As a wave of solidarity with Palestine swept through the working class of nations across the world, so the imperialist nations responded with censorship, intimidation and at times arrests in a desperate attempt to criminalise opposition to their murderous Zionist ally.
The current crisis has given the lie to illusions of ‘democracy’, ‘freedom of expression’ or ‘the right to protest’ when it comes to anything perceived as a genuine threat to imperialist interests. In Germany, the Palestine solidarity organisation Samidoun has been banned, its activists raided and arrested, while those who come out on the streets to show support for the Palestinian struggle have faced the full brutality of the German police. The government is mulling plans to make recognition of the Zionist state a precondition for acquiring German citizenship, and to criminalise any call for the abolition of Israel. In France – which tried and failed to ban demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine – plans are afoot to make anti-Zionism a criminal rather than a civil offence. In Canada, the police arrested FRFI supporter and well-known Palestine activist Wesam Khaled for leading a chant of ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ on 5 November. The spurious charges brought against him have since been dropped.
Britain
Police forces across Britain have toed the government line in cracking down on Palestine solidarity and issuing warnings to demonstrators about acceptable language and placards. The Metropolitan Police has arrested over 386 protesters and counter-protesters since 7 October. The reality is that these are deliberate tactics of intimidation – on charges that the police know will not stand up in court, but by that time the damage has been done, and fear has been instilled in those who might consider joining the protests.
The police have been openly using far-right and Zionist social media accounts to target protesters. On 4 November, the Met used video footage posted on the X account of a well-known Zionist to target and arrest an FRFI speaker. Comrades and supporters organised a 24-hour picket of Islington police station to make it clear – we will not be intimidated, or isolated. We will fight any charges the Met tries to stick on comrades through every court in the land.
Meanwhile, direct state repression is bolstered by the unofficial, sinister action of universities, acting as state proxies, which have acted swiftly to intimidate students who express solidarity with the Paletinian resistance.
At SOAS, six students faced disciplinary action, including two alumni which were permanently banned from campus. The Daily Mail published an article covering an event, in which a speech given by a student FRFI supporter was specifically targeted. At University College London, the Marxist Society, a Socialist Appeal student society, was suspended from operating as a society after caling for ‘Intifada until victory’. Students at these universities have refused to be intimidated, joining walk-outs across the country in solidarity with Palestine on 24 November.
Across the Atlantic, the crackdown on students has been even more intense. Students at Harvard who signed a letter condemning Israel for its genocidal campaign in occupied Palestine were subsequently doxxed, with their faces plastered on the side of trucks reading ‘Harvard’s leading antisemites’. A number of pro-Palestine students were also threatened with suspension by MIT following protests on campus. Similar disruptions have occurred at other universities including Columbia, Brown and Princeton.
Fight state repression!
Stand against state censorship!
Anti-Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism!
Sarah Guebre-Egziabher, Jacob O’Neill and Kotsai Sigauke
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 297 December 2023/January 2024
