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Category: Protest

  • Trump’s persecution of anti-genocide protester Mahmoud Khalil sparks mass resistance

    The Donald Trump administration’s arrest of prominent anti-genocide protester Mahmoud Khalil has sparked mass resistance. There are serious concerns about the dangerous precedent it sets, and the potential consequences if the government’s efforts are successful.

    Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden set the ball rolling by allowing the repression and demonisation of students protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza in 2024. But the current US government significantly escalated this anti-democratic climate when it sent plain clothes agents to abduct Khalil at the weekend. Though a legal, permanent resident in the US, he may now face deportation as a result of his political speech.

    Why is Trump targeting Mahmoud Khalil?

    As Georgetown University professor Nader Hashemi told Al Jazeera, the Trump regime is claiming its efforts are about fighting antisemitism, but in reality constituted:

    an effort to silence all public expression of support for Palestinian human rights to placate right-wing supporters of Israel within the Republican Party

    Government figures and supporters have spoken about Mahmoud Khalil’s case using words and phrases like “Hamas supporters”, “activities aligned to Hamas”, “pro-Hamas“. But as journalist Glenn Greenwald pointed out:

    One of the many problems with targeting legal US residents for the grave crime of “pro-Hamas” speech or protest is that many Israel supporters — perhaps most — consider everyone to be “pro-Hamas” who protests the US-financed Israeli war on Gaza. It would effectively ban that.

    There have been allegations that he “distributed materials supporting terrorism” and was “paid by a terrorist organisation”, but evidence of criminal activity has not yet emerged. The absence of proof suggests that the government’s actions go against the US constitution. The Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) campaign group, for example, has called Khalil’s arrest “blatantly unconstitutional”, stressing that:

    It is endangering Jewish people and using the guise of fighting antisemitism to dismantle our Constitutionally protected rights to free speech and dissent.

    Greenwald has reminded people, meanwhile, that the constitution “applies to all people legally on US soil”.

    An alarming precedent

    One student has spoken highly of Mahmoud Khalil online, saying:

    as a Jewish student at Columbia i can say without a single doubt in my mind that Mahmoud is one of the kindest, safest, most welcoming people i have ever encountered at this university. his presence brought an instant calm no matter how intense things were.

    But because of his role protesting against Columbia‘s complicity with Israel’s genocide, he became a target of pro-Israel agitators, a pro-Israel professor, and government spies, with the alleged collaboration of the university.

    As prize-winning author Spencer Ackerman has written, the post-9/11 order has made “advocacy for Palestinians” and their right to live “deliberately indistinguishable from “activities aligned to” Hamas”.

    Free speech groups and progressive Jewish groups have called out the cynical political weaponisation of antisemitism or terrorism allegations to supress protest and censor free speech:

    https:/twitter.com/jewishaction/status/1899243803841609762

    https://twitter.com/OnlinePalEng/status/1899438657536205040

    JVP, for instance, insisted:

    The detention of Mahmoud is further proof that we are on the brink of a full takeover by a repressive, authoritarian regime…

    This is how fascism works and the only defense is to refuse to be divided or silenced.

    Anti-war group Code Pink, meanwhile, stressed:

    Trump says he is “the first of many.” If we don’t fight back now, what stops them from coming for you next? This is how fascism works, it pushes until people push back.

    Stand up for Mahmoud Khalil

    Khalil once told CNN that:

    As a Palestinian student, I believe that the liberation of the Palestinian people and the Jewish people are intertwined and go hand-by-hand and you cannot achieve one without the other

    And now, over two million people have signed a letter calling for Mahmoud Khalil’s release. 10 March, meanwhile, saw hundreds of people take to the streets in solidarity with him:

    https://twitter.com/GerardDalbon/status/1899214577595826623

    https:/twitter.com/SuppressedNws/status/1899207776770920875

    https://twitter.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1899350646278807899

    https://twitter.com/BTnewsroom/status/1899252659481129268

    A federal judge has stopped Trump’s government from deporting Khalil for now, but another hearing will take place on 12 March.

    There will be another protest in New York later today (11 March):

    https://twitter.com/PAL_Awda/status/1899278124665188725

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action visit genocide investors Aviva for the third time this year

    It seems that third time is a charm for Aviva, as Palestine Action has once again called the company out for its complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    Aviva: third time’s a charm

    From 7am on Tuesday 11 March, Palestine Action began occupying the entrance of Aviva’s Manchester office at The Observatory, Chapel Walks, M2 1HN. Activists climbed on top of the revolving doors, stuck Palestine flags on the wall and a banner to the front which reads “Aviva Palestina”:

    Aviva provides the mandatory employers liability insurance for UAV Engines in Staffordshire, a drone engine factory owned by Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems.

    Palestine Action has already targeted Aviva twice this year alone.

    This action follows two days of actions against Allianz Insurance, as part of a sustained disruption of the supply chain of Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer. Allianz also provide insurance for Elbit Systems weapons factories in Britain.

    On Sunday 9 March, a drone flying the Palestine flag was flown over the Allianz Twickenham Stadium during the England v Italy Six Nations match.

    Then, in London on Monday 10 March the canopy of their London offices were occupied and doused in paint – forcing Allianz’s London headquarters shut. Cops nicked the actionists after several hours of occupation:

    As the Canary previously reported, these two actions came just weeks after a coordinated wave of action struck 15 premises across Europe as Palestine Action continue to target the supply chains of Elbit Systems.

    Office windows were smashed and buildings were covered in red paint across Britain, Portugal, Germany, and The Netherlands, with an additional 10 actions taking place in October 2024, including a rooftop occupation of their British head office in Guildford.

    Shutting down Elbit – one bit of the supply chain at a time

    Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons producer, provide 85% of Israel’s killer drone fleet and land-based equipment, as well as missiles, munitions and digital warfare. Elbit’s quadcopter drones are routinely used to massacre Palestinians in Gaza. Dr Nazim Mamode recalled in Parliament how such drones are used to commit war crimes in Gaza:

    What I found particularly disturbing was that a bomb would drop, maybe on a crowded tented area, and then the drones would come down and pick off civilians, children.

    He went on to explain how he routinely operated on children who would say:

    I was lying on the ground after a bomb had dropped and this quadcopter came down and hovered over me and shot me

    Back to Aviva, and Palestine Action had previously targeted its offices in Bristol and Scotland, and have continuously taken direct action against insurance companies with ties to Elbit systems, including actions at dozens of Allianz locations across Europe since October 2024.

    Latest intel shows that whilst Aviva no longer holds direct shares in Elbit Systems, however Aviva continues to hold investments in other funds which hold Elbit shares.

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    Both Allianz and Aviva, directly enable the production of Israeli weapons in Britain by providing Israeli weapons factories with the insurance they need to operate. Therefore, Palestine Action will continue to take direct action until they cease all ties with Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons producer.

    No longer will ordinary people allow companies on our doorsteps to profit from the manufacture of weapons which are “battle-tested” on Palestinians.

    Featured image via screengrab

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Supporters Of Banned Romanian Candidate Georgescu Protest Ruling


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Commonwealth leaders faced protest at Westminster Abbey over anti-LGBTQ+ laws

    Leaders from 29 Commonwealth countries that criminalise LGBTQ+ people were met with boos and jeers as they arrived at the Commonwealth’s annual service at Westminster Abbey today, 10 March 2025.

    The Commonwealth: still deeply anti-LGBTQ+ rights

    Despite violating the human rights provisions of the Commonwealth Charter, they were welcomed by the Church of England, the UK government, and king Charles as head of the Commonwealth.

    Among the 50 protesters were LGBTQ+ refugees who have fled persecution in Commonwealth nations. They included members of UK Black Pride, Let Voice Be Heard (Bangladesh), African Equality Foundation, and Out and Proud African LGBTI.

    Abbey Kiwanuka, a Ugandan refugee with Out and Proud African LGBTI, recalled:

    I came from hell, with cigarette burns in both my palms and on my legs, scars on my face from constant beatings. I went through every kind of human degradation.

    Edwin Sesange, a Ugandan LGBTQ+ refugee and spokesperson for the African Equality Foundation, added:

    Shame on the Commonwealth for failing to uphold its own Charter and for not defending the human rights of all Commonwealth citizens. The jailing and murder of LGBT+ people is a crime against humanity.

    Protest and demands

    Protesters carried placards with messages including “Commonwealth: 75 years of anti-LGBT+ persecution. Repeal anti-LGBT+ laws” and “Commonwealth fails to condemn persecution of LGBT+ people”. People were chanting:

    Hey, hey. Ho, ho! Commonwealth homophobia has got to go

    And:

    2-4-6-8, Commonwealth is full of hate.

    The protest was organised by the Peter Tatchell Foundation. Its director, Peter Tatchell, said:

    As the Commonwealth celebrates, we mourn. We are calling out the 29 member states that violate their own equality principles and the Commonwealth Charter. They preside over state-sanctioned persecution of their LGBT+ citizens.

    Twenty-nine out of 56 Commonwealth countries criminalise homosexuality, mostly under British colonial-era laws. Six impose life imprisonment, while Nigeria, Brunei and Uganda have the death penalty. Millions of LGBT+ Commonwealth citizens face arrest, imprisonment, mob violence, and discrimination in employment, housing, education and healthcare.

    These anti-LGBT+ laws violate the Commonwealth Charter, which pledges equality and opposition to all forms of discrimination. For 75 years, Commonwealth leaders have refused to even discuss LGBT+ rights at their summits.

    The Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland, has failed to speak out against these abuses or defend persecuted LGBT+ people. She has failed to uphold the Commonwealth Charter on multiple human rights issues.

    Countries that criminalise LGBT+ people should be suspended from the Commonwealth.

    The Commonwealth: sort it out

    The protest calls on all Commonwealth governments to:

    • Decriminalise same-sex relations.
    • Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
    • Enforce laws against hate crimes to protect LGBTQ+ people.
    • Engage in dialogue with LGBT+ organisations.

    The six Commonwealth countries that impose life imprisonment for same-sex acts are Bangladesh, Guyana, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

    Featured image via the Peter Tatchell Foundation

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Met Police admit they’re there to protect pro-Israel protesters – just as Lord Walney is mouthing off again

    The British police don’t just serve the interests of the political establishment. They also serve genocidal war criminals from abroad, and they’re openly admitting it. But however many peaceful protesters they imprison and intimidate, they cannot stop the modern-day suffragettes, as recent days have shown.

    Political policing in the service of Israeli war criminals

    This weekend, a Met Police inspector made it clear that supporters of war criminal colonial power Israel would be safe from persecution while people protesting against the apartheid state’s genocide in occupied Palestine would not:

    Amid the genocide in Gaza, the state has ramped up its intimidation of protesters and journalists in Britain who oppose genocide, including Jewish people and even Holocaust survivors. But the deployment of police apparatus in the service of a genocidal foreign power has seen arguably worse brutality elsewhere in the West, from the US to Germany (the two main arms suppliers to Israel from 2020 to 2024). Just this weekend, for example, we could see German police punching women marching in solidarity with Palestine:

    You won’t see that in the British mainstream media, though. Because they have been helping to manufacture the idea that Britain’s fine, despite its government’s repression of peaceful protest and shilling for genocidal war criminals. Instead, you’ll see the press platforming establishment lobbyists no one asked to hear.

    Keep crying, shills

    John Woodcock – aka ‘Lord Walney’ – is a bad smell you just can’t get rid of, however much vinegar, air freshener or bleach you use. The former Labour Friends of Israel chair rallied against Jeremy Corbyn from within the Labour Party until his 2018 suspension over sexual harassment allegations, which pushed him to leave. He proudly supported war criminals and railed against the left, even backing Boris Johnson. Then, he received the reward of a peerage and an advisory ‘anti-extremist‘ role, despite having no relevant experience.

