Do you think the Palestinian protests should be restricted?

We can do both. Neither is mutually exclusive
We can also boycott Israeli goods.

People are doing lots of different things and what they chose to do is their choice

"They deemed being arrested for selfies more important than allowing police to protect Jewish spaces after a terrorist attack."

I don't think the blind man and others in wheel chairs were really concerned about selfies. Jewish people were on the protest- were they just there for selfies too ? It was a peaceful sit down protest against the Genocide. Why is the MSM conflating a terrorist act in Manchester with a peaceful protest? Once again shows us that Palestinian lives are worth less than others. Netanyahu had no intention of pausing the genocide for the day.

Arrests after police officers hit with sledgehammer https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mnnje4wlro

This is who the pensioners etc are supporting

Oh absolutely, I wouldn’t see the size of the Jewish population as indicative of anything much. But extrapolating from that tiny population to say that the absence of a sizeable Irish Jewish community “has given us a freer hand to take a more principled position”, as a former Irish diplomat to Ramallah did, is problematic to say the least.

I think that's where you start.
People must have a right to protest. It's when the same people protest about the same topic over and over again in the same places.
Just stop oil were the same, disruptive and repetitive.

Having said that those repeating anti Jewish hatred should be imprisoned and banned from future protests.

I just wanted to repeat this post because it's spot on. I can honestly say 100% of Irish people I know support the Palestinian people and zero that I know support Hamas. We remember not so long ago how it felt to have a terrorist group acting in our name and we experienced the judgment and racism that followed. Many people have likened the Israelis actions post the Hamas attacks as the equivalent of mass murder of Irish people following the Omagh bomb or earlier terrorist attacks. Obviously it's a much much larger scale but it's the same analogy.

As for Ireland being anti Jewish I honestly don't know but I know I never met a Jew here in the 80s or 90s. I also never met an Indian or Nigerian or Jamaican or Swedish or Brazilian. Because Ireland had no immigration whatsoever and had a mass emigration problem. Why, because it was unbelievably poor and miserable, that's what happens when a country still destitute from famine and years of (often brutal) colonialism has to build itself up from fighting for independence and the civil war. It takes time and a couple for generations. No one wanted to be here, there was nothing for them. I think its very over simplified to say a country is prejudiced against a race based on the fact that they don't live here.

It's sickening enough that the powerful people in this world have taken no action to stop an ongoing genocide without now asking the civilians to keep their mouth shut too. It's bad enough that we'll have to explain to our children and grandchildren how we all knew about it and didn't do anything to stop it. At least by going on a peaceful protest people feel their voice is somewhat heard, even if they are powerless. The violent or extremist element can be dealt with but the police same as at any large event.

No, they were arrested for supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation.

They deemed being arrested for selfies more important than allowing police to protect Jewish spaces after a terrorist attack.

"the pro-Palestine marches was openly antisemitic in tone and saw some 300-odd arrests"

Yes many of them pensioners and many disabled people , peacefully holding signs against the horrific genocide being perpetrated by Israel. Many Jewish people also protest against the mass slaughter for which Starmer's government provide weapons and intelligence.

x.com/seicilop/status/1974812636089823375/photo/1

Hi, I just did a bit of digging to remind myself as it was two years ago and I think it was this one: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/20/ireland-palestine-ceasefire-gaza

Apologies, it was a diplomat rather than a TD, and he was quoted in the article rather than writing it. But I was a bit confused as I remembered his quote going much further than it does here. Then I spotted the footnote to say that it had been amended at a later date “for editorial reasons.” Funny, that. The original quote was picked up here: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/366081/is-ireland-pro-palestine-because-it-has-so-few-jews/ and elsewhere.

Because the UK and other western countries need to stop arming and supporting Israel, and only public protest can achieve that.

I posted links to videos earlier in the thread.

I'm sure that's very inconvenient for you.

Oh go away with your nonsense

How? By walking through English cities carrying a flag and shouting at police officers? Wouldn't it be better to spend the day doing overtime and to send that day's wages to a Palestinian charity/cause?

Can you link to the article about the Irish TD please, I'd like to read that for myself.

The point is try and stop a genocide going on before our eyes. It's not a matter on which one can agree to disagree.

Dd was there on Saturday. She is quite a liberal but she came back saying she was disgusted by protestors yelling and screaming in the police’s faces, and also shouting at and frightening tourists.

The right to protest should be protected, but I think for a core group it’s less about protesting a cause and more about a day out aggressively causing trouble and getting a chance to attack the police.

I’m sick of them. London is horrific at weekends now.

We've been all over the country last few years - uni visists - seen a lot of these marches all have been peaceful and a surpsing variety of people.

The marches we've seen often get ignored in the press - no racists or antisemitism chanting and I haven't seen face coverings.

However I don't think these marches are having any poltical effect and looking at recent press many are getting more militant so do agree they are increasingly looking counter productive.

Ultimatley I think Labour are playing politics just as previous Tory did getting more authoritarian laws passed using them as convienet cover so what ever I think about the marches keeping a long term eye on where we are going it does look a bit concerning.

Only authoritarian regimes ban protests!

Those protestors are standing up for the right to attack our U.K. military, endanger our national security while we are at war, and on the side put a police officer in hospital.

If I was going to be arrested, it wouldn’t be that group I’d be getting a criminal record for.

If it were Russia doing it, people would be horrified and scared. Stick a keffiyeh on it and mindless idiots will laud them as heroes.

Yes they should have restrictions, and no face coverings either.

I disagree
They are protesting against Labour overreaching.
Prescribing PA as a terrorist group is an attempt to shut down protests which as we’ve heard from some MPs is exactly what they want.

The protestors are standing up for Free Speech
I applaud all those who try to maintain our rights and deplore those who try to take them away

The police do arrest people for that and for supporting terrorist organisations. Around 500 were arrested at last Saturday's 'peaceful ' protests. It costs a fortune policing week in and week out and all the other days they select too.

They are fuckwits who decided that despite Palestine Action being allowed to appeal their proscription through the courts have decided to get arrested to fuel their own sense of self-righteousness. This is more important to them than allowing police to free up resources to protect Jews in the recent aftermath of a terror attack

The Palestine Action protestors are selfish and despicable people.