1w ago

UK arrests 83-year-old priest for backing Palestine Action and opposing Gaza genocide

www.middleeasteye.net

The Reverend Sue Parfitt, from Bristol, was detained for holding a placard that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” She was among more than 27 people arrested on Saturday for acts of defiance against the proscription.

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1w ago

UK arrests 83-year-old priest for backing Palestine Action and opposing Gaza genocide

www.middleeasteye.net /news/uk-arrests-83-year-old-priest-backing-palestine-action-and-condemning-israels-genocide-gaza

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geneva_convenience @lemmy.ml

1w ago

UK arrests 83-year-old priest for backing Palestine Action and opposing Gaza genocide

www.middleeasteye.net /news/uk-arrests-83-year-old-priest-backing-palestine-action-and-condemning-israels-genocide-gaza

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geneva_convenience @lemmy.ml

1w ago

UK arrests 83-year-old priest for backing Palestine Action and opposing Gaza genocide

www.middleeasteye.net /news/uk-arrests-83-year-old-priest-backing-palestine-action-and-condemning-israels-genocide-gaza

161 comments

They're calling these people terrorists for holding signs calling for the end of Israel's genocide. They're not calling the people who have been committing genocide every day terrorists: they're valuable allies. This is the UK Government's morality. I hope it's not shared by the British people.
- Technically it's because some members of the group trespassed in a military base and vandalised an airplane. Which is trespassing and vandalism. Not terrorism. Unless Starmer has been watching too much Thomas & the Friends and Pixar's Cars and believes that the poor planes can't sleep at night anymore, because they are terrified.
  
  "We're civilised people, we can excuse genocide, but throwing paint and saying mean words is a step too far."
  
  Also, even if a few members organize themselves to do that, that doesn't mean the entire organization supports it or is behind it.
  
  Some definitions of Terrorism also include property damage
- Polling consistently shows disapproval for Israeli actions in Gaza.
- It is not
- What if it is an excuse to put people that openly oppose colonialism and authority under control and fear? They maybe don't care that much for Israel but why miss this opportunity?
- No they're not. There's a difference between "Palestine Action" (the group) and "actions and other stuff in favour of Palestine". The former has been banned, the latter has not. Protesting is legal in the UK; vandalising Air Force equipment is not.
  
  Damaging equipment that is being used to conduct genocide is not vandalism, it's human fucking decency.
Does Israel have dirt on all these people? Its wild how everyone just supports genocide so willingly.
- The west strongest countries are neocolonial powers supporting a colonial power
  
  the strongest countries, period.
  China and Russia are colonial powers, too.
- The entirety of the current Government owe their jobs to Israel, as the last leader of their party - Jeremy Corbyn - was kicked out opening the way for these ones to get power after a campaign of slanders of anti-semitism backed amongst others by Israeli-linked Jewish groups in the UK which was so extreme that at one point a Jewish Holocaust Survivor was said to be an anti-semite for what he said in a conference for Palestine in order to taint Jeremy Corbyn by association, as he was sitting in the same panel in that conference and "didn't rise up to dispute it".
  Since Britain also has First Past The Post like the US, getting the leadership of that party was a guaranteed path to Government since that party was the next in line in the power cycle over there.
  So these people were basically bought by Israel.
- Politicians only care about being elected.
  
  How exactly does supporting genocide get them elected? I don't get the impression that Labour voters want to see Palestinians murdered.
  
  The care about holding the power. They don't give a shit about elections. It's just that they need them to legitimize their regime.
  
