Post falsely claims police asked ‘British Jews’ to stay at home due to ‘pro-Palestine marches’

Claims last week that “British Jews” have been asked to stay at home due to “Pro-Palestine marches near Synagogues” have been debunked as misinformation by the Metropolitan Police.

A since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), which has subsequently been shared on Facebook, claimed: “Police request British Jews to stay at home as Pro-Palestine marches near Synagogues”.

The X post was also shared by US senator Ted Cruz.

However, in a post on X the Metropolitan Police said: “This claim is totally false. It’s misinformation that will only increase fear and concern in Jewish communities.

“The account may look like it’s part of a well-known news channel but it isn’t. Please check the authenticity of accounts before sharing unverified or unsourced claims”.

The post was also debunked by Danny Morris, OSINT and Tech Policy Manager at the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity offering security advice to the Jewish community in the UK.

Mr Morris said: “The statement that “Police request British Jews to stay at home as Pro-Palestine marches near Synagogues” is factually untrue, literally zero evidence.”

Some Jewish community leaders have said in the past that pro-Palestine marches held in London have made some British Jews feel “unsafe” or “intimidated”, but we’ve found no evidence of the police telling Jewish people to “stay at home” while recent marches have been taking place.

Eye On Antisemitism, a community group, told Full Fact that the post had been shared to the group’s Facebook account as they felt it was important to be vigilant and take warnings of possible danger seriously.

We’ve contacted Senator Cruz about his post, and will update this article if we receive a response.

False claims shared online can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. It’s important to check whether the source of a claim is reliable before you share it. For advice on how to do this, check out our toolkit.