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Powys County Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Home Secretary decides to proscribe Palestine Action after ‘disgraceful attack'
The Home Secretary has decided to proscribe Palestine Action and will lay an order before Parliament next week to make membership and support for the protest group illegal. Yvette Cooper confirmed the move after Palestine Action vandalised two planes inside RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday. The incident is being investigated by counter-terror police. The ban under terror laws will make it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, and will be punishable by up to 14 years in prison. A Palestine Action spokesperson said they would be seeking a legal challenge to the 'unhinged reaction'. A draft order will be laid in Parliament next Monday, and if approved after debates by MPs and peers, the ban could come into force by Friday. Ms Cooper said in a written ministerial statement: 'The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action. 'The UK's defence enterprise is vital to the nation's national security and this Government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk.' Palestine Action posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday morning. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. Armed forces minister Luke Pollard said the act was 'epically stupid' and a 'direct attack on our national security'. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge went further, calling it 'sabotage'. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Ms Cooper said Palestine Action's activity has increased since 2024 and its methods have become 'more aggressive', with its members showing 'willingness to use violence'. She named three attacks at Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol in 2024, as causing damage costing millions of pounds. Ms Cooper said the ban will allow law enforcement to 'effectively disrupt the escalating actions of this serious group', describing a further vandalism attack on a Jewish-owned business last month that Palestine Action claimed responsibility for as 'clearly intimidatory and unacceptable'. 'Proscription represents a legitimate response to the threat posed by Palestine Action,' she said. 'Its activities meet the threshold set out in the statutory tests established under the Terrorism Act 2000.' A spokesperson for Palestine Action said the Home Secretary's statement 'makes a series of categorically false claims' and the group has instructed lawyers to pursue 'all avenues for legal challenge'. They added: 'This is an unhinged reaction to an action spraying paint in protest at the UK Government arming Israel's slaughter of the Palestinian people. 'We are teachers, nurses, students and parents who take part in actions disrupting the private companies who are arming Israel's genocide, by spray painting or entering their factory premises. 'It is plainly preposterous to rank us with terrorist groups like Isis, National Action and Boko Haram.' Earlier on Monday, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that plans to ban the group would mark a very serious step and that this 'may be an escalation too far'. The announcement comes as police made 13 arrests after protesters clashed with police at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in central London on Monday. The protest had initially been planned to take place outside the Houses of Parliament, but the location was changed early on Monday morning after the Metropolitan Police imposed an exclusion zone. The Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was 'shocked' by the planned protest and described Palestine Action as an 'organised extremist criminal group'. Asked about Sir Mark's comments, Palestine Action spokesperson Max Geller said on Monday: 'It's really troubling that the head of the Met would pre-empt the Government and ban us from protesting (at the Houses of Parliament). 'It's a frustrating turn for democracy in this country.' The Home Secretary added the proscription is specific to Palestine Action and does not affect lawful protest groups or others campaigning on issues around Palestine and the Middle East. 'It is vitally important that those seeking to protest peacefully, including pro-Palestinian groups, those opposing the actions of the Israeli government, and those demanding changes in the UK's foreign policy, can continue to do so,' she said. The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'.
Spectator
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
How dare Sally Rooney ‘admire' Palestine Action
I'm old enough to remember when it was neo-Nazis who smashed up Jewish-owned businesses. Now it's so-called progressives. Not long ago, a Jewish business in Stamford Hill in London had its windows smashed and its doors kicked in and red paint sprayed all over its walls. Only it wasn't Combat 18 or the oafish dregs of the National Front that carried out this mini-Kristallnacht – it was Palestine Action. Israelophobia is the safest, most celebrated political position in Britain Yes, the lobby group that is gushed over by Sally Rooney in today's Guardian, and which is cheered by every bourgeois leftist with an X account, wielded its hammers against a Jewish-owned company. It was on 28 May. In the dead of night, three masked men laid waste to the offices of a landlord business in Stamford Hill, a part of London famous for its lively community of Orthodox Jews. Palestine Action says it targeted the business not because it is Jewish but because it rents out premises to Elbit Systems UK, an Israeli arms manufacturer. But the business said this isn't true. Speaking anonymously – because he feared anti-Semitic blowback – a spokesman for the company insisted it had 'no connection with Elbit'. To my mind, it's immaterial whether or not the business has connections with Elbit – Palestine Action's attack on it was disgusting regardless. You don't need a PhD in the horrors of the 20th century to understand how distressing it is for Jews in particular to see their businesses smashed to smithereens. Those shards of glass on the streets of Stamford Hill will have triggered the most traumatic memories among the local population. 