Polanski says he would discourage ‘globalise the intifada’ chant but warns against march bans

Zack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant “globalise the intifada”, but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.

Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for “tougher action” against marchers using the chant after last week’s attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating.

While the Metropolitan police already have a policy of arresting people who chant “globalise the intifada”, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said any further action would await an ongoing review of protest laws.

Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Polanski said outlawing the chant would overly restrict freedom of speech.

He reiterated his apology for sharing a post on X that criticised police for the way they arrested a suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, on Wednesday. Footage of the arrest shows two officers appearing to kick the man on or near his head.

Polanski said that while he remained concerned about the footage, he apologised “because I accept that X or social media is not the appropriate forum to have that concern”, adding that he was going to discuss the matter privately with Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner.

On Friday, Rowley used an open letter to accuse Polanski of undermining his officers by sharing the critical post, something the Green leader argued was a mistake as well: “I also think an open letter from the commissioner also wasn’t necessarily the appropriate forum, but I’m glad we’ve resolved that. I’ve asked the commissioner for a meeting, and I’ll be taking those conversations up in private.”

Asked if he agreed with Starmer that “globalise the intifada”, which uses an Arabic word for uprising, was racist, Polanski said: “No, I don’t think that’s correct. I think it’s important that we make sure that we have freedom of speech in this country and freedom of protest.” He added he did not believe “policing people’s language” would make Jewish people safer.

Asked if he would use the phrase, Polanski replied: “I wouldn’t encourage people to use it, because actually I think you can make your point a lot more effectively and not get into this conversation about language.”

Speaking earlier on the same programme, Alexander said it was right for police to take action in the face of repeated protests that were “intimidating a particular community, that was always on the receiving end”.

She said the decision on whether to ban a planned pro-Gaza protest on 16 May was an operational one for the police, and that any outright ban on chanting “globalise the intifada” would be decided after a review of protest laws by the former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald, who is now a crossbench peer.

“We are not talking about an outright comprehensive ban on protest or anything like that,” she said. “We are talking about the cumulative impact upon the Jewish community in particular. Here we will take the steps that are appropriate to deal with this problem, but we will also defend the right to protest.”

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, told the programme that all pro-Gaza marches needed to be stopped, saying they were “creating a climate that is normalising hatred towards Jews”.

Asked if police should ban a march in London also planned for 16 May and led by the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, Badenoch said no.

“Is he creating a climate of intimidation and violence?” she asked. When told that a previous Robinson-organised march last year had resulted in a number of arrests, Badenoch said: “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You haven’t been able to say who that was targeted against.”