  And their donors
- Every western government is scared of opposing Israel since WW2. It's absurd.
- What makes you think they are backing israel only because of blackmail? They are arresting a 83 year old for opposing a genocide, our governments are shit and always have been, can't you see it?
- Yeah, Epstein was just the tip of the iceberg.
A very proactieve protestor and spunky woman of the cloth, who seems to have been arrested 27-28 times already. According to this profile publication she claims she "has militant dna, as a maternal ancestor was accused of sedition in the 18th century".
- What a Fucking Legend!!! People such as her should be our icons. Not the plastic ridiculous people that the legacy media and the algorithimc social media keep pushing out like clowns to the circus floor to keep people distracted.
  Sue Parfitt. Let's remember her name. In fact I'm gonna save this post.
  And while I'm not one to support religion, between her and the reverend that gave that sermon to Trump's face in church, I would say "Lady Priests" (apologies for the reductionism) are having a moment and showing the cloth that apparently only the women in it seem to remember what "their calling" is supposed to be all about.
  If anyone knows the name of the woman that gave that sermon, tag it under. Please.
  It's not about supporting the church, it's about giving credit where credit is due.
  In fact, we should start making a record of the people who are raising to the occasion these days all over the world, and taking the moral stand and give them the space and the limelight, instead of allowing everything to be about the shitty people doing their shitty deeds. That takes so much of the bandwith as it is, and makes us feel alone in the face of it all.
  Be it about the atrocities being committed in Gaza, Ukraine, the U.S. or in any place where wrongful actions are occurring, let us make visible the people that raise to face it. Let us put forward the faces and voices of the ones who still truly give the word "humanity" some of its supposed meaning back.
  PS: A lot of people here might not be able to read Spanish. But I do and I really liked the article you linked. It was a really nice complement to the one linked in the post. So, thank you for sharing it.
  
  What a Fucking Legend!!! People such as her should be our icons
  Great pickup up and I fully agree.
  
  I saved your post about saving a post because it makes me less depressed and more warm and fuzzy inside. You are a good person and you clearly care <3
  
  Praising a good priest is not much different than praising a good republican. You can be a good person without associating yourself to corrupted political parties or bigot cults
MPs had voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to proscribe the direct action group, alongside the neo-Nazi Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement.
Has anyone affiliated with the other two groups been arrested since this went into effect?
- This is a good question, apparently they'd rather lock up 83 year old women than violent facists and warmongers
- As a German I sincerely apologize for people like this guy here
If she were in the US, she would be pushed to the ground and beaten by a bunch of white guys in riot gear and masks.
- What a nice silver lining
Just wondering, if I would hold up a sign with 'go isreal, continue the amazing work you do!', would that get me arrested? Surely i'd get beat up but i mean what would the lawmakers think of that? Would it be different if the sign would say 'go isreal, murder those innocent families' or 'go isreal, your genocide rules!' (am i allowed to call it a genocide if i'm not against it?)
- make is sarcastic, the British way.
  go on the telly, then show them a mirror to themselves. talk how excited you are for how many humanitarian volunteers are being slaughtered, how clever is it to stave children so they can take their land....
- in some countries even holding empty sign would lead you to arrest
- None of those signs would lead to your arrest in the UK.
- What really happened here: Members of this Palestine Action group sneaked onto a military base and attacked the aircrafts there. This act of politically motivated vandalism resulted in this group being officially banned by the government. Which is totally ok, no state in the world will and can tolerate some group doing acts of terrorism and/or doing sabotage.
  Supporting banned terrorist organizations is of course also not allowed (which really makes sense) and yeah, this priest totally did that on purpose. You are therefore totally fine holding up a sign supporting Israel and you are also totally fine holding up a sign supporting Palestine, but you are not fine holding up signs supporting banned organizations.
  
  Nah, Labeling them as "terrorists" is disproportionate.
  Criminals, yes. Terrorists, no.
  The definition of terrorism under british law can apply to basically any protest group and if applied retroactively would drag things like the suffragette movement under the umbrella of terrorism.
  This move is an assault on all of our freedom of speech
  
  You're equating vandalism to terrorism, you might want to look up the meaning of those words.
  
  Attacked aircraft? By smacking the landing gear with her walker?
  