'For Jewish people', this kind of destruction is 'very, very scary', said the business's spokesman. Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood security group, said it was horrifying to once again see 'the criminal harassment of Jewish-owned properties'. Whatever Palestine Action's political intentions might have been, the objective impact of its criminal assault on a business owned by Jews was to terrorise a Jewish population. Jews whose families came to the UK precisely to escape those 'nights of broken glass' in Russia, Germany and other nations that turned on their Jewish populations found themselves surrounded by shattered glass in Stamford Hill in 2025. Unforgivably, even the business's mezuzah – the scroll box some Jewish families attach to their front doors to remind them of their faith – ended up stained with the blood-coloured paint that Palestine Action splashed around. It's worth reminding ourselves of this woke Kristallnacht today as pompous leftists gather in Trafalgar Square to defend Palestine Action. The government has announced that it plans to proscribe the group under anti-terrorism laws following its trespassing and vandalism at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last week. And the anti-Israel left is up in arms. Palestine Action are heroes, they say. Really? It's a shame that it is Palestine Action's incursion into Brize Norton – serious as that was – that has hogged the headlines. Because for me, its incursion into Stamford Hill was far more indicative of what a morally dubious movement this is. That horrendous attack confirmed that when the self-righteous of England's radical middle classes become feverishly obsessed with the 'evil' of the world's only Jewish state, then there's likely to be blowback for Jews here in the UK. All Palestine Action did was 'spray-paint a plane', says Sally Rooney in the Guardian. No it isn't. They also spray-painted a Jewish-owned business. They also got paint on a mezuzah. They also made Jews 'very, very scared' by smashing a shopfront in a Jewish suburb. Does she still 'admire Palestine Action wholeheartedly'? If so, then I humbly venture she is not on the right side of history in the way she seems to imagine. Independent MP Zarah Sultana has also offered her solidarity to Palestine Action. Their direct action is not a big deal, she suggests, because 'you can repair a plane, you can replace a broken window'. I sincerely hope Ms Sultana is not minimising the broken windows of Stamford Hill. I hope she is not downplaying the moral injury caused to Jews when they see the shattered glass their ancestors also saw. Perhaps she can clarify what she meant. This is important, Ms Sultana. Some are saying the clampdown on Palestine Action is an attempt to silence criticism of Israel. Get over yourselves. Hating Israel is the dinner-party prejudice du jour. It's the moral glue of the cultural establishment. You're no one in polite society unless you pull on a keffiyeh and defame the Jewish state as the most bloodthirsty state. Quit the faux-radicalism – Israelophobia is the safest, most celebrated political position in Britain right now. What worries me is its consequences. It seems unquestionable to me that when the influential single out the Jewish nation as the wickedest nation, the most twisted, genocidal 'entity' on earth, then ordinary Jews will get some heat. It's already happening. Should Palestine Action be branded a terror threat? I don't know. But I do know that, wittingly or otherwise, they terrorised the Jews of Stamford Hill last month.
Axios
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
"Zero tolerance": SF leaders denounce recent acts of antisemitism
Local officials and community leaders gathered Friday at City Hall to condemn a recent string of antisemitic incidents and to assure San Franciscans that perpetrators will be punished. Why it matters: The public stand comes after Jewish-owned cafe Manny's was vandalized and a man accused of a violent attack in the Marina was charged with a hate crime. What they're saying: "As a member of the Jewish community, these incidents hit close to home," Mayor Daniel Lurie said. "I want to be clear that we have zero tolerance for acts of hatred. ... If you commit a hate crime in San Francisco, we will find you and we will arrest you." There has been "a dramatic rise in antisemitism locally and nationally, on both polar extremes left and right of our politics," Tye Gregory, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said at the press conference. "This isn't about what's going on outside of the United States in the Middle East or anywhere else," district attorney Brooke Jenkins said. "This is about what we believe and who we are." State of play: Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, the Bay Area Jewish Community Federation has recorded over 40 threats — including bomb threats to local synagogues, schools and community centers — and more than 220 incidents of harassment and intimidation, senior vice president Rebecca Randall said Friday. Manny's was hit with graffiti saying "F**k Manny" and "The only good settler is a dead 1" following a night of anti-ICE protests earlier in June. Meanwhile, the attack in the Marina occurred after a Jewish woman asked a group of people to stop shouting "F**k Jews, free Palestine," she told the San Francisco Chronicle. Juan Diaz-Rivas punched the woman's friend, repeating antisemitic remarks and causing him to lose consciousness, prosecutors allege. Diaz-Rivas has pleaded not guilty. The big picture: Jewish leaders across the nation have warned that President Trump's invocation of antisemitism to justify policies like slashing college funds and deporting student protesters risks making Jewish people scapegoats.
