UK home secretary tells Palestinians to 'imagine losing a family member' after synagogue attack

British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood appeared to disparage anti-genocide and pro-Palestinian protests across the country on Friday.

Speaking to Sky News, she urged protesters, many of them members of the Palestinian community, to consider the impact of their actions and "imagine...[they] had had a family member murdered on the holiest day in your faith".

“Imagine if that was you, that has had a family member murdered on the holiest day in your faith. Imagine how you would feel and then just step back for a minute, give people a chance to grieve. We can get back to our protest later. Just because you have a freedom doesn't mean you have to use it,” Mahmood said.

Her remarks came after pro-Palestinian protests in London on Thursday went ahead following the deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue.

“I was very disappointed to see those protests go ahead last night. I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it's dishonourable. I would've wanted those individuals to just take a step back,” Mahmood said of the anti-genocide demonstrations.

She also highlighted the importance of allowing communities to grieve. “They could have stepped back and just given a community that has suffered deep loss a day or two to process what has happened and to carry on with a grieving process. Some humanity could have been shown. I'm disappointed that that humanity and solidarity wasn't shown to our Jewish community.”