    The fossil fuel, arms trade, and pro–Israel lobbyist cried that the British state wasn’t paying enough attention to suppressing the left, despite decades of secretive police units infiltrating about 1,000 primarily left-wing organisations that posed no threat to the public. He also argued Britain should treat “environmental campaigns; anti-racism; anti-government protest; anti-Israel activism and anti-fascism” as terrorist causes. In short, he’s exactly the kind of establishment voice that would have called the suffragettes terrorists.

    But despite Woodcock eventually losing his job, the media keeps giving him a platform. The man who has cried more about paint on buildings than internationally recognised war crimes that have murdered over 17,000 children since 2023 whined on TV this weekend about the funding and organisation skills of Palestine Action. The latter, which has bravely continued to oppose Britain’s links to Israeli crimes despite state repression, responded by highlighting Woodcock’s lack of credibility on that topic:

    The modern-day suffragettes give us hope. And hope is a powerful driver of change.

    So many people around Britain and the world know that Israel’s atrocities in Palestine are wrong. We know Western support for them must stop. But pro-Israeli propagandists like Woodcock attack us to make us passive through fear of what will happen if we resist. As Chomsky has written:

    from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.

    But he has also said:

    Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so

    And that’s why Palestine Action has so much momentum and widespread support right now. Because its principled fight for humanity brings us much-needed hope and energy, along with a belief that we are stronger than we may think. The future can be better. But we need to get involved and work hard to make that happen.

    Featured image via screengrab

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Local residents set to march against plans to FRACK for gas UNDER their villages

    Frack Free Coastal Communities and Frack Free Scarborough are urging residents to join them on a march through Burniston in a show of opposition to Europa Oil & Gas’s plans to drill for gas under local villages.

    Burniston: no gas drilling here

    The event, planned for 22 March, will also mobilise people to register their objections to the application with North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee. It is backed by York City Unison, Parents For Future UK, Scarborough Green Party, York City Unison, Scarborough Unity, Social Justice Party Scarborough, Friends of the Earth, and York Trades Council.

    Europa Oil & Gas has submitted a planning application for a gas well at Burniston, which would use a form of hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) to extract gas from the sandstone beneath the neighbouring village of Scalby.

    The initial application is for a ‘test and appraisal’ well. However, future plans include more wells directed beneath Burniston and Cloughton and twenty years of continuous gas extraction. And this at a time when the climate crisis means we must double down on progress to net zero.

    As the Canary previously reported, fracking is not currently allowed in England. However, Europa is exploiting a loophole to try to push ahead with the Burniston project.

    It will involve a form of fracking known as a ‘proppant squeeze’. Essentially, it’s a process that injects a proppant – a solid material, usually sand – and water slurry into the wellbore. Technically, this isn’t the same procedure that Cuadrilla used at notorious fracking site Preston New Road. This is because it uses less water, and due to the proppant, less pressure to carry out the operation. Ultimately though, the end goal is no different – that is, to fracture the gas-bearing rock.

    Fobbed off with misinformation

    Chris Garforth from Frack Free Coastal Communities said:

    We’re fed up with being fobbed off with misinformation and platitudes from fossil-fuel dinosaurs. The company is playing down residents’ justified concerns about damage to the local rural and coastal environment, the impact of hundreds of heavy goods vehicles on road safety, air and noise pollution, methane leaks, flaring, and the potential for earthquakes and damage to important aquifers. To say nothing of the damage to efforts to keep global warming down to survivable levels.

    John Atkinson from Frack Free Scarborough said:

    We can’t just rely on the planning process to protect us. It’s vital we back up individual objections with a collective show of opposition on the streets and within our organisations. We intend to be a force that can’t be ignored.

    Anyone wanting to object to the planning application can find out more here. There are more details about the march on the Frack Free Coastal Communities and Frack Free Scarborough Facebook pages.

    Featured image via Neil Terry

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Genocide-complicit Allianz hit twice in 24 hours by Palestine Action

    Huge insurance multinational Allianz has been targeted twice in 24 hours by Palestine Action, over its role in facilitating Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    Allianz: hit twice by Palestine Action

    First, on Sunday 9 March England played against Italy at Allianz’s Twickenham Stadium, in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. On the 67th minute of the match, a Palestine Action drone appeared above the stadium flying the Palestine flag:

    Unlike the Elbit drones, used to kill and maim Palestinians, our drone came in peace, but with a message for stadium owners Allianz, Elbit’s insurers – demanding Allianz stop insuring Elbit.

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said:

    Without the insurance provided by Allianz, Elbit could not build Israeli weapons in Britain which are tested on Palestinians. The military killer drones made by Elbit come to kill and maim Palestinians, however our drone came with a simple message: Allianz must drop Elbit.

    Then, on Monday 10 March Palestine Action targeted the City of London premises of Allianz as part of an ongoing and escalating campaign against the insurance giants:

    Allianz

    Palestine Action activists scaled the canopy above the entrance and are currently (as of 10:30am) occupying Allianz Commercial, 60 Gracechurch St, City of London:

    They doused the building in red paint to represent the bloodshed of Palestinian people and Allianz’ role in the genocide in Gaza:

    Allianz

    This action comes just weeks after a coordinated wave of action struck 15 premises across Europe as Palestine Action continue to target the supply chains of Elbit Systems.

    Office windows were smashed and buildings were covered in red paint across Britain, Portugal, Germany, and The Netherlands, with an additional 10 actions taking place in October 2024, including a rooftop occupation of their British head office in Guildford.

    Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons producer, provide 85% of Israel’s killer drone fleet and land-based equipment, as well as missiles, munitions and digital warfare. Elbit’s quadcopter drones are routinely used to massacre Palestinians in Gaza. Dr Nazim Mamode recalled in Parliament how such drones are used to commit war crimes in Gaza:

    What I found particularly disturbing was that a bomb would drop, maybe on a crowded tented area, and then the drones would come down and pick off civilians, children.

    He went on to explain how he routinely operated on children who would say:

    I was lying on the ground after a bomb had dropped and this quadcopter came down and hovered over me and shot me

    Palestine Action: shutting down Elbit and its supply chain

    Elbit’s business model relies on using Palestinians as test-subjects for their latest weaponry, which is often marketed as “battle-tested” as a result. By providing the legally required ’employers liability’ insurance for Elbit to operate in Britain, Allianz is directly facilitating the production of Israeli weapons.

    Palestine Action’s direct action campaign is focused on shutting down Israeli weapons factories on British soil and targets those who facilitate the deadly trade, including Elbit’s insurers Allianz. The group has already targeted dozens of Allianz’s offices across Britain and Europe, forcing them to temporarily close on several occasions.

    Similar Palestine Action campaigns have resulted in several companies ending their association with Elbit, such as Barclays, lobby firm APCO and shipping giant Kuehne+Nagel.

    This latest hit of Allianz follows confirmation that Barclays have withdrawn all shares in Elbit following similar sustained actions from Palestine Action and other groups last year. Reports suggest that the shares were withdrawn shortly after 20 branches were targeted in one night, leaving many of them closed for weeks. In addition to suppliers withdrawing their commercial support for Elbit, Elbit’s own facilities in Britain have been permanently shut down after repeat targeting by Palestine Action, including the closure of their Tamworth factory in 2024.

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    By providing insurance, Allianz is directly enabling the production of Israeli weapons in Britain which are “battle-tested” on Palestinians. As all companies who work with Elbit should know by now, Palestine Action’s direct action campaign against them will not cease until their links with the Israeli weapons trade does. Allianz must drop Elbit.

    Featured image and additional images via Direct Action Images

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • What an astonishing weekend of direct action for Palestine

    Saturday 8 March saw two of the most audacious pieces of direct action for Palestine this year so far. In displays of solidarity – as well as calling out those complicit with Israel’s genocide in Gaza – activists took to two locations to make their message loud and clear.

    Donald Trump: fuck off out of Scotland

    First, direct action group Palestine Action struck overnight on 8 March to wreck the ‘Trump Turnberry’ golf course, in response to the US administration’s plans and threats to destroy, ethnically cleanse, and ‘take over’ the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

    After entering the 800-acre resort, activists painted in three-metre-high letters, “GAZA IS NOT FOR SALE” across the lawn of the South Ayrshire course:

    Making the popular opposition to Donald Trump’s intentions clear, activists spray painted the gates:

    They also, perhaps most brilliantly, dug up the greens including the course’s most prestigious holes – used in numerous Open Championships:

    Oh, and Palestine Action also redecorated the club house:

    Last night’s action comes as a direct response to the US administration’s stated intent to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Having laid out his plans to “clean out the whole thing” and forcibly displace its population, the US president last week published an AI video advertising his plans for the Strip, which included himself and the genocidaire Netanyahu, shirtless, drinking at the ‘Trump Gaza’ resort.

    The proposed ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population would constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. And while Trump threatens to kill all of Gaza’s two million population – “To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do​​​​​​​, you are DEAD” – his administration is, simultaneously, preparing its plans for Israeli annexation of the Palestinian West Bank.

    Palestine Action: Trump’s property is not safe

    A spokesperson from Palestine Action said:

    Palestine Action rejects Donald Trump’s treatment of Gaza as though it were his property to dispose of as he likes. To make that clear, we have shown him that his own property is not safe from acts of resistance. We will continue to take action against US-Israeli colonialism in the Palestinian homeland.

    The action comes shortly after the Trump administration signed off on the shipment of 40,000 bombs to Israel, including thousands of the bunker-buster bombs of the type which have been used to “vaporise” dozens of Palestinians in single attacks.

    Trump’s previous term saw him draw ever-closer links with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company and Palestine Action’s primary target, relying on them heavily for maintaining his militarised US-Mexico border wall. As a final favour to his partners, one of the last acts of his first term was ensuring that Elbit Systems of America was able to complete a legally-dubious takeover of a naval technology firm.

    Then, shortly after the world woke up to the trashing of Donald Trump’s Scottish golf course by Palestine Action, a lone Palestine protestor climbed up the British Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower, atop which sits Big Ben.

    What a legend – aloft Big Ben

    While filming his solo action, the protestor ascended to a high ledge, and unfurled his Palestine flag and keffiyeh. He has remained atop his lofty perch, barefoot, shouting to the gathering crowds below, and posting to social media.

    The protestor articulately called for the freedom of political prisoners and condemned the use of counter-terrorism powers against Palestine Action. He loudly voiced support for the Filton 18, Palestine Action activists who were arrested in relation to an action which cost Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems millions in damages.

    While six activists were arrested at the scene of the action, the other 12 were arrested later, in raids by counter-terrorism police, and held and interrogated using special powers. Whilst charged with ordinary offences, they are still accused of having a “terrorism connection”, and are remanded to prison. If they do not get bail, some may be detained for two years before trial.

    “While they’ve got our political prisoners locked-up, I’m staying up here” the climber said, while a crowd of fellow Palestine supporters gathered beyond the police cordon to shout words of encouragement and support. He added later:

    Stop the weaponisation of terrorism legislation against Palestine Action activists… Free the Filton 18.

    The Filton 18 case has garnered widespread condemnation of the state’s use of the terrorism legislation, including from four UN special rapporteurs.

    We will continue to take direct action for Palestine

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    We applaud the activist for taking solidarity action, and highlighting the state’s abuse of power against political dissidents.

    We live in extraordinary times, where war criminals roam free, while anti-war protestors are arrested for invented crimes, and anti-Genocide activists spend long periods detained without trial. As our brave comrade has stated, ‘This is the start of fascism’.

    Sadly, the marches and peaceful protests have gone ignored, the bombs keep falling, and Palestinians keep dying, killed by British-manufactured weapons, and with the complicity of British politicians.

    Whatever the level of police state repression, we will continue to use direct action, and escalate our campaign to rid Britain of Israeli arms manufacturers. We salute our brave comrade on the Elizabeth Tower, and all those activists fighting to stop the genocide in Palestine. Free the Filton 18.

    Featured image via the Canary, additional images via Milo Chandler, and video via Hassan Ghani

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Protests in Cyprus and London this weekend over RAF Akrotiri’s complicity with Israel’s genocide

    Activists in London and Cyprus are holding simultaneous protests on Sunday 9 March to demand an end to Britain’s involvement in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestine.

