For the past 2 years there has been a systematic attack on the right to protest on Palestine. It is not just the police & the courts that have been suppressing free speech. It is not only central & local government that protects Zionism. It is not only pro-Palestine individuals & organisations that have suffered. Health workers have been attacked, universities have suppressed both students & staff, the church has punished pro-Palestine sentiment, unions & political parties have ignored votes by their members and cultural institutions generally have supported Israel and denied a platform for anti-Zionism. All this helped by media bias and even attacks on pro-Palestinian journalists. Draconian legislation has even been felt by Jewish Network for Palestine JNP as two of JNP’s Steering Group have been detained under anti-terrorism legislation as the state represses free speech in order to try and silence them.
Since both these arrests, the UK government has tightened the restrictions on free speech still further by proscribing Palestinian Action. In response, on Tuesday 5th August, Jewish pro-Palestine activists handed in a letter to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary opposing such repression and demanding the government help to end genocide and bring about justice for the Palestinian people.
Here is a copy of the letter of which JNP is one of the many signatories;
To Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on 5/8/25
Proscribe genocide, not protest
We are Jews who oppose the genocide by Israel against the Palestinian people, the reality of which is agonisingly on show every day on radio, television and social media. Opposing the brutality of genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza and the West Bank, including taking direct action, is not antisemitic. Nor is it terrorism. We consider the proscription of Palestine Action as illegitimate and unethical.
We oppose genocide as human beings. We oppose it because we are Jews who have learnt from our history to be vigilant against injustice and stand up for justice for all people, everywhere. For us, ‘Never again’ does not mean only crimes against Jews, let alone criticism of Israel, but never again by anyone to anyone.
The International Court of Justice identified Israel’s behaviour in Gaza as possible genocide. It is now widely recognised as actual genocide. Dozens and dozens of analyses by respected human-rights organisations and genocide scholars throughout the world have all now reached the same conclusion. We draw your attention to three of the examples; the late July 2025 B’Tselem Report “Our Genocide” publication, the report “Amnesty International investigation concludes Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza” on 5th December 2024 and Israel historian Omer Bartov’s reluctant acceptance of this view in the New York Times in “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. “(15th July 2025)
Further we also note the ICJ’s insistence that once it had identified the risk of genocide by Israel, the obligation on other states was to ensure they were not complicit, to halt genocide if it had happened, and to prevent it if it looked likely to happen.
The actions of the UK government expand on a disturbing trend of attempts by successive governments to restrict peaceful protests intended to save lives. Lengthy prison sentences have been given to climate protesters as well as those opposed to arms sales to Israel. It has made the UK among the most repressive countries in Europe according to UN representatives, especially since the proscription of Palestine Action.
Article 10 of the Human Rights Act specifies the right to freedom of expression which includes the right to take non-violent direct action in accordance with one’s conscience even where this involves civil disobedience. This has long been a route to achieving progressive change in society, for example in the courage of the suffragettes. Shortly before the debate on proscribing Palestine Action, many MPs were pictured wearing sashes expressing solidarity with the suffragette movement amongst whom the use of direct action was extensive. Direct action was also an integral part of the civil rights movement in the USA, and the anti-apartheid movement in the UK. It has been an important feature of the struggle to limit ongoing climate catastrophes by protesters around the world as supported by the Aarhus convention which the UK signed in 2005.
Reassurances have been given that the right to protest is protected:
Dan Jarvis, a Minister of State for the Home Office, assured MPs in the House of Commons on 2nd July:
“Proscribing Palestine Action will not impinge the right to protest. People have always been able to protest lawfully or express support for Palestine, and they can continue to do so.”
These words were reinforced by Justice Chamberlain when an interim injunction against the order was sought.
“97. It will remain lawful for the claimant and other persons who were members of PA prior to proscription to continue to express their opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza and elsewhere, including by drawing attention to what they regard as Israel’s genocide and other serious violations of international law. They will remain legally entitled to do so in private conversations, in print, on social media and at protests. Even if their protests take the form of direct action which involves criminality, the fact that they were previously members of an organisation which is now proscribed would not as a matter of law aggravate their criminal conduct. (our emphasis) It follows that it is hyperbole to talk of the claimant or others being “gagged” in this respect (as the claimant has alleged). They could not incur criminal liability based on their past association with a group which was not proscribed at the time.”
In spite of this, we have seen some extraordinary police action, including this arrest involving Private Eye where a protestor merely carried a poster image of a satirical cartoon previously published without challenge in the magazine and in Kent where Police threatened to arrest a protestor for holding a Palestinian flag. We note the Kent police response, justifying an intervention of theirs, said in words quoted in Haroon Siddique’s Guardian report:
“Under the Terrorism Act it is a criminal offence to carry or display items that may arouse reasonable suspicion that an individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation such as Palestine Action.”
The offending “items” in that instance were a Palestinian flag, the utterance “Free Palestine”, and a poster saying “Israel is committing genocide’
We believe that such extraordinary actions show that immediate explanation and clarification to the police are required.
The government should stop deflecting attention from genocide by linking non-violent protest to terrorism. Instead, we call on your government to use its influence to help to end genocide and bring about justice for the Palestinian people. It should immediately recognise the state of Palestine and initiate meaningful sanctions such as:
• Suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement.
• Ending all exports used by the Israeli military in weapons or otherwise.
• Ending all UK military and intelligence collaboration with Israel.
• Banning imports from Israel.
• Questioning the Israeli ambassador to the UK about her support for genocide.
• Informing UK citizens participating in the Israeli military that they risk prosecution for war crimes.
It is time to end the government’s hand-wringing over the level of slaughter and suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, mixed with tacit support to the Israeli state. The United Kingdom is not powerless in the face of Israel’s breaches of international law and we call on the government to take the tough diplomatic, political and economic action to help end genocide, occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing.
Yours faithfully,
LEAD SIGNATORIES
These are the sources embedded above:-
B’Tselem Report
Amnesty report
Omer Bartov article
Dan Jarvis quote
Justice Chamberlain quote
Kent police quote
