Campaigners against antisemtism have cancelled a protest outside a London university after they were threatened with “Amsterdam-style” violence.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) had been planning to demonstrate outside of Queen Mary University London in opposition to the appearance of Francesca Albanese, an international lawyer specialising in human rights and the Middle East.
She is currently the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Albanese previously reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, and called for sanctions and an arms embargo.
Pro-Israel activists protest against the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) Francesca Albanese having been invited to speak at the School of Oriental And African Studies (SOAS)
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She has been described as antisemetic and has been accused of appearing to lend support to the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Most recently, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, described her as unfit for office.
She added: “The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights.”
She has been speaking at London universities this week, taking part in a “conversation about international law and Palestine” at LSE and London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on Monday.
However, the protest scheduled for yesterday was cancelled, out of concern for “safety” for CAAA members.
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Albanese previously reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide and called for sanctions and an arms embargo
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In a statement, the group said: “Due to threats in local residents’ groups to engage in ‘Amsterdam-style’ violence against our planned protest tomorrow, it will not be proceeding.
“The safety of our team and supporters is an overriding concern for us. We are pursuing legal action against identifiable individuals who made threats.”
The decision was made after a user in an online forum for Tower Hamlet residents said that they “can’t wait to give them the welcome they deserve”. Another user then replied: “Amsterdam-style”.
Last week, Israeli football fans were attacked by masked thugs following a match in Amsterdam.
The incident happened after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Johan Cruyff Arena, which resulted in the home team winning 5-0.
More than 60 people were arrested following violent attacks on Israeli football fans in AmsterdamReuters
At least 10 supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv were injured, with five being hospitalised. 61 arrests were also made when the mob began attacking Israeli fans on Thursday.
Following the attacks, Israel warned its citizens to avoid sporting and cultural events.
The country’s National Security Council said that it had intelligence that pro-Palestinian groups were trying to harm Jews and Israelis across Europe.
It said that these attacks would come under the guise of protests and demonstrations.
Israelis who are travelling abroad have also been warned not to disclose their identity and be wary if their destination country has a “large migrant population from countries opposed to Israel”.