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PROUD VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY 7 November 2024 • 6 Cheshvan 5785 • Issue No.1392 •
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Home Office weighs Palestine Action ban Police pledge crackdown after vandals smash buildings and behead Chaim Weizmann bust by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin
The Home Office is looking at the possible proscription of the group Palestine Action as police pledged to use the “full force of the law” to pursue those responsible for criminal incidents last weekend in London and Manchester. Images of smashed windows and red paint splattered over offices used by a Jewish business and Israel advocacy organisation in Hamsptead and Hendon, and the word ‘Palestine’ partially sprayed on walls next to offices on Hampstead High Street sparked anger and concern in the community. Palestine Action fanatics also claimed responsibility for stealing two busts from the University of Manchester last weekend, including one of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, who had been an academic at the institution,
Jewish-owned building in Hampstead
which was later shown “beheaded” in a social media post. Jewish News understands that the latest incidents, which Palestine Action claimed on X as its own work, have sparked renewed discussion on building a case for proscribing the group under existing terrorism laws. A report published in May by Lord Walney, the government’s adviser on political violence, called for Palestine Action to be proscribed and claimed the militant group is “using criminal tactics to create mayhem” in this country. Palestine Action has long resorted to direct action at companies it accuses of being Israeli-owned, or British companies it says are supplying arms to Israel. A government source confirmed to Jewish News this week that the possible proscription of Palestine Action “remains on the agenda” and would be “revisited after the group’s latest actions”. The government source also said they “shared” Lord Walney’s concerns about the group. A Home Office spokesperson said it would never comment on which groups are under consideration for proscription. Some legal experts fear that proscription would lead only to the group, which was founded in 2020, re-emerging under a different name and continuing to carry out acts of intimidation. Police have been increasingly successful in cracking down on the group’s ringleaders over recent months, leading to some experts believing that the best route to stopping Palestine Action is via criminal convictions through the courts. By its own admission, Palestine Action Continued on page 4
'HISTORY'S GREATEST COMEBACK' In what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called ‘history’s greatest comeback’, Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, despite his Democratic Party rival Kamala Harris securing 79 percent of the Jewish vote. Full story and analysis, pages 2-3. Editorial comment, page 18