Met detective sergeant sacked over ‘antisemitic’ post about Gaza

A Metropolitan Police detective sergeant has been sacked after posting “overtly political” content on social media regarding the conflict in Gaza, including one comment that was deemed antisemitic.

Rebecca Collens served within the Road and Transport Policing Command.

She reshared an image labelled “Palestine 2024” alongside an image of victims from what seemed to be a concentration camp, labelled “Germany 1945”.

The post carried the caption: “The world said never again and here we are again 79 years later.”

Alongside the post, she commented: “A classic case of the abused becomes the abuser… no?”, a police misconduct panel heard.

The panel said that Ms Collens had accepted that the use of the word “abused” would refer to Jewish people rather than the State of Israel, which did not exist in 1945. Therefore, the post fell within the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

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The posts were collectively deemed “overtly political”, and the panel found they “demonstrated a lack of impartiality and presented a one-sided view of the Gaza conflict during a time of heightened public controversy” after the events of 7 October 2023, which led to the war in Gaza.

The panel heard that Ms Collens shared the posts on a private Instagram account with more than 100 followers.

She was reported anonymously in May 2024 to the force’s Right Line whistleblowing service.

On one occasion, she shared a post which read: “Stop calling this a war. There is no parity of power. Israel is one of the most powerful, nuclear-armed militaries on earth, funded, equipped and backed unconditionally by the single most powerful, nuclear-armed military in the history of the world. This is genocide.”

Another time, she shared a post which said: “Israel bombed the international airports of Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, forcing them out of service. Bombing civilian airports in Syria. Massacring entire families in Gaza. Dropping white phosphorus on Lebanon and Gaza. This is the Israel that Western media tells you is a ‘victim,’” according to the force.

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In another post, she reshared what appeared to be a graphic comparing the number of children killed per day in Auschwitz with the number of children killed per day in Gaza, the Met said.

She also shared a post criticising a potential ban or conditions on a march calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, adding her own comments, “god forbid people protesting against war/war crimes/genocide for a ceasefire on a day where we remember the devastation of every day during a world war… make it make sense!”, the force said.

Ms Collens said that her intention was to highlight the “suffering and devastation in Gaza” and that she had felt “guilt, helplessness, heartbreak and pain” about what was happening.

She told the panel that she had no intention to “hurt anyone or be disrespectful of the Jewish faith”.

Regarding the post found by the panel to be antisemitic, the panel wrote: “Within the IHRA working definition there are contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life and found the following example to be relevant in relation to this one post: the drawing of comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

“The panel concluded that on the balance of probabilities the post itself is antisemitic, whether or not the officer had appreciated at the time it would be considered so.”

Ms Collens said she felt “horrified about being called antisemitic; mortified and heartbroken”, the panel wrote.

Detective chief superintendent Donna Smith said: “DS Collens’s conduct was wholly unacceptable and I find it inconceivable that she did not think these posts could be seen as offensive or overtly political.

“There is no room in the organisation for anyone who thinks this type of behaviour is appropriate. We are building a culture where anyone can feel welcome in the Met and those who undermine this are not suitable to serve.”