Starmer urges students to shun ‘un-British’ October 7 protests on campuses

UK prime minister says the 2 years since Hamas attack on Israel have been ‘living nightmare’ for many; rallies expected at British universities, including events to ‘honor our martyrs’

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday said the two years since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, had been a “living nightmare” for many, and warned students not to take part in “un-British” protests to mark the day.

“On the anniversary of the atrocities of October 7, students are once again planning protests. This is not who we are as a country,” Starmer wrote in The Times.

“It’s un-British to have so little respect for others. And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again,” he wrote.

Demonstrations are expected at over a dozen British universities, including events to “honor our martyrs,” The Times reported.

Starmer also said the period had seen “rising antisemitism” in the UK, days after two Jewish men were killed in a terror attack against a Manchester synagogue.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations went ahead over the weekend as well, despite the government and police urging protesters to refrain from gathering in the wake of Thursday’s deadly terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

Flowers and a tribute featuring a bee, the symbol of Manchester, and a Star of David, are pictured near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 3, 2025 (Paul Currie / AFP)

“Today we mark two years since the horrifying attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023… The worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Starmer said in a statement.

“Since that awful day, so many have endured a living nightmare,” he said, vowing to continue efforts to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

In his statement, Starmer said that “Jewish communities have also endured rising antisemitism on our streets.”

“This is a stain on who we are, and this country will always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities,” said the British leader.

A protester is taken away by police officers at a ‘Lift The Ban’ demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action, calling for the recently imposed ban to be lifted, in Trafalgar Square, central London, on October 4, 2025. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Starmer, who made the landmark move for the UK to recognize a state of Palestine last month alongside other allies, also welcomed the US plan “towards peace in the Middle East” in his statement.

The British prime minister and his government have been accused by many in the Jewish community of failing to address soaring antisemitism.

Many of Britain’s Jews say they are targeted due to the solidarity that most of the community has with Israel, especially after the Hamas-led attack on Israel two years ago, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

Britain’s Community Security Trust, a nonprofit that says it protects British Jews from terrorism and antisemitism, recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of 2025, the second-highest total ever reported in the first six months of any year.