David Baddiel has criticised protesters claiming to be pro-Palestinian who were filmed harassing people outside a McDonald’s.
The comic and TV presenter reposted video footage on X which shows people being taunted by a mob as they leave one of the fast food giant’s outlets in London. Members of the crowd outside the eatery chant, “Shame on you”, at startled customers.
McDonald’s has been criticised after branches in Israel offered free meals to soldiers taking part in the military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
The McDonald’s Corporation has said it is not funding or supporting any governments involved in the conflict and any actions from licensees were made without McDonald’s consent or approval.
Baddiel tweeted in response to the footage: “How thrilling – how clearly validated amongst your peers – can public shaming make you feel. We always knew this from here, but more and more now, IRL (in real life)”.
He reshared footage accompanied by a tweet from Alex Hearn, a columnist who has been published by The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News.
He wrote on Saturday (November 4): “People claiming to be pro-Palestinian have taken to harassing people including families leaving McDonald’s.
“They giggle from the buzz they get. The joy of antisemitism has reached the high street. This is not advocacy. It is a violent, hateful ideology”.
From London to Washington to Milan to Paris, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched on Saturday, calling for a halt to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The marches reflected growing disquiet about the mounting civilian death toll and suffering from the Israel-Hamas war.
Protesters, particularly in countries with large Muslim populations, including the UK, US and France, expressed disillusionment with their governments for supporting Israel while its bombardments of hospitals and residential areas in the Gaza strip intensify.
At the London rally, the Metropolitan Police said officers made 29 arrests, including one terrorism charge over the display of a placard which it said could incite hatred.
The police force had forewarned it would also monitor social media and use facial recognition to spot criminal behaviour.
The arrests were also for other racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Scotland Yard said some demonstrators launched fireworks into crowds and towards police in Trafalgar Square, leaving four officers injured.
There were scuffles with police as the evening went on, and smaller groups of protesters began moving away from the square. More than 1,300 officers were on duty in the area, four of whom were injured, the force said.
At least one protester was seen carrying a banner which read “Let’s keep the world clean” with a picture of an Israeli flag being thrown into a bin.
Other protesters chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, despite controversy around the slogan’s meaning.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed it is “widely understood” to call for the destruction of Israel. Pro-Palestinian protesters have contested this definition.
Effigies of dead babies were left on the ground in Trafalgar Square, next to pictures of children and candles. The Met issued a dispersal order for an area around the square which was in force until 1am.
An order was also issued giving officers the power to require someone to remove any item being used to conceal their identity, the force said.