    The protests will highlight Britain’s direct participation in the genocide of the Palestinian people through its colonial Royal Air Force (RAF) bases in Cyprus, particularly RAF Akrotiri, where surveillance flights are being conducted and weapons and soldiers are being transported in support of Israel’s actions.

    RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus: enabling Israel’s genocide

    The decisions to provide arms and intelligence to Israel are made by the UK Ministry of Defence in London and carried out at RAF Akrotiri, a key military installation in Cyprus. Organizers are calling attention to the fact that these actions are being taken against the will of the people in both the UK and Cyprus, and are contributing to the ongoing terror in Gaza.

    “If Palestine has taught us anything, it’s that true liberation comes through unity and resilience in the face of struggle. That’s why people in Cyprus and Britain are rising together against the remnants of colonialism, standing strong against the presence of the British bases in Cyprus. Our struggle is not isolated; it is part of a shared fight against imperialism and oppression everywhere” explained a spokesperson for Genocide-Free Cyprus.

    Protest Details:

    London Protest
    Date & Time: 9 March 2025 | 1:30-3:30pm
    Location: Ministry of Defence, Whitehall, London SW1A2HB, United Kingdom

    Cyprus Protest
    Date & Time: 9 March 2025 | 3:30-5:30pm
    Location: RAF Akrotiri, Akrotiri Airfield, Limassol, Cyprus

    Protesters will gather with banners and placards to demand that British military installations, including RAF Akrotiri, cease their involvement in supporting Israel’s military operations. The rallying cry of the protest will be: #BASESOFFCYPRUS, calling for an immediate end to the use of Cyprus-based RAF facilities in the conflict.

    “We are here to demand that the UK stop facilitating the genocide against the Palestinian people,” said one of the protest organizers. “The British government’s complicity, through military support and intelligence sharing, must end. We will not stand by as the UK enables the oppression of the Palestinian people.”

    The protests are being organized by local and international groups advocating for Palestinian rights and calling for accountability from the British government.

    Featured image supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Just Stop Oil slams the UK justice system as ‘mass appeal’ of 16 activists ends in whitewash

    A key legal test over the right to protest has culminated in a verdict at the Court of Appeal today. A judge has today ruled that some of the original sentences handed down to 16 climate crisis activists were “manifestly excessive” and did not comply with human rights laws. However, Just Stop Oil has reacted angrily – saying the UK justice system has been “captured” by the rich and powerful.

    Just Stop Oil mass appeal: piecemeal changes

    The mass-appeal hearing for the 16 Just Stop Oil activists, which took place over two days last month, has resulted in sentence reductions for the following six protesters (ages are those at the date of the incidents in question):

    • The Whole Truth Five’ – Roger Hallam (aged 58; sentenced to five years; reduced to four years), Cressida Gethin (aged 20; four years; reduced to 2.5 years), Louise Lancaster (aged 57; four years reduced to three years), Daniel Shaw (aged 36; four years; reduced to three years) and Lucia Whittaker De Abreu (aged 33; four years; reduced to 2.5 years). All had been convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance, for planning nonviolent disruption on the M25 to stop the granting of new oil and gas licences.
    • Gaie Delap (20 months; reduced to 18 months); Ms Delap was 75 years old at the time and was convicted of public nuisance for her involvement in the M25 protest.

    The sentences of 10 other protesters involved in the conjoined appeal were not reduced:                                                    

    • ‘M25 Gantries’– George Simonson (aged 22; two years), Theresa Higginson (aged 24; two years), Paul Bell (aged 22; 22 months), and Paul Sousek (aged 71; 20 months). Along with Ms Delap, they had participated in the action planned by the Whole Truth Five (above), by climbing onto gantries over the M25.
    • ‘Navigator Tunnellers’ – Larch Maxey (aged 50; three years), Chris Bennett (aged 31; 18 months), Samuel Johnson (aged 39; 18 months) and Joe Howlett (aged 32; 15 months) occupied tunnels dug under the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex.
    • ‘Sunflowers’ – Phoebe Plummer (aged 21; two years) and Anna Holland (aged 20; 20 months). They had thrown soup on the glass protecting Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.

    Captured by the wealthy

    Just Stop Oil has issued the following statement:

    The British Courts have been captured, lock, stock and barrel by the powerful, by the ultra wealthy, by those who can not see beyond business as usual. These Judges would be sending those who hid Anne Frank to the cattle trucks while hiding behind ‘the rule of law’.

    To consider what the Just Stop Oil 16 have done without considering the horror of a heating world, of billions dying in the coming decades, without recognising that our current economic system risks ending the rule of law and ordered civil society is frankly immoral. Today’s ruling is another nail in the crucifixion of Justice.

    Just Stop Oil recognises the courage of the many hundreds of ordinary people who have been tried and imprisoned over the last three years, many routinely denied any legal defence and the reasons why they acted considered neither ‘here nor there’ by the court. We recognise and honour the sacrifice of those who are still in prison, and those facing court cases that could end in imprisonment.

    The protesters’ legal arguments were supported by the environmental justice organisations Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK, who had permission to intervene specifically in the sentencing appeal of the ‘Whole Truth Five’.

    The UK: world-beating in authoritarianism

    Hundreds of people gathered outside the court across both days of the hearing in January in a show of solidarity with the appellants. This included TV presenter Chris Packham and the actor Juliet Stevenson, and campaign groups Amnesty International, Liberty and Not1More were among those who joined calls for leniency with regard to peaceful protest. The great-granddaughter of famed suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, Helen Pankhurst, shared her support for the 16 activists ahead of the appeal.

    Research published in December found that Britain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism, with environmental protesters arrested at nearly three times the global average rate. Until recent changes to the law were brought in by the former government, it was virtually unheard of for peaceful protest to result in jail time.

    Speaking to the Financial Times at the time of the hearing, UN special rapporteur for environmental defenders, Michel Forst, said that “Disproportionate sanctions for protests… have a significant adverse impact on the most fundamental freedoms.” He added that these are not felt just by those “personally criminalised” for protesting, but for all who’d like to participate in protest actions that are then deterred for fear of punishment. This same argument was made by Friends of the Earth in their submissions to the court.

    Katie de Kauwe, senior lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said:

    Supreme Court judge Lord Hoffmann once ruled that civil disobedience on conscientious grounds has a long and honourable history in this country. We welcome the point of principle in today’s ruling that sentencing for peaceful protest needs to factor in both the defendant’s conscientious motivation, and protections afforded under the European Convention of Human Rights. This is a positive development for the environmental movement as a whole, and for all peaceful movements holding the government to account.

    Friends of the Earth is pleased that the Court of Appeal has reduced at least some of the climate activists’ sentences. Ultimately however, we believe that locking up those motivated by their genuine concern for the climate crisis is neither right or makes any sense – and at a time when our prisons are so grossly overcrowded.

    Friends of the Earth is proud to have supported the climate activists in their pursuit of justice. We urge the government to repeal the raft of regressive anti-protest legislation brought in by its predecessors to curb dissent and set about restoring the UK’s reputation as a tolerant country.

    Just Stop Oil: this isn’t over

    Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK, said:

    Despite some modest reductions, these sentences are still unprecedented and they still have no place in a democracy that upholds the right to protest.

    This appeal has led to some important clarifications and a recognition that the trial judge was mistaken in denying the protestors the protection of certain legal rights and in discounting the conscientious nature of their motivations.

    But this ruling will not halt, let alone reverse, the UK’s slide towards authoritarianism that began under the last government but is being enthusiastically embraced by this one. Even the most everyday protests, marches and rallies organised in cooperation with the police, are being demonised and blocked. If you care about anything any corporation or anyone in a position of power is doing, or should be doing, you should be incredibly concerned about your freedom to speak out. If you don’t raise your voice now, you may lose it forever.

    Featured image supplied

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is facing protests this weekend

    Groups fighting for the rights of mothers and their children will be out in force this weekend – protesting against the draconian Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

    Support Not Separation: fighting the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

    Support Not Separation is fighting to stop the brutal and arbitrary separations of children from their mums and families and for recognition of the mother/child bond.

    It is opposing the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill currently going through parliament. The Bill will further undermine mothers and children and their right to be together. The full text of the Bill is here. Support Not Separation has given detailed evidence to the Public Bill Committee – see here.

    The group is outraged that the tragic murder of Sara Sharif is being used to increase state powers over children – the very powers that led social workers and the family court to take Sara from her mother and give her to a father they knew to be violent.

    The first public protests against the Bill are taking place this weekend (around International Women’s Day) in six cities. You can join any of these protests. The main London event, in Parliament Square (SW1A 2AA). is from 11am-2pm on Saturday 8 March.

    Not the answer

    At a time when there are more children in “care” than ever before, when over 4.3m children live in poverty and can be taken into care when mums are accused of “neglect”, when the “outcomes” for care leavers are so disastrous, and when mums and kinship carers are impoverished while Councils give millions to private companies running residential homes for profit, the government should be prioritising support to mothers and families to keep children safe.

    It could begin by putting Section 17 of the Children Act (which can provide support to struggling families) on a mandatory footing, instead of leaving it up to Local Councils.

    Ignoring all the evidence, this Bill would extend the control of the “corporate parent” over all children’s lives and do nothing to address the crisis of poverty, the neglect of children with SEND by the education system, or the massive expansion of the privatised child removal industry.

    Overarching concerns

    Support Not Separation is opposed to this Bill because it aims to:

    Extend the powers of professionals over all aspects of children’s and families lives. Children do not need multi-agency “child protection” staffed by more professionals spying on their mothers. (Clause 2).

    Introduce a “consistent identifier” (a name or number) for each child from birth. This takes state monitoring to an unprecedented degree as if children belong to the state rather than to their mother and families. A similar proposal in Scotland was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court because it breached the right to “private and family life”. (Clause 4).

    Authorise children subject to Deprivation of Liberty orders to be housed in alternative placements beyond just a secure children’s home. This risks expanding the number of children placed in unregulated homes where they are even more likely to be abused and neglected with impunity. (Clause 10).

    Cap profits made by private providers rather than outlaw for-profit provision. (Clauses 14 and 16).

    Greatly restrict the right to home education which would particularly affect children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are most likely to be failed by mainstream education – the Bill does not address any of the problems with SEND. Refusing to allow children to be home educated is discriminatory and unfair. (Clauses 24-29).

    Allow social workers compulsory home visits and right to enter children’s homes without permission; where refused, a legal order will be made which could result in prison or the power to make life-changing decisions relating to the health of your child without parental consent.

    Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: draconian

    As the Bill goes through Parliament the group will be lobbying against it by writing to MPs and peers, speaking to the press, and letting the public know that far from protecting children, the Bill would make the lives of children and families harder and breach their human rights.

    As London Daily News reported, there are various ways you can get involved:

    • Write to your MP and express your concerns.
    • Spread the word on social media using #ChildrensWellbeingBill #AreYouListeningNow.
    • Attend rallies and protests to stand against government overreach in education.

    Links to the UK protests on 8 March can be found here.

    Featured image supplied

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The corporate media ignored a protest against Labour right outside PMQs yesterday

    As the usual pantomime of political posturing that is Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) proceeded inside the House, climate campaigners pitched up outside parliament. They were there to call on prime minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party government to finally put a stop to the climate-wrecking Rosebank fossil fuel project.

    Rosebank: a climate disaster struck down in the courts

    Campaigners have previously estimated that the enormous Rosebank project – situated off the coast of Shetland in the North Sea – will produce over 500m barrels of oil over its lifetime. This would equate to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined.

    In September 2023, the UK’s oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), granted the license for Equinor and Ithaca Energy to develop the notorious Rosebank oil and gas field.

    So, in December 2023, Greenpeace and campaign group Uplift launched judicial reviews against the government over Rosebank. Crucially, this sought to overturn the government’s decision to greenlight the Rosebank project.

