Do the people being arrested for Palestine Action not know about the sledgehammer attack?

[noblegiraffe]

With 500-odd people having been arrested for expressing support for proscribed terrorist organisation Palestine Action, I'm just baffled as to why they are willing to get a criminal record which could bar them from travel to the USA and work in education for an organisation whose members attacked police officers with a sledgehammer.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/disturbing-sledgehammer-attack-police-during-9463071

Regardless of whether this group should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, surely no one should look at that and think 'yeah, that's a group I think should be allowed to continue to do its thing, attack a few more police officers with sledgehammers, that's the hill I'm willing to die on.'

Wouldn't you think 'I'm not sure if they should be proscribed as terrorists, but given the sledgehammer attack, I'm not going to turn up with banners in support and be arrested for them, I'll just get on with protesting the genocide instead because that's a better cause'.

So do they not know about the violence? Or do they not care and are willing to support violent organisations?

(note this is not a thread for debating Gaza, I want to talk about British people who are absolutely legally allowed to protest genocide but aren't allowed to support proscribed terrorist organisations - which is also not allowed on MN).

You obviously feel so passionately about Palestine Action that you're ready to throw yourself under a bus for them. What are your views of the co-founder Richard Barnard's speech in Manchester on 8 October 2023?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67100274

Hi @NickInCuffs , would you care to comment on the co-founder of Palestine Action saying "When we hear the resistance the al Aqsa Flood, we must turn that flood into a tsunami over the whole world!" ?

Hah, snap.

It's an appalling waste of police resources but it's the only way to support the cause. And I've just explained to you that the organisation is not violent. <sigh> I doubt you read my post before writing yours.

Everyone assumes the cause is just a general pro-Palestine, anti-genocide one, but it's not. The cause is that the UK military and UK manufacturing companies are actively helping Netanyahu with the genocide. Starmer, who I elected, is spending our taxes on helping with the bombing. The RAF tanker aircraft were sprayed with paint because some RAF tankers have refuelled Israeli bombers. The press seem indifferent to all this. MPs don't challenge it because the Labour ones are severely disciplines by Starmer and the Conservative ones don't give a damn. Palestine Action were the only people bringing this to public attention here and around the world. In the opinion of many people this is one reason PA was proscribed.

PA is now dead and disbanded, as far as I know. So it falls to people like me to spread their message. (All the people with placards are organised by Defend Our Juries, which isn't PA.) Spreading the PA message about Starmer's help with the genocide is our main motivator. We are also protesting the government's misuse of the Terrorism Act, restrictions on freedom of speech, the killing off of PA's campaign of actions and the refusal of bail for them. The ones who've been arrested are looking at 1 or 2 years in prison without trial.

As for any support for Hamas, I don't share that, but PA is (or was) the only group exposing Starmer and his govt's complicity in the genocide. As for Hamas, you need to read Haaretz and find out for yourselves that it's mainly Netanyahu's creation.

The RAF tanker aircraft were sprayed with paint because some RAF tankers have refuelled Israeli bombers.

@NickInCuffs RAF tanker aircraft cannot refuel Israeli bombers. They use different systems.

That should give them plenty of time to do the Guardian crossword, read Socialist Worker and work out what to do with their public sector pension payments that will be adding up while they’re inside.

If any are banged up together they can take the opportunity to try to persuade each other that they’re not really antisemites.

You're right! The UK military helps the Israeli military in other ways. See this debate in parliament https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-03-18/debates/C5900243-EC83-4C59-BABA-F3EDEE9D8E60/MilitaryCo-OperationWithIsrael The paint in the Voyagers' engines was a very successful publicity grabber. Well worth it in my opinion, as it didn't cause any risks to any people or to the defence of the nation.

Yes I did read your post and it was very unconvincing. Of course its not the only way to support the cause. So I haven't read the rest of your second post after that sentence. You are lucky to live in a country where you are free to make ludicrous choices.

You know, I think it's pretty stupid of you to have got arrested on terrorism charges if you don't even know whether the things that the proscribed terrorist organisation you were supporting claim are true or not.

Shouldn't you have done this research first?

I know that the UK military and industry have helped the Israeli military and that Starmer's done almost nothing about the genocide. That's good enough for me.

I think standing up for free speech is one of the most important issues to protest about in this country

It's good enough to attack military planes which haven't been used to refuel Israeli bombers at all, damaging our country's ability to defend itself and costing taxpayers millions of pounds to repair the damage caused?

While at the same time making the people who caused the damage look like a bunch of fuckwits who don't know what they're doing?

@noblegiraffe Elbit has closed its UK factory thanks to PA. You can read about Elbit's products if you like.

Well said

So you don't want a grown up discussion, you want a shouting match and some internet points. Cheerio.

But what has that got to do with the damaged RAF planes that we're having to pay to fix?

And what has that got to do with the police officer who ended up in hospital?

I understand the closing of the factory was part of the reason for proscribing PA as a terrorist organisation. It wasn’t just the paint issue
Neither of which of course is any reason to declare them terrorists. It’s Starmer just throwing his toys out

A 12 year old plane spotting geek could have told you Voyager AAR systems weren't compatible with Israeli aircraft so It's a bit rich to wade into the debate, repeat that bit of disinformation and then grumble about other posters seemingly not wanting a grown up discussion.

.

You haven't really represented your cause very well here at all, have you? Not knowing what you're talking about, casually dismissing the co-founder's support for the October 7th attacks, suggesting that the police officer put themselves in hospital.... what exactly were you hoping for in response to that? Internet points?

In my country they here have been politicians who openly support the people who live on the Gaza strip.

Our Prime Minister has come out as recognising Palestine. However, Palestine doesn’t exist just because some PM in a country no one cares about thinks it exist. There’s the West Bank of Gaza that is the base for terrorism and is funded by Iran then there is Israel. That’s it.

Trump or Netanyahu could stop this killing -a bunch of people getting themselves arrested, taking up expensive court time, attacking the police are bringing this country down and not affecting anything else.

Hundreds more arrests today on a day when they were specifically asked not to take up police resources that they could be used to protect the safety of Jews in the wake of a terrorist attack.

Do they ever think 'Are we the baddies'?

Absolutely despicable behaviour from people who clearly think that their own sense of self-righteousness is more important than anything else.

Extraordinarily self centred and insensitive, not to mention bloody stupid. There are plenty of pro Pal.organisations. why the desperation to suppprt a proscribed one? Absolutely appalling people.