Seniors arrested in UK Pro Palestine Protest

The Salisbury Journal is reporting that "Police in London said they had arrested more 200 pro-Palestinian protesters Saturday at a demonstration in support of the banned group Palestine Action. Officers carried away activists to cheers and clapping from other demonstrators who gathered for the sit-down demonstration in the capital's Trafalgar Square."

"The protesters held placards in support of the banned group Palestine Action, making them liable for arrest. Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last July, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison."

"The High Court in London in mid-February upheld a challenge to the ban, saying it had interfered with the right to freedom of speech. The government has been granted leave to appeal the decision. London's Metropolitan Police paused arrests in the wake of the High Court ruling before announcing in late March that it would resume them." 

OK so they weren't arrested for saying Free Palestine. They were arrested for saying we support the group Palestine Action which is a bit extreme. Personally I think if they wanted to make a sincere statement their signs should read Free Palestine or simply Stop the Genocide in Gaza. I think that's their real intent. 

Seniors in Derry supported the protest against the government ban. Their point is that people can go to jail for 14 years for standing with a sign in peaceful protest. I agree that is insane. 

However, the way around that is simply change the wording on your sign. As I've said, we are witnessing some really horrific atrocities committed by a Neo Con in Israel and those atrocities need to be denounced. All these kind, caring seniors see that. 

I personally wouldn't stand with a sign in support of the group Palestine Action because I find them to be a bit extreme and their tactics are a bit violent. 

People can rightly argue that it's nothing compared to the atrocities Netanyahu is committing in Gaza and now in Lebanon which has created a global economic crisis. I just see it as two wrongs don't make a right. Two wrongs are just both wrong. Splitting hairs over a technicality is a mass diversion from the real problem we all see. Netanyahu is a bad man doing bad things and he needs to be stopped.

It brings us back to the primary paradox. Wiping out all the Palestinians is not the answer and neither is wiping out all the Jews. It's not one or the other. The world has gone mad and there is a lot of polarized extremism in the UK. 

I do not support Tommy Robinson. He is a whack job exploiting an opportunity to promote extremism. I don't support the extreme response to Tommy Robinson's extremism either. 

All these crazy distractions don't change the obvious. Netanyahu bombing Lebanon to sabotage the Iran ceasefire needs to be denounced. That is the singular problem creating a global economic crisis using atrocities to do it. 

If we have a conscience, we will speak out against those atrocities. If we have a desire for world peace we will speak out against those atrocities. As Martin Luther King declared "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice." No Justice, No Peace. Know Justice, Know Peace.