Braverman Blames London Marches for Antisemitism Surge

Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, stated that Britain’s failure to quickly ban large pro-Palestinian demonstrations after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack fueled a rise in antisemitism. In a new interview, she criticized the government's handling of weekly marches that halted traffic in central London for three years. She said the demonstrations showed no sign of abating because organizers felt they had outmaneuvered the authorities.

Braverman, who joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party earlier this year, accused former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being a coward for refusing to support her hardline stance. She described antisemitism as normalized, acceptable, and almost fashionable during this period. The Community Security Trust recorded 1,926 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2026, marking the second-highest six-month total in its history.

In her memoir, Patriot: Empire, Betrayal and Hope, Braverman detailed conflicts with Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley. She accused him of resisting efforts to crack down on the marches. After failing to persuade Rowley to request a ban, she appealed to Sunak. He reportedly appeared tired and irritated by the issue before firing her in November 2023 after she publicly criticized the police.

Braverman linked the 2023 inaction to the October attack at Manchester’s Heaton Park synagogue, which killed two congregants. She noted that the first protest occurred on October 8, before all victims were identified. She cited chants such as From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, and the scaling of war memorials as evidence that the right to assembly is not absolute. Polling in November 2023 found that 90 percent of British Jews avoided city centers during major demonstrations.

The former Home Secretary also discussed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. She said Sunak promised to ban the group but sided with a Foreign Office opposed to the move. The Labour government designated the IRGC in June 2026. She described Keir Starmer, who was ousted this summer, as a moderating force but criticized his 2024 partial arms embargo on Israel. Her successor, Andy Burnham, has taken a stronger position of opposition to Israel.

Braverman pledged that a Reform UK government would take a tougher approach to policing protests and ban the Muslim Brotherhood. She said Reform is steadfastly a friend of Israel and would treat antisemitism like other forms of racism. She noted that her support for the country stems from a childhood in northwest London and a visit to Israel after leaving government, where she appreciated the heroism of the Israeli people.