    And overturn this it did. In January, the Court of Session in Edinburgh sided with the climate campaigners. It ruled that the decision to permit Rosebank was indeed unlawful. Notably, this was because the companies overseeing it hadn’t taken into account its downstream emissions – those from combustion of the oil and gas it would produce.

    This means that the ultimate decision over Rosebank now sits with the government. It’s why climate campaigners have now set off a weekly round of action to call on it to ditch the destructive project indefinitely.

    PMQs gets the Fossil Free London treatment

    On Wednesday 5 March, campaigners from Fossil Free London set up shop outside Parliament. While politicians grilled the prime minister in PMQs, Fossil Free London were there to hold Starmer’s feet to the fire over Rosebank.

    Protesters raised placards with the common sense arguments to reject the project:

    Campaigners adorned in roses hold placards with Big Ben in the background. These read from left to right, top to bottom: "500m barrels of oil & gad burnt = UK fails its climate targets", "No future in UK oil & gas = jobs halved in last decade but renewables up 29%", "Rosebank's development will be mainly (84%) paid for by us while Equinor profits", "Equinor owns Rosebank = oil will be sold for profit on international market", "Rosebank = climate disaster", "Rosebank doesn't protect workers", "Rosebank will cost us money", and "Rosebank won't lower our bills". The final poster to the right displays the Labour Party rose logo dripping in oil with the caption "Stop Rosebank - no new oil".

    Some of these revolved around the simple fact that the project would do nothing to lower people’s energy bills. This is because the international energy market means that most of its oil will end up exported elsewhere. Therefore, it won’t meet demand in the UK and bring down prices.

    Instead then, the project is a boon for Big Oil, because it’s Equinor and Ithaca that will profit from it:

    Climate campaigners with roses in their hair raise red and white placards reading: "No future in UK oil & gas = jobs halved in last decade but renewables up 29%", "Rosebank's development will be mainly (84%) paid for by us while Equinor profits", "Equinor owns Rosebank = oil will be sold for profit on international market", "Rosebank = climate disaster", "Rosebank doesn't protect workers", "Rosebank will cost us money", and "Rosebank won't lower our bills".

    One protester held up the Labour Party’s rose logo dripping with oil:

    Campaigners adorned in roses hold placards with Parliament in the background. These read from left to right, top to bottom: "500m barrels of oil & gad burnt = UK fails its climate targets", "No future in UK oil & gas = jobs halved in last decade but renewables up 29%", "Rosebank's development will be mainly (84%) paid for by us while Equinor profits", "Equinor owns Rosebank = oil will be sold for profit on international market", "Rosebank = climate disaster", "Rosebank doesn't protect workers", "Rosebank will cost us money", and "Rosebank won't lower our bills". The final poster to the right displays the Labour Party rose logo dripping in oil with the caption "Stop Rosebank - no new oil".

    Roses are red, but Labour’s are (Tory) blue…

    While the courts were clear on the project’s unlawfulness, what the Labour Party government will now do is far from certain.

    Technically, the government’s manifesto promise to end new oil and gas licenses wouldn’t automatically extend to Rosebank. This is because there’s a catch. Specifically, it doesn’t apply to projects the previous Conservative government had already permitted. Now, although the courts have ruled its environmental permits null and void legally speaking, it doesn’t mean that Labour won’t still use this gaping loophole to let Equinor and Ithaca pursue the project.

    What’s more, as the Canary has pointed out before, Labour has repeatedly openly assured the two fossil fuel supermajors that it’d facilitate Rosebank.

    First, in September 2023, Starmer committed to honour the licences for it from the Conservative government if Labour were elected.

    Then, at the Labour Party conference in October that year, shadow decarbonisation minister Sarah Jones confirmed this again during a fringe event that fossil fuel-packed industry body Offshore Energy UK (OEUK) had sponsored. Crucially, OEUK had lobbied for the Rosebank project.

    It’s little wonder then that the government is now split over this. As the Guardian reported in February, there’s division between energy secretary Ed Miliband, and chancellor Rachel Reeves over the way forward. As it reported:

    The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has previously described the licence issued to Rosebank as “climate vandalism” – setting up a potential major clash between his department and the Treasury.

    Reeves is understood to be supportive of a new application for environmental consent, with allies suggesting that would not violate Labour’s manifesto, which promised not to issue new exploration licences, but not to cancel ones that have already been issued.

    Now then, only time will tell whether the Labour government will heed the repeated recommendation of its independent advisory body the Climate Change Committee that no new oil and gas is needed. And more to the point, whether it will recognise the Rosebank North Sea project should be included in this.

    In the meantime, Fossil Free London will continue holding Keir Starmer’s feet to the fire outside Parliament. From now on, they plan to turn up every week during PMQs until he delivers on ditching Rosebank for good.

    Featured image and additional images via Fossil Free London

    By Hannah Sharland

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Million Women Rise to march against male violence towards women and girls

    Million Women Rise are gearing up for their annual march on this Saturday 8th March. The group will be marching in central London on International Women’s Day – but this is a group with a key difference. On their website, they write:

    The march and other MWR activities are led and organised by Black women for ALL women. We recognise the interconnectedness of systems of oppression. We work together to create safe spaces, free from fascism, discrimination and hate.

    Feminist groups that advocate and organise against male violence can be dominated by cis, white, and middle class women. Million Women Rise make it clear that they’re working with an intersectional approach:

    When we demand  an end to men’s violence against us, this includes calling for the dismantling of all oppressive structures that promote and facilitate everything from misogynoir through to ableism.

    Million Women Rise: violence in statistics

    Million Women Rise explain that one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. However, amongst these vital statistics is another heartbreaking consideration:

    The statistics below only give the “official” picture in England and Wales. Many victims/survivors do not report their experiences to state agencies. This mean that the data does not show the true scale of violence.

    Many people are violently coerced into not reporting their experiences. Even then, a diversity of experiences of violence means women will have wide-ranging differences in the kind of help they need:

    Services such as specialist Black/Global majority women’s services, Rape Crisis Centres and Women’s Aid refuges are a lifeline for many victim/survivors. The numbers of women and children being supported in this way is not presented in the “official” data.

    Instead, Million Women Rise emphasise that they’re also marching for people who have no choice but to suffer silently:

    While their experiences are not part of the “numbers”, we hold their truths in our hearts.

    Intersectional concerns

    Disabled women are often a group that is lost in statistics. The Office on Women’s Health writes:

    Research suggests that women with disabilities are more likely to experience domestic violence, emotional abuse, and sexual assault than women without disabilities. Women with disabilities may also feel more isolated and feel they are unable to report the abuse, or they may be dependent on the abuser for their care. Like many women who are abused, women with disabilities are usually abused by someone they know, such as a partner or family member.

    Recent research from the World Health Organisation suggests that older women and disabled women are most at risk for sexualised violence.

    In order to understand, never mind address, the way that male violence against disabled people is deployed we need a much broader understanding of barriers to care. Disabled people are more likely to be poor – and intersections therein are common. Disability services often cater largely to white disabled people and disregard the specific needs of disabled people of colour.

    Whilst organisations that offer support to people who’ve suffered male violence are already underfunded, this is further compounded when it comes to organisations that cater to a more specific group. For example, disability services are also stretched when it comes to resources and underfunding. But, when a disabled person of colour experiencing sexualised violence needs support, they can’t separate out the parts of themselves that need support to the relevant source of help.

    Million Women Rise: come together

    Million Women Rise are demanding and taking space for all kinds of women. Black women, disabled women, trans women, Muslim women, are a part of this movement. There isn’t always a neat way to articulate all the different parts of someone’s identity that fundamentally change experiences of male violence. It should, in fact, be a given that somebody who is a trans disabled woman of colour is more likely to experience sexualised violence, and needs to have the support they require. That’s something which is the responsibility of institutions, organisations, and each of us.

    Catering just, or primarily, for cis, white, able-bodied, middle class people shuts out so many people. The more specific the care, organising, and advocacy we can put out into the world, the more all of us benefit.

    The march will set off from Duke Street on Saturday 8th March at 12pm, culminating in a rally at 3:00pm in Trafalgar Square – more information here. 

    Featured image supplied

    By Maryam Jameela

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • EMERGENCY PROTEST TONIGHT: Stop Trump and Ukraine Solidarity Campaign

    Protesters will gather outside the US Embassy in London today (Wednesday 5 March) from 5.30pm to protest against Donald Trump’s policies towards Ukraine. It comes as a petition organised by campaign group Stop Trump hits over 100,000 signatures.

    Stop Trump: protest TONIGHT

    The protest is organised by the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and supported by Stop Trump Coalition, Ukrainian community organisations, and other campaign groups.

    Speakers at the demonstration will include

    • John McDonnell MP
    • Nadia Whittome MP
    • Zoe Gardner (Stop Trump Coalition)
    • Yuliya Yurchenko
    • Caroline Russell AM, Leader, City Hall Greens group
    • Luke Cooper (Another Europe is Possible)
    • Vicky Blake (UCU union)
    • Beverey Laidlaw (PCS union)
    • Simon Weller (ASLEF union)

    The protest assembles outside the embassy at 33 Nine Elms Lane, SW11 7US (Vauxhall).

    On Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky – the Ukrainian President – met with US president Donald Trump to sign an agreement which would give the US access to Ukraine’s reserves of rare minerals.

    We all watched the Oval Office in horror, as Trump and JD Vance turned the meeting into a fiery exchange. The entire thing collapsed, and Zelensky left without a deal. Since then, Trump has made no effort to backtrack – instead, cancelling all US weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

    So, the protest tonight is in response to that – but also a broader discontent with Trump and the UK’s appeasement of him.

    100k people say ‘no’ to a state visit

    The Stop Trump Coalition has, in tandem to the protest, organised a petition over Trump’s state visit to the UK. The “Cancel Trump’s state visit” petition has reached over 100,000 signatories.

    Spokesperson Zoe Gardner said:

    This shows that with Trump, flattery ultimately gets you nowhere. The promise of a state visit has completely failed to keep Trump on side.

    Now it would be nothing but a parade of honour for a man who is betraying the people of Ukraine.

    It is time to cancel this shameful state visit.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Trump’s Protest Threat Reflects Belief That Free Speech Belongs to Some

     

    In The Dawn of Everything, David Graeber and David Wengrow note that the Western notion of freedom derives from the Roman legal tradition, in which freedom was conceived as “the power of the male household head in ancient Rome, who could do whatever he liked with his chattels and possessions, including his children and slaves.”

    Because of this, “freedom was always defined—at least potentially—as something exercised to the cost of others.”

    You have to understand this notion of freedom—that to be free, you have to make someone else less free—to make sense of the idea that Donald Trump is a champion of “free speech.”

    NYT: A Theory of Media That Explains 15 Years of Politics

    Ezra Klein (New York Times, 2/25/25) thought Martin Gurri’s argument that “maybe Trump is building something more stable, creating a positive agenda that might endure….was worth hearing out.”

    This is, unfortunately, not a fringe idea. Last week, the New York Times (2/25/25) ran a long interview Ezra Klein did with Trump-supporting intellectual (and former CIA officer) Martin Gurri, who said his main reason for voting for Trump was that “I felt like he was for free speech.” “Free speech is a right-wing cause,” Gurri claimed.

    Trump is the “free speech” champion who said of a protester at one of his rallies during the 2016 campaign (Washington Post, 2/23/16): “I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that…? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”

    Trump sues news outlets when he doesn’t like how they edit interviews, or their polling results (New York Times, 2/7/25). Before the election, future Trump FBI Director Kash Patel (FAIR.org, 11/14/24) promised to “come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections…. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.” Trump’s FCC chair is considering yanking broadcast licenses from networks for “news distortion,” or for letting Kamala Harris have a cameo on Saturday Night Live (FAIR.org, 2/26/25).