  Bootlicker
  
  What really happened is already in the article, my questions are about how lawmakers would respond if you openly support the same side they are supporting. That is especially relevant as r i don't expect regular folk to let me walk around showing the same kind of support for genocide. This has nothing to do with the Palestine Action group and what they did or didn't do.
- How did this get 5 upvotes lol
  
  Why are you talking about Hamas in a thread about Palestine Action? The two groups are not related at all and use totally different tactics (Palestine Action is explicitly non-violent).
  
  without explicitly showing your allegiance
  So you assume by default that there's either an explicit or implicit support for Hamas by protesting against Israel?
  
  the IOF is a terrorist organization. much bigger, more prolific and active than Hamas as well. literally a war criminal organization. funny how you never hear people getting arrested for supporting the IOF though.
  
  There is only one context in which Palestine Action is "a terrorist organization such as Hamas" and that's the depraved legislation that the idiots in Westminster passed. The bravery of the 83 year old priest this article is about lays bare the depravity and stupidity of this absolutely idiotic legislation. Your comment on the other hand, by using this idiotic comparison buys into this aberrant degeneracy. Why do you do that?
  
  But how would I telegraph my desire to murder the Jews if I did that?
I support Palestine Action - illegal
I support Action for Palestine - legal
- I support P.A.
  gets arrested
  I said I support Pennsylvania, the US State!
- I'm honestly impressed that a left wing organisation lasted long enough to get themselves banned.
  They usually split into a dozen warring factions within a month.
- As a Brit I still support Palestine Action and will be getting involved in more direct action.
  One at me piggies.
Feckless cowards.
- Genocide accomplices!
  Everyone involved with this "law" should be tried and hung in the Hague for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity.
  
  Let's not hang people in The Hague now
"Are we the baddies?"
-Said exactly 0 of the cops
As someone stated... The police are not your friend. They are not there to serve and protect your interests. They are there to serve and protect the interests of the state you live in.
The other day my wife's car stopped at a busy road. The police quickly arrived and asked if she had crashed on to my car. Like how can we take this unfortunate event and turn it into a profitable situation where they can impound the car...oh it's just engine failure, well you're blocking the road so I'll call the most expensive possible tow truck. How can we make your day worse?
- It's so sad that it comes to this in some area's of the world.
Look at that diabolical criminal. I hope they reopen London tower just to hang her from it. After she bakes everyone cookies with afternoon tea.
Arresting prominent protest figures has always ended well for the UK. /s
- Maybe change Germany to the country the post is related to after copy and pasting this, it's not they're the only one.
Now I understand more closely Starmer's subservience to America's Donald Trump.
- Zion Don inspired Kier to up his slobbering and bootlicking.
Why is the UK against people backing Mandatory Palestine?
- I dont know exactly but they are quite fond of bringing the iran monarchy back. Maybe something something oil
- Mandatory Palestine
  the UK is against backing "Palestine Action" which is a group that has sabotaged British military equipment. Surprisingly, the British government doesn't take kindly to that sort of thing.
- Because they helped set israel up and have to be allied with them.
  
  The joke is that Mandatory Palestine was the name of the British colony before they gave the land to Israel
Uh, I've had enuff of shitty news; let's switch to another timeline.
The Thought Police are now in your timeline
Well that was quick.
Those innocent European priests never abused anyone…. Oh wait
- Spotted Murican in the wild
  
  Not even close, I mean you probably colonized my people good and tried to beat the Indian out of us, for which I hold a grudge, particularly to the church. But don’t let my criticism deflect from your attempt at a strawman rant. You probably wouldn’t even be able to find my country on the map, since it’s not a white nation.
  P.s. the Americans are the bastard children of Europe, not of my people, so don’t put that on me.
- You're right, she's 83 years old. I'm sure she saw many bad things in life and didn't speak up. Therefore, I think we can all agree it's best to ignore her now.
@theacharnian So now the Jews own the USA, UK, and Germany, who else?
- Zionista not jews. Like in some proteats there was jews beaten for opposing israel in protests
  
  What percentage of the Israeli Jews support the genocide of Palistinians?
- Nobody wants to hear your antisemitic bullshit.
- then why are Jewish voices some of the loudest anti Israel voices?
  you racist cunt

161 comments