Waving a Palestinian flag or singing a chant advocating freedom for Arabs in the region may be a criminal offence, Suella Braverman has told senior police officers.
In a letter to chief constables in England and Wales, the home secretary urged them to clamp down on any attempts to use flags, songs or swastikas to harass or intimidate members of the Jewish community.
Her words, which follow deadly attacks by Hamas on Israelis and a military response, will deeply concern freedom of speech advocates and members of the Muslim community.
I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence.
The human rights barrister Shami Chakrabarti said “[that] the letter had been so readily press-released suggests that the intervention is at best virtue signalling and at worst seeking to compromise operational independence”, adding: “Police chiefs know their powers and duties.
The number of Britons caught up in the violence in Israel and Gaza has yet to be confirmed, with ministers wary that official estimates of casualties and those injured are still being compiled.
The original article contains 814 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Waving a Palestinian flag or singing a chant advocating freedom for Arabs in the region may be a criminal offence, Suella Braverman has told senior police officers.
In a letter to chief constables in England and Wales, the home secretary urged them to clamp down on any attempts to use flags, songs or swastikas to harass or intimidate members of the Jewish community.
Her words, which follow deadly attacks by Hamas on Israelis and a military response, will deeply concern freedom of speech advocates and members of the Muslim community.
I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence.
The human rights barrister Shami Chakrabarti said “[that] the letter had been so readily press-released suggests that the intervention is at best virtue signalling and at worst seeking to compromise operational independence”, adding: “Police chiefs know their powers and duties.
The number of Britons caught up in the violence in Israel and Gaza has yet to be confirmed, with ministers wary that official estimates of casualties and those injured are still being compiled.
The original article contains 814 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!