Ahead of his hearing on 13 February, arrested chief steward Chris Nineham writes about the attack on the Palestine movement and our right to protest

Join the protest outside Chris Nineham’s hearing on Thursday 13 February, 12:30pm at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, NW1 5BR

The West’s support for Israel’s genocide has shaken society. By January this year 79% of the British population supported an immediate ceasefire. Just 4% opposed.

Only those lacking basic humanity will be surprised. Seeing the British establishment close ranks in support of the flattening of hospitals, the torching of refugee camps and the mass murder of thousands of children was bound to create outrage.

Seeing that backing continue for 15 months has created something more. Respect for politicians and leaders was already at a low, but for those paying attention, their support for Israel’s targeted terror has created a terminal feeling of betrayal.

The authorities are trying to demonise the Palestine movement to drive a wedge between us and even wider potential support. We have been under attack from the start with unprecedented use of control orders, the harassment and arrest of protesters and public attacks on the movement from politicians and commentators.

They call us hate marchers, they imply we are antisemitic, but the truth is the opposite. Our protests bring together those people from all backgrounds most appalled by oppression, by the suffering of a people under merciless attack. Our protests represent the very best of humanity. 

We are campaigning against all those unjustly arrested. The arrest and charging of myself and the PSC’s director Ben Jamal and police interviewing of MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell mark a new escalation. 

The problem we face is that the tiny minority who support Israel are concentrated at the top of society, in the boardrooms, in parliament, in the management of the civil service, the universities and schools. They are using their positions to create a climate of fear, a new McCarthyism. Starmer’s Labour is at the forefront of the attacks.

This establishment consensus on Israel has deep sources. For the US and Britain in particular, Israel is key to controlling the oil rich Middle East. The reason this is such a hard struggle is that we are challenging a central element of the imperial project of the world’s most powerful nation.

This is undeniably a moment of danger. The killing of the Palestinians continues and the ceasefire is under threat. The attacks on the right to protest are aimed at the Palestine movement but they are a threat to trade unionists, to people protesting cuts and racism, to anyone who dissents from the direction in which our rulers want to go. Trump’s brutal first days should be a warning of how the right can shape the future.

But there is nothing inevitable about the rise of the right. They do not express the opinions of the majority. They can only make headway if those of us who stand for peace, justice and solidarity are silent or immobilised. 

We have a tremendous movement which has already defied bans, helped win the argument for Palestine and contributed to making Israel a pariah state. There is a deep well of anger against the elites in society. 

Our task is to be confident, united and organised enough to channel that anger. That means being organised in every community, in every workplace and every college. It means broadening the movement for the Palestinians. A huge turnout on the next demonstration on 15 February is essential.

It also means deepening the campaign against the drive to wider war, challenging the new authoritarianism and helping force the far right off our streets.  

But it is crucial as well that we recruit to the unions, support every strike and build a movement against Rachel Reeves’s new austerity. 

We were all inspired by the tremendous, defiant response to the arrests in the days after 18 January, from many of the trade unions, from the left MPs, and from thousands of activists around the country. Stop the War and others are organising Defend the Right to Protest / Free Palestine meetings up and down Britain.  

This is no time to be downhearted, it is a moment to stand up and organise. 
From this month’s Counterfire paper