Gan Tom Bach

We are on the edge of history, a moment not to be ignored. Palestine Action is set to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation alongside the neo-nazi ‘Maniac Murder Cult’ and the Russian far right RIM in one grouped ruling, no doubt to ensure that the bill passes.

I am writing this off the back of attending Glastonbury festival, I recall being at the front of crowd for Kneecap, a group facing their own trouble with the British state. Looking around I saw dozens of raised Palestine flags, keffiyeh and signs of solidarity. I saw love, humanity, and when the group took to the stage it felt less like a concert and more of a protest. The capacity of that field was 30,000 and it was closed of due to over crowding, 30,000+ people all there not just to show support for the band but to show the government that we will not stand for their complicity. 

The government is attacking these groups, Kneecap, Palestine Action (PA), because they are effective. Kneecap have become widely popular and spend their shows rallying support for Palestine, whilst PA shut down factories and pressure businesses to stop their work with Elbit and Israel, hit their profits, cut the ties. 

But never has violence been the agenda, I know this because I worked with PA four years ago to shut down a factory in my home town with our own rooftop occupation. The company, Solvay, manufactures parts for Hermes drones and F35 jets used by the IDF. I couldn’t stand to see my home be complicit in this occupation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want your home to be either. 

So am I to be labelled a terrorist? I don’t feel like one. Are family and friends supposed to see me that way now? All those other comrades who took action to prevent a genocide, the activists who even won their court cases, are they now to be condemned? What of the 400,000 people that follow PA on social media, will they be terrorist sympathisers too?

Or will the mask slip, the carefully crafted semantics fall apart. It seems to me now that our government just uses the term “Terrorist” to persecute those it doesn’t like. 

The IDF have killed 50,000+ Palestinians, thousands of which have been children. Recently they have killed 400 whilst queuing for food at a place they were instructed to go. The IDF wear the clothing of women they’ve killed to mock them. They post videos of their destruction and vile hatred towards Palestinians. They protect illegal settlers and constantly harass the indigenous population. They are the killers, they are the criminals, they are the terrorists. 

I believe support for Palestine Action will only grow in spite of the ruling, whatever may come. I believe the government will only become more reactive to this, too. We need to be ready.