British woman referred to counter-terror org, questioned by police over support for Israel - report

A 44-year old British mother of two was questioned by two police officers after being referred to Prevent, the United Kingdom's counter-extremism program, due to her advocacy for Israel, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. 

Holly Passmore told the Telegraph that the officers asked her about her recent trip to Israel, telling her that she may be "at risk of manipulation." Passmore later obtained police records through a subject access request and found that she'd been labeled as having mental health issues and being "vulnerable to negative influence." 

The reports revealed that the referral said Passmore "over-identified with the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and was “supportive of Israel to the point that she has traveled to Israel.”

Passmore has had health concerns she was open about, including severe endometriosis and adenomyosis, as well as ADHD and autism, but told the Telegraph that nobody would describe her as vulnerable. 

Visit came despite lack of counter-terror concern

“They knew I’m not vulnerable, but they wanted to monitor me because I was advocating for Israel,” she said.

“When they came to the door, they didn’t discuss my health. They only asked about Israel.”

The police intelligence report acknowledged that "there is no CT [counter-terror] concern with an individual being supportive of Israel as it's a democracy and it would not be a CT concern for a person to travel there."

The report concluded that "no further inquiries are currently necessary to be completed by any other department in respect of this report."

But Passmore, who is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Holocaust studies at the University of Haifa, was visited by police officers weeks after a trip to Israel in June of last year. 

“They asked me why I was interested in ‘Jewish issues’, because County Durham is not a Jewish area,” she added. “They even asked me if I’d ever been to Auschwitz, and I said, ‘Yes’.

“I said to them: ‘Look, I get that this is not something that people around here necessarily are interested in, but you know this is something that’s important to me, and it is not illegal’.

Passmore urged not to discuss case online

Passmore had been to Israel on a press trip alongside British journalists and social media influencers after building an online following on X/Twitter.

Originally created to follow gossip about the Duchess of Sussex, the account, which now has over 28,000 followers, turned to campaigning for humanitarian rights, particularly the plight of women in Afghanistan. After the October 7 massacre, she used her platform to speak out against antisemitism and express solidarity with Jewish people. 

Passmore said that she was urged by the police to stop discussing the case online after she complained about the visit.

A Counter Terrorism Policing North East spokesman said they could not comment on an individual case.

“All referrals are treated in the strictest confidence and will always prioritize the safety and welfare of those concerned. Where we are notified of concerns for a particular individual, specially trained officers will listen carefully to the concerns and offer any additional support that may be necessary,” they told the Telegram.