A Palestine protester who dressed up as a Holocaust victim has sparked further claims of two-tier policing in Britain.
Maria Gallastegui, 66, replaced the Jewish star, worn by inmates in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, with an Islamic symbol, in what critics claimed was a "religiously aggravated" attack.
Scotland Yard were accused of ignoring the protester after Jewish leaders and MPs condemned him for wearing the outfit that was "clearly designed to cause distress".
Faith leaders highlighted a contrast between the police's treatment towards Gallastegui and men “waving Israeli flags” at a Palestine Action march.
A Palestine protester dressed as a Holocaust victim has sparked further two-tier policing claims
GB NEWS
Other critics called for a similar prosecution and fines to those imposed on Hamit Coskun, who was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence after he burned a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London.
The now full-time protester joined a march against plans to ban the group Palestine Action after its members vandalised an RAF aircraft with paint.
Gallastegui, who gave up her job as a coach driver nearly 20 years ago for a life of activism, has been arrested previously over the past two decades, including during a protest for the right to protest in Parliament Square in August 2005.
Defenders of free speech have also highlighted the alleged hypocrisy in decisions made by the police regarding Islamic protestors in comparison to other religions.
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Maria Gallastegui replaced the Jewish star, worn by inmates in Nazi Germany during the 1930's and 40's, with an Islamic symbol
GB NEWS
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “We appear to have a two-tier blasphemy law in this country, which protects Islam from offensive references, but not others.”
Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS), added: “Dressing as a concentration camp inmate, with the yellow patch replaced by an Islamic symbol, has caused many people upset.
“This religiously aggravated performance appropriated and distorted the Holocaust and was clearly designed to cause distress. It’s shocking that while police act swiftly on less obvious public offences, this blatant display went unchallenged at the heart of our democracy.”
The group has sent a letter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, requesting that he begin an investigation into the incident.
Gallastegui was pictured carrying a placard that said: 'We are all Palestine Action'
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The LAAS argued that the religiously aggravated offence had “appropriated and distorted the Holocaust” and risked “trivialising the suffering of six million Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution”.
Gallastegui was pictured carrying a placard that said: “We are all Palestine Action,” which could lead to 14 years imprisonment if the group becomes proscribed.
One Jewish observer told the Telegraph: “One cannot help but conclude that if the police do not stand with us against this hatred, then they stand with those who hate us. There is no middle ground when it comes to abusing the memory of the Holocaust. It is done as a deliberate act of provocation and religious division.”
Gallastegui has since issued a statement comparing the horrors of the holocaust to the Israeli strikes on Gaza and strongly denied that her outfit was antisemitic.
Protesters from Palestine Action descended on London
GB NewsReferring to the Liberation of concentration camps following the Second World War, the activist wrote: “The world was shocked and horrified at the appalling sight of the starving, emaciated prisoners and the piles of decaying bodies in their stripped uniforms."
“Afterwards, the international community affirmed never to let this happen again. ‘Never Again’. Fast forward to now, and the same scenario is being carried out again - but this time the concentration camp and the people being deliberately starved are the people of Gaza.
“This is a history lesson for now, and by no means is it meant to be antisemitic. Changing the symbols of the yellow star to the crescent and star is simply to illustrate that point.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “The team that investigates public order offences was made aware of this individual following Monday's protest and an investigation is ongoing.
“Officers were informed of the incident outside Parliament but the individual had left the area by that time.
“Our investigation continues.”
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