Silent no more: Europe’s streets expose hypocrisy on freedom and genocide

On Saturday, October 4, 2025, large demonstrations took place in Barcelona, Rome, London, Athens, Dublin, and Lisbon against the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza. The seizure of ships from the “Sumud” aid flotilla and the violent, unlawful arrests of its passengers were among the main triggers of the intensified protests that have swept across Europe in recent months.

These demonstrations, which in many cases were met with police violence, have put Europe’s claim of freedom of expression to a difficult test.

According to Al Jazeera, tens of thousands of people marched in major cities across Europe to denounce Israel’s war on Gaza, with mass gatherings in urban centers in the UK, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

The Saturday protests in Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city, and in Madrid had been planned for weeks. Calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon grew after Israeli forces intercepted the international “Sumud” aid flotilla sailing from Barcelona toward Gaza in an attempt to break the blockade, sparking widespread outrage.

Among the 450 activists detained by Israel this week from the flotilla’s boats were more than 40 Spaniards, including the former mayor of Barcelona.

Earlier, Italy witnessed over 2 million people across the country join a one-day general strike in solidarity with Gaza.

In recent weeks, Spain has seen growing public support for Palestinians, while its government has stepped up diplomatic pressure against the far-right cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, protests against an Israeli cycling team repeatedly disrupted last month’s Vuelta a España race, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the war on Gaza as “genocide” and called for banning all Israeli teams from international sporting events.

Barcelona’s city council announced that police estimated 70,000 people joined Saturday’s protest, with families and people of all ages participating. Protesters carried Palestinian flags and wore pro-Palestine T-shirts, while placards bore slogans such as “Stop the Genocide” and “Hands Off the Flotilla.”

One demonstrator in Barcelona asked: “How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide live, after what Europe itself experienced in the 1940s? Now no one can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

In Rome, three Palestinian organizations, along with local unions and student groups, organized demonstrations.

Local media reported that thousands also marched in Dublin, Ireland, marking two years since Israel launched its war on Gaza and calling on the Irish government to sanction Israel.

On Saturday afternoon, a protest was also held in Athens, with police predicting an even larger rally on Sunday, coinciding with pro-Israel demonstrations.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the UK — a traditional ally of Israel — has consistently cracked down on pro-Palestine voices, with the police serving as one of London’s main tools of domestic suppression.

According to The Guardian, London witnessed a silent protest in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza on Saturday, October 4, which coincided with the banning of the Palestine Action group.

Dozens of police officers surrounded and detained protesters who sat silently on the pavement.

The Metropolitan Police arrested nearly 500 protesters during what it called a “public order policing operation” in central London. The final tally was 492 arrests: 488 for supporting a banned organization, and the rest for public disorder offenses.

Arrestees ranged in age from 18 to 89. By Saturday night, 297 were still in custody, with the remainder released on bail.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Federation claimed that officers were physically and mentally exhausted from policing such events, citing a recent violent incident in Manchester as a reason for heightened alert. He said there were not enough officers, with many having their leave canceled, working longer shifts, and being redeployed from other regions.

“Defend Our Jury” was the slogan of the organizers of Saturday’s protest in London.

In Manchester, a demonstration by the group “Friends of Palestine” marking the second anniversary of the war on Gaza also drew large crowds.

One activist said: “The genocide hasn’t stopped, so why should we stop? If the bombings had paused for a week, if food and medicine had been allowed into Gaza for a week, maybe we could have paused too. But that hasn’t happened — so we won’t be silent.”

The Manchester protest concluded outside the city’s Central Library, where the names of all Gazans killed in the two-year war were read aloud. The reading began at 7 a.m. with the youngest victims first, and by the time the march reached the library around 1:45 p.m., the list of toddlers had still not been completed.