    Nonetheless, Trump is still seen by many as a defender of free speech, because he sticks up for the free speech of people whose speech is supposed to matter—like right-wingers who weren’t allowed to post content that was deemed hate speech, disinformation or incitement to violence on social media platforms. As the headline of a FAIR.org piece (11/4/22) by Ari Paul put it, “The Right Thinks Publishers Have No Right Not to Publish the Right.” Another key “free speech” issue for the right, and much of the center: people who have been “canceled” by being criticized too harshly on Twitter (FAIR.org, 8/1/20, 10/23/20).

    ‘Agitators will be imprisoned’

    Donald J. Trump: All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    Trump (Truth Social, 3/4/25), of course, does not have the power to unilaterally withhold funds that have been authorized by Congress.

    Now Trump (Truth Social, 3/4/25) has come out with a diktat threatening sanctions against any educational institution that tolerates forbidden demonstrations:

    All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!

    The reference to banning masks is a reminder that, for the right, freedom is a commodity that belongs to some people and not to others. You have an inalienable right to defy mask mandates, not despite but mainly because you could potentially harm someone by spreading a contagious disease—just as you supposedly have a right to carry an AR-15 rifle. Whereas if you want to wear a mask to protect yourself from a deadly illness—or from police surveillance—sorry, there’s no right to do that.

    But more critically, what’s an “illegal protest”? The context, of course, is the wave of campus protests against the genocidal violence unleashed by Israel against Palestinians following the October 7, 2023, attacks (though Trump’s repressive approach to protests certainly is not limited to pro-Palestinian ones).

    On January 30, Trump promised to deport all international students who “joined in the pro-jihadist protests,” and to “cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.” He ordered the Justice Department to “quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.”

    A federal task force convened by Trump (CNN, 3/3/25) is threatening to pull $50 million in government contracts from New York’s Columbia University because of its (imaginary) “ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students,” which has been facilitated, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, by “the censorship and false narratives of woke cancel culture.”

    So the expression of ideas—Palestinian solidarity, US criticism, generic “radicalism”—has to be suppressed, because they lead to, if they do not themselves constitute, “harassment of Jewish students” (by which is meant pro-Israel students; Jewish student supporters of Palestinian rights are frequently targets of this suppression). Those ideas constitute “censorship,” and the way to combat this censorship is to ban those ideas.

    No one is talking about cracking down on students who proclaim “I Stand With Israel,” on the grounds that they may intimidate Palestinian students—even though they are endorsing an actual, ongoing genocide (FAIR.org, 12/12/24). That’s because—in the longstanding Western tradition that Trump epitomizes—free speech is the possession of some, meant to be used against others.

    Featured Image: Demonstration in London in support of a free Palestine (Creative Commons photo: Kyle Taylor).

    This post was originally published on FAIR.

  • After Oxford, Cambridge University just got reminded of its bloody investments in Israel

    In the early hours of 4 March, a group of autonomous students took direct action at Cambridge University in solidarity with Palestine. It was over the university’s investments in Israel. The protest, carried out in collaboration with Palestine Action, involved painting the Old Schools building – the office that manages the University’s Endowment Fund – in blood-red paint:

    Palestine Action Cambridge

    This action follows a similar protest at Oxford University last week, as part of a growing wave of confrontational actions at the UK’s most prestigious universities. The activists demand full disclosure of the University’s investments and the immediate divestment from companies complicit in war crimes and the Israeli apartheid regime.

    Cambridge University: complicit in genocide

    “Each life lost in Palestine is a human being with dreams, loved ones, and a future stolen. As long as the university continues to profit from violence, we will continue to take action in solidarity with Palestinians who endure daily oppression and destruction,” said a spokesperson for the group.

    The Cambridge University action comes on the heels of the high court refusing to grant an injunction to the university – an injunction banning protest – marking a moment of growing momentum against the University’s investments in the Israeli military-industrial complex.

    The group has vowed to escalate direct actions, targeting the university’s financial interests and reputation in their call for full divestment and accountability.

    “Now is the time to act,” the spokesperson continued. “The university must understand that its profits from war crimes will never outweigh the damage done to its reputation and bottom line.”

    Cambridge University boasts major research partnerships with Israeli institutes, while Trinity College at Cambridge is refusing to divest from Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, despite ongoing protests against its involvement in the US-Israel and Elbit genocide. This refusal follows prior actions, including the spraying of red paint on the Institute for Manufacturing in November, which supports many Israel-supplying arms firms, as well as similar protests at the historical Senate House building in June 2024.

    Trinity College, which held $78,089 in Elbit shares as of the latest disclosures, has faced multiple actions, including the slashing of a portrait of Lord Balfour in March 2024. Despite misleading its students about its investments, Trinity continues to hold these shares.

    Holding institutions to account over Israel and Palestine

    The Cambridge protest is part of an ongoing effort to hold institutions like Cambridge and Oxford accountable for their financial support of systems of violence and oppression. The call for divestment and solidarity with the Palestinian people grows louder, and the momentum for direct action continues to build. Last week, activists also targeted Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, spraying “DROP ELBIT” in response to the university’s refusal to divest from the Israeli arms giant.

    Featured image and additional images via Direct Action Images

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • NZ arms company building linked to Gaza genocide, claim peace activists

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Saige England

    Peace activists who scaled the roof an an international weapons company operating from Christchurch yesterday say the company links New Zealand to the deaths of children in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    Barricaded by protesters, the building nestled in the outskirts of the city’s suburb of Rolleston, appeared eerie yesterday. Silhouetted on the rooftop two protesters passionately shouted about the deaths of child after child in Gaza.

    They were supported by protesters holding banners and chanting “NIOA supplies genocide”.

    Joseph Bray, one of the fresh-faced Peace Action Ōtautahi activists who scaled the roof, later said the group was protesting against a “sinister company” trying to establish an extensive presence in New Zealand.

    The action which resulted in two arrests, had been undertaken by the concerned citizens after months of planning.

    “The killing of civilians, and especially children, with weapons from the NIOA, should be a cause of extreme concern for the people of Canterbury where NIOA’s headquarters have recently opened,” Bray said.

    Watched in horror
    Globally, people have watched in horror as children who once laughed and played were robbed of life.

    A muscular police squad arrived at the protest with an arrest van and moved in a line towards the protesters, striding over chalk drawings depicted flowers and the names of Palestinian children killed by Israeli snipers.

    Police manhandled John Minto, co-chair of the Palestinian Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA), during the peaceful protest outside the NOIA New Zealand headquarters.

    “Please get your hands off me,” Minto responded.

    A Peace Action Ōtautahi activist at yesterday's NIOA protest
    A Peace Action Ōtautahi activist at yesterday’s NIOA protest with a message for police. Image: PAO/APR

    NIOA is an Australian armaments and munitions company, headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. Owned by the Nioa family, the company supplies arms and ammunition to the sporting, law enforcement and military markets.

    It supplies weapons to military forces around the globe. In 2023 the global munitions company acquired Barrett Manufacturing, an Australian-owned, US-based manufacturer of firearms and ammunitions.

    According to the company’s website, its weapons are sold to 80 countries across the world.

    ‘More civilian casualties’
    The company’s New Zealand base signals another cause for public concern, said the Peace Action Otautahi spokesperson.

    “If the New Zealand Police force carries arms we can expect to see more civilian casualties.”

    Peace Action Ōtautahi has called for the NIOA to terminate any partnership with the company “Leupold and Stevens,” whose scopes are reportedly used by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and implicated in violations of international law, and war crimes, said Bray.

    The group also urges the company to voluntarily evict itself from the premises at 45 Stoneleigh Drive, Rolleston, stating that this proximity to Christchurch jeopardises the title of “Peace City” granted to the city in 2002.

    It seeks the termination of distribution of any product manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing within New Zealand, a company which NIOA owns and supplies the IDF with three different types of sniper rifles.

    Surgeons in Gaza have testified in court about seeing bullet holes between the eyes, and in the chests of children. IDF snipers have also been seen clambering over rubble to kill children at close range in Gaza and the West Bank.

    Death toll estimated at 64,000 plus
    Analysis by the Lancet medical journal estimates that the death toll in Gaza by end of June 2024 was 64,260, with 59 percent being women and children as well as people aged over 65.

    The Lancet study used death toll data from the Health Ministry, an online survey launched by the ministry for Palestinians to report relatives’ deaths, and social media obituaries to estimate that there were between 55,298 and 78,525 deaths from traumatic injuries in Gaza up to 30 June 2024.

    Reporting on livestream, PSNA’s John Minto said that it was “unconscionable” that New Zealand had allowed a company that produced sniper weapons to Israel’s military — an army responsible for genocide — to operate from the “humble suburbs of Christchurch”.

    “The PSNA 100 percent supports the action by these brave Peace Action activists,” Minto said.

    “We urge all New Zealanders to get behind this and stop this heinous company operating this death chain from our motu, our country.”

    Saige England is a journalist and author, and member of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA).

    Placards at yesterday's NIOA protest
    Placards at yesterday’s NIOA protest in Rolleston, Christchurch. Image: PAO/APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Climate Choir just delivered a musical message to the Church of England

    A 200-strong flash mob from the Climate Choir Movement surprised visitors and churchgoers at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday 1st March by delivering a musical message highlighting the vital role that the Church must play in restoring nature:

    The Climate Choir: in fine voice again

    On Saturday, singers from the Climate Choir Movement, and members of grassroots campaign group Wild Card, joined forces to call on the Church Commissioners, the investment body of the Church of England, to commit to rewilding 30% of their 105,000 acre estate by 2030:

    The UK is in the bottom 10% of nations globally for biodiversity and the Church Commissioners’ land is in a dire ecological state. Largely used for intensive farming, only 3% of the land is wooded, compared with the average of 10%, making it the lowest tree coverage of England’s top ten institutional landowners.

    Holding aloft images of native British species, Climate Choir members from across the UK gathered inside the iconic London landmark to sing a rousing reworked version of All Things Bright and Beautiful:

    Does not nature cry out, For understanding, For restoration, For all creation, For life!

    The new lyrics challenge the Church to demonstrate greater consideration for wildlife.

    Taking place ahead of the United Nations World Wildlife Day on 3 March, the Climate Choir shone a spotlight on the poor state of nature in Britain and the role its biggest landowners need to play in turning this around.

    Landowners have a duty to protect nature

    Wild Card’s campaign calling on the Church Commissioners to rewild their land has generated significant support in the last few months, with over 100,000 members of the public backing the call so far, and many senior church members and church groups calling for change.  The rallying cry for action comes as approval ratings for the Church of England plummet, with just 25% of Britons having a favourable view of the establishment.

    In October, Wild Card held an event outside St Paul’s Cathedral, in which TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham unveiled a nine-metre long scroll containing a collection of powerful arguments detailing why the Church Commissioners should rewild some of their extensive landholdings.

    Contributions to the 95 Wild Theses (a twist on the original 95 Theses by Martin Luther that kick started the Protestant reformation) were gathered from nearly 100 leading public figures, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, broadcaster, actor and writer Stephen Fry, former chair of the IPBES and IPCC Sir Robert T Watson, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas. The Theses were delivered to the offices of the Church Commissioners and Lambeth Palace.

    Speaking at the event, Wild Card Co-founder Hazel Draper said:

    Hearing the voices of the Climate Choir ring out in support of nature, in one of the world’s most recognisable places of worship, sends a clear message to the Church Commissioners that they must fulfil their moral obligation to protect all creatures great and small.

    The UK is signed up to the United Nations goal of restoring and protecting 30% of land and seas by 2030, but it cannot achieve this without action from the country’s largest landowners. This is where the Church can, and should, be showing leadership.

    Climate Choir: the Church must act

    Dave Mitchell, who sings with the choir and is a leading member of Christian Climate Action, said:

    As Christians we are called by God to care for and nurture all of God’s beautiful creation, the wonderful diversity of life we long to see. The Bible is clear about humanity’s role, we are to work in harmony with nature. However the UK is amongst the most nature depleted areas in the world.

