Jewish Socialists’ Group statement against the proscription of Palestine Action

• Human rights – including the rights to free speech and non-violent protest – are universal and inalienable: governments may not pick and choose which rights are respected and who they apply to.

• We have not been handed these rights. Each one has been fought for, usually in circumstances requiring great courage and conviction, often risking life and liberty.

• This latest manifestation of our government’s authoritarianism rings warning bells for all of us. We identify with those Jews across the world who have always been in the forefront of protests to defend human rights and to resist attempts by those in power to dismantle democracy, and with those who are building on that legacy today.

• We stand in solidarity with those who are being targeted precisely because their protests are effective in raising awareness and illuminating actions by governments and state institutions that are criminal, corrupt or just wrong.

• We oppose our government’s complicity with the genocide being committed in Palestine, and support all the courageous human rights defenders in Israel who are standing against their government’s war crimes.

• The term “terrorism” has always been used by states against non-state groups that pose an effective challenge to their power and authority. It is clear that an organisation like Palestine Action – which is advocating for peace and to prevent actual terror and war crimes against civilians – are not terrorising anyone.

• The Jewish Socialists’ Group rejects attempts by the self-appointed leaders and invented representatives of the Jewish community to silence, co-opt or threaten Jewish people and groups who refuse to conform to their authorised version of Jewish opinion. They do not represent our diverse, vibrant and conflicted community, and we will not be used by them as a weapon to attack supporters of the Palestinian people.