wounded Wednesday in Golders Green, a London neighborhood that’s an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. Police called the attack an act of terrorism. Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood,