Suella Braverman appears at rally for Israel chanting 'bring them home now'
Sacked Suella Braverman joined thousands marching "in solidarity with Israel” to mark the 100th day since Hamas launched its attack.
The former Home Secretary - ousted after weeks of controversy when she was accused of inflaming tensions around Armistice Day - chanted “bring them home” with the crowd, took pictures with members of the public and was thanked by others for going to the rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday.
Gratitude was also expressed to the King at the demonstration, as President of Israel Isaac Herzog thanked Charles in a video message, mentioning Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as well. Ms Braverman, fired in November for her unauthorised attack on police chiefs, said “I’m here to stand in solidarity with Israel. It has been 100 days since innocent people have been taken hostage by the Hamas terrorists and we need to bring them home now. Bring them home now.”
A small group of counter-protesters from the Neturei Karta group gathered on a traffic island at the south of Trafalgar Square, according to the Metropolitan Police. A man was arrested after forcefully taking a sign from the group and tearing it up, the force said. Another man who shouted “antisemitic abuse from a passing car” was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Protestors attending the rally, who filed into the square past bag searches, barricades and police and security officers, held posters that bore the faces of those who were taken hostage, and others that read “100 days in hell”. Some brandished Iranian flags, depicting a sun and lion in the centre, which one man said represented opposition to the Iranian government.
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In his video message, Mr Herzog said: “In the face of those who wish to scare us into silence, you’ve stood up and spoken out with clarity, pride and passion but it isn’t only within the Jewish community, across every branch of British leadership, the truth reigns clear.
She shouted 'bring them home' during the rally (PA)“In the name of the state and people of Israel, I thank you all. I want to thank His Majesty King Charles III. I want to thank Prime Minister Sunak. I want to thank the UK Government and I want to thank Opposition leader Starmer and his colleagues.” The rally heard from a number of other speakers including Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, the UK special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, Lord Pickles, and Labour MP Christian Wakeford.
Ms Hotovely thanked “London” for “100 days of consistent support”. She said the estimated 130 remaining hostages “continue to live a nightmare with every passing second” and issued a fresh demand for their immediate release. Lord Pickles called himself a “committed and unapologetic Zionist” and, referring to a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday, said: “The people who were marching yesterday, the overwhelming majority of them are not anti-Semitic but they are happy to walk with people who are anti-Semitic.”
Mr Wakeford spoke of his recent trip to Israel during which he met survivors and families of hostages. “The experiences they’ve had on day one was too much,” he told the crowd. “Well, now 100 days in, and all we can say is this is far too many and bring them home.”
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