    The Church of England is one of the top ten landowners in the UK, therefore we have a clear God-given responsibility to rewild the vast areas of church land, to help restore nature back to the amazing diversity it was intended for.

    Emeritus Professor Rupert Read, a Quaker and spiritual teacher, who is co-editor of Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos, said:

    The Church must offer moral and spiritual leadership, at this potentially dire moment for humanity and all Creation. Rewilding would be a great contribution, modelling, for all institutional landowners, what needs to be done.

    I was delighted to take part in today’s peaceful and beautiful singing, to highlight the importance of this change.

    Featured image and additional images via Andrea Domeniconi, and video via Jemma Ridley

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The Zionist lobby are now trying to get pro-Palestinian book launches shut down

    On the evening of Wednesday 26 February, protesters led by the Revolutionary Communist Group (RCG) marched into Camden Town Hall and occupied the building’s lobby for over an hour. This followed a decision by the charity King’s Cross Brunswick Neighbourhood Association (KCBNA) to cancel the RCG’s booking for a public launch of the book Ghassan Kanafani: Selected Political Writings which was due to take place that evening in the Chadswell Healthy Living Centre, a community venue run by KCBNA. The decision came after pressure from the Zionist lobby.

    Zionist lobby now trying to stop… book launches…

    Camden Council is the freeholder of Chadswell and one of KCBNA’s key funders. Another venue booked for the RCG’s book launch meeting, in Islington, had also cancelled the group’s booking after a visit from the police who warned they would post officers ‘outside the book launch to monitor the situation’.

    On the day of the meeting, the book launch organisers received a call from Labour Councillor and KCBNA Executive Director Nasim Ali to warn that he had been under pressure from Camden Council to cancel the booking due to concerns over the advertised guest speakers at the event: Dr Louis Brehony, one of the book’s editors; and Charlotte Kates, co-ordinator of Samidoun, the Palestine Prisoner Solidarity Network.

    Online trolls including the notorious Zionist X/Twitter account @Habibi_UK had demanded the police and Camden Council intervene to stop the event, claiming falsely that ‘Samidoun is a front for the PFLP terrorist group’. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is not a proscribed terrorist organisation in Britain.

    An email seen by the RCG, from Camden’s Director of Equalities and Community Strength Hanad Mohamed to Ali, read:

    We have been made aware of an event being planned for this evening with guest speakers Louis Brehony and Charlotte Kates.

    We are writing to you to request that this event does not go ahead this evening.

    As a Council, we have a statutory obligation to ensure good relations between our ethnic and religious groups.

    Based on research, we believe there is a significant risk that speakers this evening may say something that will be contrary to our statutory obligations and our values. We look for the organisations that we fund to share these values with us.

    Not having it

    After Ali informed the RCG that the booking was cancelled, the organisers of the book launch gathered the attendees outside Chadswell and marched with banners and Palestine flags to Camden Town Hall where they entered the building lobby and held a protest:

    Zionist

    The crowd of around 40 protestors was addressed by Louis Brehony and Charlotte Kates over video link on a PA system. It coincided with a 7pm Camden Council Cabinet meeting which was disrupted by the protest.

    As Brehony noted in his address:

    Ghassan Kanafani was murdered 52 and a half years ago, but still it’s remarkable that [his] message continues to be an object of erasure and silence.

    Kates spoke against censorship:

    They want to divide us by listing Palestinian resistance organisations as so-called “terrorist organisations”… in Britain today the Terrorism Act is being used to impose state terror on the population so people will be silenced and frightened of speaking in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

    The crowd cheered as Kates announced that 620 Palestinian prisoners were being released on the same night as the book launch in a prisoner exchange deal between the Israeli state and the Palestinian resistance.

    Protesters then unfurled a banner outside the building reading ‘Isolate the Zionist state – sanctions now’. They chanted slogans including ‘free Palestine from the river to the sea’ and ‘Camden Council: blood on your hands!’

    Zionist lobby tried to stop a book launch so people came out to protest

    Ghassan Kanafani: Selected Political Writings (2024) is published by Pluto Press and is edited by Louis Brehony and Tahrir Hamdi.

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tesla showroom in London occupied by activists in clear message to Elon Musk

    Far-right miscreant Elon Musk got a taste of the opposition to him in London – as protesters occupied his Tesla showroom over his multiple crimes against people and planet.

    Elon Musk: abolish him and the rest of the billionaires

    At midday on Saturday 1 March, the Tesla showroom in Westfield Shepherd’s Bush was disrupted by Climate Resistance protestors. A massive banner with the demand “Abolish billionaires” was dropped over the Tesla logo from a balcony above as a group of 30 staged a sit-in inside the showroom:

    Security intervened to physically drag protesters from the premises:

    Protesters accuse Tesla’s owner Elon Musk of accelerating the climate crisis through his high-carbon lifestyle and his support for climate crisis-denier Donald Trump:

    Elon Musk Tesla protest

    The disruption took place as part of the new Abolish Billionaires campaign from campaign group Climate Resistance.

    Multiple misdemeanours

    Calling for an end to the billionaire tech bro oligarchy, campaigners demand a 100% wealth tax on assets over £10 million to fund public services and climate action. Over 50% of Brits believe that billionaires should not exist, and three quarters support a wealth tax.

    The protest also pointed to the inhumane mining practices in Congo that Tesla relies on for battery production, as well as Elon Musk’s notorious anti-trade union stances, highlighting that the recently appointed head of DOGE owes his wealth to ruthless exploitation of communities across the world.

    Despite allegations of a toxic company culture, Tesla continues to be the only major car producer in the US that is not unionised and has so far quashed workers’ attempts to change the situation.

    The Trump administration, which Elon Musk has become an infamous part of, has taken steps to undermine global climate action, including withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and ramping up fossil fuel production under the motto “drill, baby, drill”.

    Meanwhile, the super-rich continue to be the chief producers of the world’s carbon emissions: according to Oxfam, it would take one of us in the “bottom 99%” over 1,500 years to match the amount of pollution that the richest billionaires create in a single year.

    Elon Musk Tesla London

    Elon Musk: profiting from misery

    Sam Simons, spokesperson for Climate Resistance, said of the Elon Musk protest:

    The super-rich profit from poverty, torch the planet, and rig the system in their favour — it’s time to tax them out of existence and use that wealth to fund climate action. As fires and floods devastate homes at a higher rate than ever, billionaires like Elon Musk keep fanning the flames of climate breakdown with their toxic investments and high-polluting lifestyles, all the while profiting from poverty. We must tax their billions to fund our futures.

    As the world’s richest man, Elon Musk is the prime example of everything wrong with the global economy. He has built his empire through ruthless exploitation towards an overt fascist oligarchy. Tesla has faced numerous allegations of union-busting, discrimination and dangerous working conditions, and its reliance on cobalt from Congo keeps fueling instability in the region that has resulted in the death and displacement of thousands. The system now rewards Musk with unlimited power he is clearly unfit to hold.

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Activists scale NZ building in protest against global weapons company

    By Kate Green , RNZ News reporter

    Protesters have scaled the building of an international weapons company in Rolleston, Christchurch, in resistance to it establishing a presence in Aotearoa New Zealand.

    Two people from the group Peace Action Ōtautahi were on the roof of the NIOA building on Stoneleigh Drive, shown in a photo on social media, and banners were strung across the exterior.

    Banners declared “No war profiteers in our city. NIOA supplies genocide” and “Shut NIOA down”.

    In late December, the group hung a banner across the Bridge of Remembrance in a similar protest.

    In 2023, the global munitions company acquired Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, an Australian-owned, US-based manufacturer of firearms and ammunition operating out of Tennessee.

    According to the company’s website, its products are “used by civilian sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military and more than 80 State Department approved countries across the world”.

    In a media release, Peace Action Ōtautahi said the aim was to highlight the alleged killing of innocent civilians with weapons supplied by NIOA.

    NIOA has been approached for comment.

    Police confirm action
    A police spokesperson said they were aware of the protest, and confirmed two people had climbed onto the roof, and others were surrounding the premises.

    In a later statement, police said the people on the ground had moved. However, the two protesters remained on the roof.

    “We are working to safely resolve the situation, and remove people from the roof,” they said.

    “While we respect the right to lawful protest, our responsibility is to uphold the law and ensure the safety of those involved.”

    Fire and Emergency staff were also on the scene, alongside the police Public Safety Unit and negotiation team.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Rachel Reeves has yet ANOTHER speech interrupted by protesters

    Two protesters opposing new subsidies for Drax Power Station caused chaos during Rachel Reeves keynote speech at the Yorkshire Labour Party Conference, and were forcibly ejected by security.

    Rachel Reeves: propping up planet-wrecking Drax

    The protestors challenged the recent decision by Labour to grant new subsidies from 2027-2031, highlighting the impact of further subsidies estimated to cost £2bn on bill payers amid ongoing energy bill hikes and widespread fuel poverty in the UK.

    The protesters stood up and spoke about the impact on bill payers as well as the harm Drax is doing to forests and communities abroad and highlighted the fact that despite Drax being the UK’s single biggest carbon emitter it has received billions in green subsidies:

    The disruption led to Rachel Reeves pausing her speech whilst protesters were forcibly ejected by security.

    Drax Power Station, located near Selby in Yorkshire, is the world’s biggest woody biomass power station and the UK’s single largest carbon emitter. The company sources from around the world, primarily the US, Canada, and the Baltic States.

    Drax’s wood pellet production sites, predominantly located in environmental justice communities, emit large amounts of pollutants, such as PM10, PM2.5 and VOCs which are linked to respiratory and pulmonary health impacts. Woody biomass is counted as carbon neutral by the UK government, allowing the company to receive renewable energy subsidies (CfDs and ROCs).

    This disruption came just weeks after the government extended subsidies for Drax – contrary to advice from the Climate Change Committee – and Drax announced earnings this week of over £1 billion for 2024. The same week that a protester was found guilty of obstructing a Drax train in 2021, after the judge instructed the jury to ignore their conscience when they were struggling to decide a verdict.

    Labour: in the pockets of lobbyists

    Rosie from campaign group Axe Drax said:

    Labour’s decision to extend subsidies for Drax is an absolute disaster for bill payers, forests, communities suffering Drax’s deadly pollution and our planet. Labour has once again shown that they are on the side of the lobbyists – choosing to hand billions in bill payer money to Drax, who have just announced over £1bn in earnings, whilst slashing winter fuel payments and presiding over yet another energy bill price hike. Rather than funding Drax’s shareholders profits, we desperately need investment in real green energy and climate action that will bring down emissions and bills – like home insulation.

    Sam from the group said:

    We have seen, time and time again, Labour siding with lobbyists and big polluters over the public. Their recent decision to extend Drax’s subsidies means higher energy bills, more forests destroyed, communities polluted and climate chaos. Giving billions more to Drax, the UK’s biggest carbon emitter, whilst slashing pensioners winter fuel payments and seeing millions of people in this country forced to choose between heating and eating as energy bills rise yet again is an absolute disgrace.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Protesters Crash J.D. Vance’s Vermont Ski Trip

    Over a thousand Vermonters lined both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield, Vermont, Saturday morning protesting Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting nearby Sugarbush Resort this weekend with his family. Vance’s ski vacation comes right after Friday’s disastrous meeting where US President Donald Trump and Vance ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Oxford University will regret investing in Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    Oxford University got another reminder of its complicity with Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza – as activists took to one building to protest its involvement.

    Oxford University: drop Elbit now

    Oxford students and local activists have once again took to action in a bold protest targeting the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. This demonstration is in response to the University’s ongoing investment in Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer implicated in the genocide of Palestinians, and to protest Oxford’s hosting of politicians deeply complicit in Israel’s genocide.

    In an action organised by students and local community members, Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government was sprayed with messages of ‘DROP ELBIT’ and ‘FREE PALESTINE’, the glass panes on the building’s exterior shattered:

    Oxford University

    Oxford’s ties to Elbit Systems, which manufactures drones used by the Israeli military, have been a source of mounting criticism, and led to a previous visit by Palestine Action in October 2024, in collaboration with Oxford residents, targeting the University’s administrative offices in Wellington Square, to demand total divestment from Elbit.

