On Saturday 14 March, an RCG supporter was arrested during a protest for Palestine in Brighton, on suspicion of a ‘racially-aggravated public order offence’, after protesters chanted the word ‘intifada’.
This followed a doxxing campaign by local Zionists who work with Sussex police to get Palestine supporters arrested. Two weeks previously on 28 February, the Revolutionary Communist Group alongside Red Sussex, Jews Against Zionism, Trans Liberation Front, Anti-Raids Brighton and the Revolutionary Communist Party had organised a pro-Palestine counter demo in response to a march that had been announced by Zionists to take place on the same day. Sussex Friends of Israel, as well as other Zionist and far right groups had organised a hate march from Brighton station to the clock tower to antagonise and intimidate the people of Brighton, who overwhelmingly support Palestine. We held a rally at the clock tower to make it clear that Zionists are not welcome.
The arrested comrade had acted as mic compere during the 28 February counter-demo and led on chants, as well as delivering a speech that asserted the internationally recognised right of an occupied people to resist, including through armed struggle. Attendees at the demo were continually harassed by Sussex Police and threatened with arrest for using chants relating to the word intifada, an Arabic word that translates as ‘shaking off’ or ‘uprising’ and is commonly used to describe the Palestinan struggle for liberation. Use of the word intifada is not illegal, and attempts to ban the word are inherently racist and amount to political censorship. At the same time this was happening, Zionists picked fights with members of the public, but the police did nothing about this.
Heidi Bachram, a local Zionist and supporter of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA), filmed our counter demo then posted photos and video of our comrade on X in an attempt to identify her and the organisation she belonged to, demanding that she be arrested. Bachram made subsequent posts in which she claimed she had been interviewed by the police about the alleged incident. On 8 March, Sussex Police confirmed on their Facebook page that they wanted to arrest our comrade, under suspicion of a ‘racially-aggravated public order offence’, and shared the photo that Bachram had supplied them with. Bachram’s lawfare activities are notorious: a judge threw out a misleading and vexatious anti-Semitism lawsuit by Bachram and CAA in December, even going so far as to describe the prosecution as ‘abusive’ in his ruling.
The Brighton branch of the Revolutionary Communist Group responded by mobilising various groups including Brighton Antifascists and individuals in Brighton that support Palestine to join an emergency defence action on 14 March and politically challenge this threat of arrest. Several FRFI supporters held a stall by the clock tower to counter the local Zionists that were holding their regular pro-genocide rally in which they wave Zionist flags, the imperialist British Union Flag and Iranian monarchist symbols, as well as blaring out AI-generated music with racist anti-Palestinian lyrics. Numerous members of the public came to support us and to take a stand against the Zionists. There was also a very heavy police presence.
The remaining comrades mobilised at the train station and held a defiant march through Brighton to the clock tower in support of Palestine and to challenge the repression by the British state. As soon as the march came to the clock tower, the police swooped in to arrest our comrade and dragged her into a police van. She was then taken to Brighton Custody Centre in Hollingbury, on the outskirts of Brighton.
Brighton RCG and supporting groups went to the Brighton Custody Centre to protest against the comrade’s arrest and demand her release. She was released with bail conditions eight hours later – emerging defiant and chanting ‘Free, free Palestine!’. The following day, she stood alongside Sarah of the SOAS 2 to address a crowd of thousands at the annual Al Quds rally for Palestine in London, demanding an end to police repression of the Palestine movement.
This is the latest politically motivated arrest of an RCG supporter at a pro-Palestine action, which demonstrates that the British police uphold the racism and defend the imperialist interests of the British state. They enthusiastically serve as the personal snatch squad of the racist, screeching Zionists, enlisting narks like Heidi Bachram to spot their targets. They will continue to enforce censorship and allow Zionists to intimidate those that speak out for Palestinian liberation. We must therefore continue to challenge attacks on freedom of speech, whether these come from Zionists or the British police, and defend the right to support Palestine.
Shame on Sussex Police!
No to political censorship!
Free Palestine