Vancouver Sun
28-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Opinion: Paying the price of hate: Government security funding should be made permanent
One year ago, Vancouver's Jewish community awoke to shocking news: An individual had poured an accelerant on the front doors of Congregation Schara Tzedeck, the oldest synagogue in the city, and set them ablaze. Thankfully, no one was harmed. And we were grateful that the Vancouver Police Department and elected leaders condemned the attacks and stepped up to support our community. But here we are, a year later. No suspect has been identified and the threats to our community institutions persist. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Incidents like this have become far too common. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, Jewish-owned businesses, homes, schools, and synagogues across Canada have been vandalized, defaced with antisemitic graffiti and, in the most shocking cases, targeted with gunfire. To the public, these may just be dramatic headlines, but for the Jewish community, each incident is a terrifying reminder that the places where our children gather and where our most vulnerable community members access services could be next. This has taken an emotional toll. According to a Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver survey, 93 per cent of respondents feel 'less secure' now than they did before Oct. 7 and, alarmingly, 61 per cent reported struggling with their mental health. There are also significant financial costs to this new reality. Over the past 19 months, the total security costs for Jewish institutions across Metro Vancouver have risen to more than $100,000 a month — an increase of more than 1,300 per cent. That means vital funding no longer goes toward feeding our community's most food-insecure, providing services to seniors, or giving children from families living in poverty a chance to participate in extracurricular activities like sports or summer camps. In Canada, communities should not have to pay to gather safely, yet those targeted by hate are often forced to shoulder these costs. In 2023, the provincial Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General announced a one-time anti-hate community support fund, offering $10,000 grants to organizations representing groups at risk of being targeted by hateful acts. The funding supported 'security equipment, graffiti removal and repairs to damaged property as part of community efforts to respond to hate-motivated crimes.' A further $200,000 in funding to address the rise in security costs for the Jewish community was provided in 2024. These programs have now ended, but the security needs of the community remain. As we saw with the explosion of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic — and now with Oct. 7 and our community — it is inevitable that global events lead to the targeting of local diasporas. Programs like the anti-hate community support fund provide crucial resources that allow vulnerable communities to secure and rebuild their institutions. Notably, this program is funded through civil forfeiture, meaning it does not come at a cost to taxpayers — an important consideration in today's challenging fiscal climate. As the shock of last year's arson fades with time, the threats to our community remain unchanged. That's why the provincial government must make the anti-hate community support fund permanent. Nico Slobinsky is the vice-president, Pacific region, of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
Toronto Star
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Some protests in Toronto are crossing lines. We shouldn't let city staff decide where those lines are
Many Torontonians are sick of anti-Israel protests that have gone too far. Some have been peaceful, but others have blockaded major intersections or blared hateful chants. Some have targeted Jews. Recently, a protester appeared to direct a smoke bomb towards diners at Jewish-owned Café Landwer. Toronto police took the unusual step of charging the suspect with mischief. The incident was a reminder that police already have the laws they need to end the disorder when protests cross a line. There is simply no need for the new 'bubble zone' bylaw that the City of Toronto council passed on Thursday in a 16-9 vote. The bylaw, which has been debated at council for more than a year, is a response to protests in Toronto outside places of worship, religious schools and daycare centres after rallies targeted the Jewish and also Hindu communities in the Greater Toronto Area. The bylaw will ban disfavoured political speech within 50 metres of eligible centres that request to be placed inside a protest-free zone. That may sound appealing to those fed up with the chaos, but bubble zones are unacceptable limits on the Charter right to freedom of expression. A better option: just enforce the laws we already have, like mischief and intimidation, when protesters go too far. The main problem with the bubble zones bylaw is they are content -based restrictions. They silence people on the basis of their message. The bylaw will allow city staff, upon request, to create an 'access zone' outside of a school, child care centre or places of worship (so-called Social Infrastructure), inside of which no person would be allowed to '(1) perform or attempt to perform an act of disapproval concerning a person's attendance (at the school, place of worship or daycare) … (2) persistently request that a person refrain from accessing … (3) obstruct, hinder or interfere or attempt to obstruct, hinder or interfere with another person's access … or '(4) express an objection or disapproval towards any person based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion/creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance by any means, including graphic, verbal, or written means.' While the law states that its purpose is to protect 'access,' only subsection (3) addresses access, and it's redundant: obstructing, hindering and interfering is mischief under the Criminal Code. Just ask the Ottawa Freedom Convoy protesters recently convicted for their street blockades. Subsections (1), (2), and (3) are content-based restrictions because they would give city staff the power to ban speakers based on their message within 50 metres of more than 3,000 locations across the city. Think about how broad that power is. The bylaw could be used to block someone from protesting sales of land in the West Bank that take place inside a synagogue. It could be used to block protests outside high schools against transgender women competing in women's sports — and counterprotests in favour of trans rights. It could be used, as Coun. Alejandra Bravo pointed out, to ban protests outside Catholic churches by residential school survivors. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Content-based restrictions are hard to justify because they undermine the very purpose of free speech, which is to allow individuals, rather than the state, to decide what messages they wish to express. People need this freedom to express even the most unpopular ideas because often the received wisdom turns out to be wrong. You can't do that when the state can act as a censor. The good news is that laws that aim at the physical consequences of speech, rather than content, tend to be constitutionally sound. In addition to laying mischief or intimidation charges for protesters who block sidewalks and streets, police can enforce noise bylaws and the Highway Traffic Act when people disturb the peace with loudspeakers in pickup trucks. Council should reconsider this bylaw. Rather than infringing rights, we should just use the laws we already have.