    The symbolic act of defiance comes the day before former prime minister Rishi Sunak is due to join the Blavatnik School’s Board, an individual infamous for his support for Israeli war crimes and genocide. The protestors view the involvement in University administration of Rishi Sunak, who gave his “unequivocal” support for Israel’s siege and massacres in Gaza, as part of a broader strategy to legitimize and perpetuate the UK’s support for Israel’s military actions, including the ongoing occupation of Palestine.

    Palestine Action: students will be back

    “We are here to send a clear message to Oxford: its role in funding and profiting from the genocide of Palestine cannot go unchallenged” said a spokesperson for Palestine Action:

    Oxford’s investment in Elbit Systems is not just a financial decision, but a political one that supports the violence and oppression faced by Palestinians every day.

    Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest weapons firm, responsible for production of 85% of Israel’s military drones and directly linked to documented war crimes against Palestinians of the most heinous nature.

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine asks ICJ for advisory opinion on illegal occupier Israel’s obligations

    Asia Pacific Report

    The State of Palestine has submitted a written plea to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking it for an advisory opinion regarding Israel’s obligations not to obstruct humanitarian and development assistance in the territories it occupies, Al Jazeera reports.

    In the submission, Palestinian officials affirmed the responsibility of Israel, as an occupying power, to not obstruct the work of the UN, international organisations, and third states so they can provide essential services, humanitarian aid, and development assistance to the Palestinian people.

    Many states, as well as international groups, have submitted written pleas to the ICJ ahead of oral proceedings set to start next month.

    Last July, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion determining Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.

    Widespread ‘torture’ of Gaza medics in Israeli custody
    In a separate report, the Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights accused the Israeli military of detaining more than 250 medical personnel and support staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023.

    More than 180 remained in detention without a clear indication of when or if they would be released, the physicians’ report said.

    “Detainees endure physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as starvation and medical neglect amounting to torture,” the report said, denouncing a “deeply ingrained policy”.

    Healthcare workers were beaten, threatened, and forced to sign documents in Hebrew during their detention, according to the report based on 20 testimonies collected in prison.

    “Medical personnel were primarily questioned about the Israeli hostages, tunnels, hospital structures and Hamas’s activity,” it said.

    “They were rarely asked questions linking them to any criminal activity, nor were they presented with substantive charges.”

    New Zealand protesters calling for the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire and for peace and justice in Palestine in a march along the Auckland waterfront
    New Zealand protesters calling for the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire and for peace and justice in Palestine in a march along the Auckland waterfront today. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    Where does Trump stand on the Gaza ceasefire?
    With phase one of the ceasefire due to end today and negotiations barely started on phase two, serious fears are being raised over  the viability of the ceasefire.

    President Donald Trump took credit for the truce that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff helped push across the finish line after a year of negotiations led by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar, reports Al Jazeera.

    Advocate Maher Nazzal at today's New Zealand rally for Gaza in Auckland
    Advocate Maher Nazzal at today’s New Zealand rally for Gaza in Auckland . . . he was elected co-leader of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa last weekend. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    However, Trump has since sent mixed signals about the deal.

    Earlier last month, he set a firm deadline for Hamas to release all the captives, warning “all hell is going to break out” if it didn’t.

    But he said it was ultimately up to Israel, and the deadline came and went.

    Trump sowed further confusion by proposing that Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million be relocated to other countries and for the US to take over the territory and develop it.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea, but it was universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, including close US allies. Human rights groups said it could violate international law.

    Trump stood by the plan in a Fox News interview over the weekend but said he was “not forcing it”.


    ‘Finally’ an effort to hold the US accountable, says Al-Haq director
    Palestinian human rights activist Shawan Jabarin has welcomed a plea by the US-based rights group DAWN for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Joe Biden and senior US officials for aiding Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

    In a video posted by DAWN, Jabarin, director of the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said the effort was long overdue.

    “For decades we have called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law, but time and again, the US has used its power and influence to block that accountability, to shield Israel from consequences and to ensure that it can continue its crimes with impunity,” Jabarin said.

    “Now, finally, we see an effort to hold not just Israeli officials accountable but also those who have made these crimes possible: US officials who have armed, financed, and politically defended Israeli atrocities.”

    A father piggybacks his sleepy child during the New Zealand solidarity protest for Palestine in Auckland's Viaduct
    A father piggybacks his sleepy child during the New Zealand solidarity protest for Palestine in Auckland’s Viaduct today. Image: Asia Pacific Report

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • University of Cambridge loses authoritarian legal attempt to stop pro-Palestine protests

    The University of Cambridge has lost its legal bid to stop pro-Palestine, anti-genocide protests on certain parts of its campus.

    University of Cambridge: draconian actions

    Palestine campaigners have welcomed an important victory in defence of their rights to protest. At short notice the University of Cambridge attempted to secure a draconian five year long injunction to prevent specifically Israel and Palestine-related protest at key sites on campus.

    This unprecedented attack on the right to protest and freedom of expression was defeated in court by the ELSC, who intervened in support of campaigners.

    The University of Cambridge attempted to argue that the injunction until 2030 was urgently required before graduation ceremonies this weekend, but the judge Mr Justice Fordham dismissed this application, saying he would grant only a “very narrow and limited court order” until Saturday 1 March 2025.

    This only prohibits entry and erecting structures – other protest is not injuncted.

    A further hearing is scheduled for March as the judge said it was “a matter of significant concern” that the university’s application offered little time for potential interested parties to properly respond.

    Ahead of the hearing, ELSC, PSC, Liberty, and UCU were joined by Cambridge SU and the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Assembly to condemn the university’s discriminatory attack on fundamental rights to protest, which disproportionately affects Palestinian students and staff.

    The university sought to silence those demanding that it ends its complicity in Israel’s genocide. PSC research has previously found that British universities invest nearly £430m in companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law.

    A significant victory

    Ben Jamal, PSC director, said:

    This is an important victory for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, both of which should be cornerstones of university life. The University of Cambridge tried to single out Palestinian staff and students and those speaking up for international law, and subject them to draconian restrictions not applied to protestors on any other issue. This decision should mark a watershed in defence of freedom of expression and the right to protest.

    Anna Ost, senior legalofficer, ELSC, said:

    This is a significant victory – one that sends a strong message to other universities attempting to impose such draconian restrictions on freedom of assembly and protest. The University of Cambridge’s efforts to undermine its students’ civil liberties – by seeking an injunction to effectively ban expressions of Palestine solidarity both on and off campus until 2030 – represented the broadest restriction on university protests to date. We are thrilled that the court has refused to grant it today, but this fight is not over. Another hearing is scheduled for the end of March, and we hope the court will recognise, as we do, that this is a blatant violation of students’ fundamental rights.

    Since October 2023, we have witnessed ongoing attempts to undermine students’ right to protest and to challenge their institutions’ complicity in violations of international law and genocide. It is our responsibility to fight this wider pattern of repression against our movement, on university campuses or otherwise, and against our civil liberties in the legal terrain.

    Cambridge 4 Palestine commented:

    This decision represents a massive political victory for our movement in solidarity with Palestine, and for student political expression at large. The court has revealed that Cambridge’s racist targeting of Palestinian identity, and demonisation of students and staff who protest the University’s complicity in genocide is baseless and unacceptable.

    At the same time, however, C4P asserted that “the freedom to protest is the bare minimum and a fundamental right. Our true win will come when we see an end to the University’s partnership with Israel’s genocidal campaigns”.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action pile the pressure on genocide-complicit Aviva

    Palestine Action has been at it again. During the early hours of Friday 28 February, Aviva offices were targeted in Perth and Motherwell, Scotland. It is, of course, over the insurance giant’s complicity with Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    Palestine Action: back to Aviva they go

    Activists from Palestine Action Scotland covered both sides of the Aviva offices in blood-red paint to symbolise the company’s complicity in Palestinian bloodshed, spray painted messages such as “Drop Elbit” and broke window:

    The two actions taken today in Scotland follow an occupation of ‘The Aviva Centre’ in Bristol last month by Palestine Action.

    Aviva provide mandatory employers liability insurance for a Staffordshire-based drone factory UAV Engines, owned by Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems. Without it, Elbit would not be able to build engines which power Israel’s killer drone fleet. Elbit Systems manufacture 85% of Israel’s military drones, which are used to massacre people in Palestine and Lebanon, and are often marketed as “battle-tested” after first deploying them against Palestinians in Gaza.

    Aviva proclaim to respect human rights within their social responsibility policies, but providing insurance for UAV Engines is a clear contradiction which should be immediately rectified.

    In direct contradiction with facilitating Elbit weapons production, ‘The Aviva Business Ethic Code’ states: “Respecting our customers, colleagues, communities, partners and the environment is part of our approach to human rights. As a company, we have an obligation to ensure our business activities do not cause or contribute to violations of human rights of others“.

    Not getting away with it

    Palestine Action have also repeatedly targeted Allianz, who provide insurance for other Elbit weapons factories in Britain. Through targeted direct action, Palestine Action are applying necessary pressure to break the links which allow the production of Israeli weapons on British soil.

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said:

    By providing the legally required insurance for Elbit’s Israeli drone factory to operate in Britain, Aviva directly enables and profits from the genocide of the Palestinian people. Whilst direct action may seem like a rude awakening, it pales in comparison to waking up to missiles being dropped by Israel’s killer drone fleet.

    Palestine Action will continue to target all those who facilitate the operations of Israel’s biggest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, until they cease ties.

    Featured image via screengrab

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Protesters sent a scorching message to forest-razer Drax

    A climate crisis protester was found guilty of obstructing a railway line that carries trees to Drax’s climate-wrecking biomass power station – for less than a minute. If that seems an excessive weaponisation of the law against people standing up for the planet, it only gets worse in the wider context. This is because, the very next day, Drax was posting another year of whopping mega-profits.

    So what do you do in the face of the complicit state and criminal justice system serving the interests of forest-razing Drax? Well, protesters from campaign group Axe Drax had one idea – and it involved FIRE.

    Drax: the verdict is in, but not for the mega-polluter

    Climate mega-polluter Drax has had a good week. However, it has meant bad news all round for people and the planet.

    First, on Wednesday 26 February, a jury guided by a corporate servile judge handed climate protester and retired GP Diana Warner a guilty verdict. It was over an action in December 2021. Warner obstructed a railway line that carries trees destined to be burned by Drax’s Selby power plant in Yorkshire.

    As the biggest burner of woody biomass worldwide, its the UK’s single largest carbon polluter, and then some. In 2023 for instance, the planet-wrecking wood pellet plant pumped out 11.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. It meant that Drax’s Selby power station put out the equivalent of nearly 3% of the UK’s territorial emissions.

    At Leeds Crown Court, Judge Kearl instructed the 12-person jury to ignore their consciences in the case. Notably, the judge told the jury that:

    You have all taken an oath or affirmation to try this case on the evidence not your conscience

    He directed them to try Warner solely on the basis of whether she a) trespassed on Network Rail’s land, and b) caused an obstruction. Despite this, the jury still raised the concern over conscience, before ultimately finding Warner guilty.

    The jury queried Judge Kearl over their moral concerns, raising the question:

    As a matter of conscience we are finding it difficult to come to a verdict. What should we do?

    Of course, it isn’t the first case where a judge has tried to silence the jury’s right to acquit defendants. Notorious judges Christopher Hehir and Silas Reid – who have repeatedly handed out guilty verdicts to protesters – have been a leading example of judge hostility to juries ruling with their consciences.

    Warner will now face sentencing on 25 March.

    In a statement, Warner said that:

    I believe that the jury showed they understood and agreed with me, through the question they asked and through their body language. I believe that they understood that I took the action to make the point that the government must review its position on Drax. The government must work towards getting the UK’s flexible energy in ways that are really sustainable.

