London mayor on 90th anniversary of Battle of Cable Street: ‘Hate and antisemitism had no place then, and it has no place here now’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan issues a statement to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, when Jews, Irish dockers, trade unionists, socialists and communists prevented Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists from marching through the city’s main Jewish neighborhood.

“90 years ago today, Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts attempted to march through and intimidate a predominantly Jewish area of the East End,” Khan says.

“Men, women and children, alongside local residents, trade unionists and anti-fascist protesters, came together to defend the community in what became known as the Battle of Cable Street,” he says.

“They taught us an important lesson: communities can resist fascism by joining together,” says the London mayor. “Hate and antisemitism had no place in London then, and it has no place here now.”

The statement comes amid accusations that both the pivotal role of the Jewish community in the event and the issue of antisemitism, which was the hallmark of Mosley’s politics, are being erased from the narrative.

Read more: 90 years on, why are British Jews being erased from the heroic Battle of Cable Street?