Palestine Action

Anthony McIntyre ⚑ As I tumbled out of bed this morning, sore after a different type of tumble while walking the dog last night through Wheaton Hall, I consoled myself with the fact that I had a bed to lie in.

In Gaza where people used to have beds, thousands were murdered in them as they slept by Israeli bombs. Our aches and pains are inconsequential compared to lost limbs and lives.

There is a lot of solidarity activity taking place today and it is invigorating to know that Drogheda Stands With Palestine is, as always, determined to play its part. Unfortunately, aside from our West Street vigil in under two hours time, I will not make Dublin or any of the remaining events. I am not crying off with a sore hand. My wife is an American - yes, an immigrant - and because of that my daughter and son hold dual Irish-US citizenship. Resulting from that, a long standing arrangement for a Thanksgiving event has been put together for the weekend, with friends and family on the guest list. So for the sake of peace in the house where I usually have the last word - yes love - I will not be at today's major events in support of peace in Gaza.

The theme of solidarity weaving its way through today's activities, invites some reflection on the targeting of the group Palestine Action in the UK by the genocide enabling Starmer regime. The Starmer ban on Palestine Action to cite Jonathan Cook constitutes:

the first time in British history a civil-disobedience organisation has been declared a terrorist group, one now treated as on a par with al-Qaeda.

So what actually is this atrocious act of terrorism that many British pensioners are perpetrating? It amounts to little more than holding placards stating “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Consider that against the treatment of British born Israeli SS officers serving in the IDF who are free to roam the UK at will on return from perpetrating acts of genocide in Gaza. Has anybody yet been prosecuted for proclaiming they support Israel's actions in Gaza? Have such supporters of Israel ever been labelled terrorist by Starmer, who, as I have said repeatedly, openly endorsed the use of war crimes in Gaza in endorsing the Israeli intent to deprive the civilian population of electricity and water?

It is sometimes said that Starmer is what stands between democracy and the supposed fascism of Nigel Farage. Really? Gideon Levy, one of the most courageous journalists alive because he lives Tel Aviv but incessantly condemns the Israeli government for its crimes against humanity including genocide, said of the Zionism that Starmer supports:

The fascist resemblance between coalition and opposition is no accident. It is called Zionism. In 2025, you can no longer champion this national ideology without being a fascist or a militarist. It is now the essence of Zionism. Maybe it was that way from its start, and honesty requires that we admit that.
Netanyahu and Bennett, Ben-Gvir and Lapid are Zionists like almost all Israelis. When it comes to the land, they believe in Jewish supremacy and the lie of a Jewish and democratic state. Fascism is the inevitable consequence of this. It is no longer possible to be a Zionist and not a fascist.

Levy, given his circumstances, must feel like an authentic Nazi-averse Jew, living in a society surrounded by Nazis.

Few of us may have heard of Justice Martin Chamberlain. He was the British judge that granted a judicial review of the decision to ban Palestine Action. That review began on Thursday and is being heard by a three judge panel. On Tuesday lawyers for the execrable Starmer government will resort to Closed Material Proceedings. This is a well established trick of deception resorted to by successive British governments when they seek to bamboozle the courts through the use of intelligence dossiers for the purposes of obtaining the ruling they seek. Many victims of British state violence in the North have found their quest for truth subverted by CMPs. Their usage has always been associated with dictatorships in Stalinist Russia or Latin American. As Western governments have acquired a more authoritarian character, they have increasingly articulated into the processes and mechanisms of their repressive state apparatuses, the practices of the totalitarian regimes. Significantly in a move described as highly irregular Judge Martin Chamberlain was not included in the panel hearing the judicial review.

Jonathan Cook makes the point that:

this is not the first time Justice Chamberlain, who is noted for his independence, has been removed unexpectedly from a judicial review hearing in an Israel-related case. Earlier this year, he was replaced by two other judges after he granted a legal challenge to the government’s continuing sale of parts for F-35 jets to Israel, despite the fighter plane’s use in the killing of many tens of thousands of civilians and the destruction of more than 80 per cent of all buildings in Gaza.

As brazen as it is bleak, I feel it is incumbent on us to stand with the people threatened by the ban who include 'former senior military personnel, barristers, doctors, priests, Holocaust survivors, and a former adviser to King Charles.' Expressing support for Palestine Action is not a crime but an expression of opposition to genocide.

In the unsweetened words of Jonathan Cook:

This already looks like a self-evident stitch-up to extricate Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers from the mess they have made of British terrorism laws – all so they can continue conspiring in Israel’s genocide.

While it is not yet illegal in this part of Ireland to express admiration for the banned group, for the record I support Palestine Action. And I will continue to support it from prison if ever jailed for my words.

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.