    Burning our future with its blistering profits

    Following Warner’s guilty verdict, on the 27 February, Drax posted its full year results. Across its 2024 operations, the greenwashing giant raked in £1.06bn in profits.

    Its gargantuan payouts also come the same month the Labour Party government has granted Drax £2bn in taxpayer subsidies. On Monday 10 February, the government extended this sum propping up the destructive industry from 2027 to 2031.

    Moreover, despite these marking its highest ever earnings in more than three decades of its operations, it announced it would slash investment in plans to reduce its emissions. Specifically, as the Guardian reported, after stonking profits AND more government subsidies, it threatened to ditch carbon capture and storage (CCS) plans unless the government could guarantee its returns on this.

    Obviously, the Canary has highlighted how CCS is a false climate solution and con anyway.  But the point it underscored is that even with its highest ever profits, Drax is rowing back on the minimal efforts to ‘green’ its mega-polluting business. Go figure. Needless to say, it was an opportunistic smokescreen all along.

    However, climate campaigners from Axe Drax were undeterred by the latest court ruling against their fellow activist.

    Protesters from the anti-biomass energy group pitched up outside Drax’s major wood pellet burning power plant in Yorkshire.

    Protester with a leafy eye-mask and leaves across her top waves an Extinction Rebellion flag in front on Drax's power station smokestacks.

    And the gaslighting ‘green’ energy giant got burned:

     

    In front of its infamous site, protesters set alight a banner effigy to “our future” and “our money” that Drax was busy burning away in a background:

    Banner on fire in front of Drax power station that reads: "Our future - our money", with smoke rising in the background from the smokestacks.

    All the while, pollution belched out from the smokestacks at Drax:

    Banner on fire in front of Drax power station that reads: "Our future - our money", with smoke rising in the background from the smokestacks.

    The not remotely ‘renewable‘ energy giant has wrecked numerous old-growth forests and plundering nature reserves for its pellets.

    Moreover, as the Canary reported only this week, Drax pellet mills in the US are having devastating impacts on nearby communities’ health.

    Who’s the criminal again?

    Maybe, just maybe, it’s climate criminal Drax that should really be in the dock again? As Warner mused in her statement, her trial:

    is important because it clearly shows that the courts are protecting wealthy people and corporations.

    Naturally, she’s right on the money – because Drax are clearly rolling in it with the full support of both the UK government, and the courts. Evidently, it’s clearly coming at an unconscionable expense for communities and biodiversity.

    Rosie from Axe Drax said:

    It is perverse hypocrisy that the same private company can have billions in subsidies from our bills pledged in the same month they announce over a billion in earnings, all while our genuine public services continue to crumble. We should not be lining the pockets for Drax’s shareholders while seeing cruel cuts to winter fuel payment and disability benefits.”

    Helen Hart from Extinction Rebellion Leeds added that:

    Burning trees in power stations for six more years is not a climate solution. It’s a climate crime that’s taking a torch to our future. If that wasn’t bad enough, this madness is being underwritten by billions of pounds that is being added to our energy bills, which is ending up in the pockets of mega-rich shareholders when it is badly needed to fix our broken public services.

    Time and again we are seeing this government failing to stand up to powerful interests and do the right thing. That’s why we need a citizens’ assembly that is independent and made up of a cross-section of ordinary people.

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By Hannah Sharland

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • BP’s renewables roll-back got the reception it deserved thanks to climate campaigners

    Climate crisis campaigners turned up at the door of planet-burning company BP to call out the fossil fuel major’s predictably risible row-back on renewables, as it once again ramps up its oil and gas investment.

    BP out with renewables, in with MORE planet-burning oil and gas

    On February 26, BP slashed its investment in renewables. As Reuters reported:

    BP cut planned annual investment in renewable energy businesses by more than $5 billion, from its previous forecast, to between $1.5 billion and $2 billion per year.

    By contrast, the climate-wrecking corporation announced an annual increase in oil and gas spending. To the tune of $10bn, BP’s explosive investment in fossil fuels will surge its oil and gas production:

    to between 2.3 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2030. It pumped 2.36 million boepd in 2024.

    BP’s CEO Murray Auchincloss said the “strategy reset” demonstrated the corporations “unwavering focus” on boosting shareholder profit.

    However, the green energy snake-oil sales-merchant of climate doubt wasn’t about to get away with this without a fuss. At least, that was thanks to climate campaigners pitching up with placards outside BP’s HQ in London.

    ‘BP’s greed’ is setting fire to climate targets and the planet

    Campaigners from Fossil Free London were joined by a coalition of climate groups. This included anti-fossil fuel activists from Weald Action Group. Last year, on behalf of the group, campaigner Sarah Finch famously took on UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) in a groundbreaking case that set a vital new precedent and potential death blow to the UK industry around their downstream emissions.

    After BPs announcement, the groups gathered outside the climate-wrecking corporation’s London HQ in St James’s Square on Wednesday evening:

    Campaigners held a banner reading “Big Oil is Killing Us” while chanting “Who kills? BP kills!”:

    Around 15 protesters gathered in a group outside BP's HQ. Some carry placards with BP's logo on fire, while others raise Fossil Free London signs above their heads. A campaigner holds a placard with BP's sunflower logo transformed into a burning sunset and oil with the words: "BP will kill us". At the front, protesters hold a banner with dollar bills floating down to red flames and big bold text that reads: "Big oil is killing us.". A person drums at the front of the group BP renewables

    Female protester holding the group's main banner in focus, shouting. Other raise "BP will kill us" and "Fossil Free London" placards behind.

    Protesters drew a link between BPs fossil fuel profiteering and the climate crisis impacts that have been hitting communities this year already. Mudslides have devastated Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, and communities in Australia, Brazil, and South Africa suffered extreme flash flooding:

    Side on view of protesters in a crowd outside the HQ with various banners and placards. To the left a banner reads "Big oil is killing us" with red flames. In the centre, a protester holds a placard reading: "1500 dead West Africa floods". On the right, a protester holds a megaphone and a placard that reads: "We want to live - Fossil Free London".

    BPs announcement came just weeks after the hottest January on record, where wildfires ravaged California. One campaigner called out BP’s complicity in the Los Angeles loss of life to the infernos that tore across the US city:

    Protester holds a placard that reads "29 dead Los Angeles fire" while another drums beside her.

    BP renewables backtracking: not the first time…

    Of course, BP reneging on its renewables investment was only to be expected. Big Oil’s profit golden-boy wasn’t going to grow a green energy conscience and stop pumping out the petroleum.

    After all, this isn’t the first time the company has ditched its renewables arm. In the 2000s, the oil and gas giant suddenly seemed to manifest a moral compass – sort of. It was out with the old British colonial corporate brand legacy, in with the swanky millennial bug in the Big Oil system that was ‘Beyond Petroleum’. Needless to say, this image didn’t exactly last long. It quickly dumped its renewables rebrand when it got in deep water – quite literally with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill that took the sheen off its slimy PR stunt.

    Honourable mention should also go to the personal climate culpability coinage con that is ‘carbon footprints’. Also the brainchild of BP, its slick blame-game did plenty to murky the waters of fossil fuel companies’ role in fueling the climate crisis as well.

    ‘Chasing short term profit’ at the expense of communities everywhere

    Climate activists have been warning people for years that once a fossil fuel corporate capitalist, always a fossil fuel corporate capitalist. Once again, BP has only proven this point to be painfully obviously the case.

    To sum up: we can’t trust the same colonial forces that flung the planet into this mess, to fix it. Climate campaigners outside BP HQ highlighted why relying on fossil fuel companies to save the planet is a fool’s errand.

    Campaigner with Fossil Free London Robin Wells said:

    The reality behind this oily money that BP is hellbent on creating is written in skulls and bones. The climate crisis is the greatest threat to society and human survival that humanity has ever known. From Valencia to Pakistan, the activities of these climate criminals will kill us. They must be regulated, they must be forced to pay up, they must be stopped.

    Weald Climate Action Group protester Lorraine added:

    BP’s decisions today to double down on its oil and gas productions and abandon its already weak renewable commitments is nothing short of reckless. They are, yet again, chasing short term profits at the expense of the future of our planet. Communities across the globe are already suffering the catastrophic consequences of fossil fuel expansion. We will not stand by while BP accelerates the climate crisis in the name of corporate greed.

    Featured image and additional images via Fossil Free London

    By Hannah Sharland

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Show Israel the Red Card is taking over the footballing world

    Show Israel the Red Card is a new initiative from Celtic fans that has been adopted by other football fans the world over. Their social media profile reads:

    We are a campaign group based in Scotland, committed to the sporting and cultural boycotting of Israel and supporting a free Palestine.

    The action began at the Celtic v Bayern Munich game on the 12 February, where Celtic fans unveiled, alongside symbolic red cards, a banner that read:

    show Israel the red card.

    Leaflets circulated at the game read:

    At the start of the second half, please Show ‘Israel’ the Red Card to send a direct message to Uefa (Union of European Football Associations) and Fifa (International Federation of Association Football) to apply their respective statutes and suspend ‘Israel’ from competition.

    By doing so, you will not only be doing the right thing but you will be joining football fans of conscience and courage around the world who will be adopting the same message.

    Show Israel the Red Card

    Despite Israel’s continued genocide in Palestine, global footballing associations have allowed Israel to continue to participate in competitions. In May 2024, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) called for a ban on Israel’s footballing participation. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the governing body of international football, have repeatedly delayed a decision.

    This cowardly decision stands in stark contrast to Israel, as of November 2024, killing 344 Palestinian footballers. Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans went on a racist rampage in Amsterdam rife with anti-Arab slurs. In October 2024 Gaza football writer Abubaker Abed told Al Jazeera:

    More than 50 sports facilities have been reduced to rubble in Gaza, including nine out of 10 of Gaza’s stadiums. Almost every club has been destroyed in this war, while one stadium in Deir el-Balah has been turned into a shelter for thousands of displaced people.

    It is inconceivable that FIFA would allow any other nation to kill another nation’s footballers, destroy stadiums, and use threatening behaviour at games without any response. It’s a disgrace that, just like other institutions, they’ve equipped Israel in behaving with impunity.

    In encouraging others to join their protest, a statement from a group of Celtic fans read:

    We call on football fans around the world who value life, humanity, dignity, freedom, peace and justice to be courageous and to use your platform to stand against the crimes of Israel and stand with Palestine. You can make a stand by adopting to show Israel the red card and by flying the flag of Palestine.

    Football is an incredibly powerful tool. If the football world unites to isolate Israel, then other arenas will inevitably follow this example. It is time for both UEFA and FIFA to practice the values which they preach: equality, respect and human rights.

    Growing movement

    Fans have responded with gusto, with supporters around the world joining the Show Israel the Red Card movement. Drop Site News reported that:

    The “Show Israel the Red Card” movement, sparked by Celtic’s Green Brigade, has rapidly spread across 72 teams in 25 countries and six continents. Fans are unfurling banners, displaying red cards, and waving Palestinian flags to protest Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza.

    In Spain, Osasuna fans joined together to show Israel the red card:

    Malaysian fans did the same:

    In Sevilla, Spain fans showed out in force:

    Fiery scenes in Chile:

    Celtic fan collective, North Curve Celtic, shared news of protests that show Israel the red card in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia:

    Quds News Network showed more images including from France and Greece:

    Cork City fans unfurled their own banner:

    Cultural boycott

    Just as a cultural boycott became a growing movement during South African apartheid, there is clearly a similar need for a cultural boycott of apartheid Israel. Institutions like FIFA have repeatedly shown themselves to be cowards who will not act unless forced to by fans – if even then. The more people who can boycott anything coming out of Israel the better – these football fans via Show Israel the Red Card are showing more backbone than the most powerful people and institutions in the world.

    As Omar Al Akkad’s new book states: one day, everyone will always have been against this.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Maryam Jameela

    This post was originally published on Canary.