A Jewish group organized a separate march on the 90th anniversary of the historic Battle of Cable Street on Sunday to commemorate resistance against fascism in the United Kingdom, after being dismissed as provocateurs and told they were unwelcome by organizers marking the event.
Reporting live from East London, GB News presenter and comedian Josh Howie highlighted how in 1936, thousands of Jewish residents stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Irish dockers, trade unionists, and socialists to block Oswald Mosley’s fascists from marching through the heart of the East End.
Ninety years later, however, mainstream groups organizing the official anniversary, such as Unite the Union, produced promotional material that omitted any mention of Jews or antisemitism entirely.
Jewish Zionist participants rejected from main march
The rally organizer Eve Kay explained in an interview with GB News’s Free Speech Nation program that, when Jewish community members reached out to coordinate their presence, they were met with hostility and dismissed as provocateurs. Branded as Zionists or fascists, Jewish participants were told they were unwelcome and that their safety could not be guaranteed on the main route.
Recognizing that the official demonstration had become a hostile environment, Kay and others formed the “Cable Street Jews” committee, establishing a separate contingent to march just 10 minutes ahead of the main procession under police protection.
Roughly 300 people joined the Cable Street Jews march, filling the streets with defiant chants, “Am Yisrael Chai,” as well as “90 years and we’re still here,” and “they shall not pass.”
'1936-2026, Right or Left, No to Jew Hate'
Demonstrators also chanted “here to stay, here to fight, no to the antisemite!” Participants held blue flags, placards featuring images and names of individuals from the 1936 era under the banner of “Cable St Jew,” and signs that read “1936-2026, Right or Left, No to Jew Hate.”
Addressing the gathered crowd through a megaphone, Howie told attendees: “The Jews who stood in these streets in 1936 would think about our lives today... They’d be shocked. Shocked Jews murdered in Manchester, ambulances blown up, Jews in the streets stabbed, synagogues firebombed... And now, marching parallel to us, is another group of people who didn’t want us there, who were trying to erase those who came before... The best way to honor them, those people who stood here 90 years ago, is to fight so that we can ensure that, in 90 years, we will still be here.”
Elsewhere during the main rally, circulating footage captured protesters surrounding and aggressively confronting an individual perceived as a Zionist, shouting, “Zionists are not welcome here” and chanting, “Go! Go! Go! Go!” directly at him. Police officers stepped in to separate the crowd, managing the escalating hostility as the man was escorted away from the scene.