British police forces to make arrests over ‘globalise the intifada’ chants
Jewish Bloc on the national Palestine solidarity demonstration, London 29 November 2025
Imran Mulla reports in Middle East Eye on 17 December 2025:
The Metropolitan and Greater Manchester police forces have announced they will arrest people for chanting “globalise the intifada” or holding placards displaying the phrase.
They said on Wednesday: “Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed – words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests.”
The announcement comes days after the devastating massacre that killed at least 15 people and wounded 40 on Bondi Beach in Australia. The attack is widely considered as antisemitic as it targeted Jewish people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.
The two police forces said: “We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect” the two forces “to take action”. “Frontline officers will be briefed on this enhanced approach. We will also use powers under the Public Order Act, including conditions around London synagogues during services.”
Pro-Palestine activists have strongly denied that “globalise the intifada” is antisemitic or a call for violence, and British Jews have been prominent in pro-Palestine marches in the UK.
Intifada comes from the Arabic root word nafada, which means “to shake off” or “to rise up”, and translates to “uprising”.