John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, recently posted on Facebook the following:
If we are to defend free speech on Palestine in a situation where it is going to come under very sharp attack, there are two very important considerations to take to heart.
Firstly, we must be ready to defy. British home secretary, Suella Braverman, has suggested that it could be unlawful to utter the words “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” If that is so, we must be ready to write those words, speak them and chant them on the streets. If our solidarity actions are deemed ‘unsanctioned’ or are banned outright, we must proceed with them regardless.
The second related question is that all past experience shows us that attempts to qualify and appease our enemies are worse than useless. Once we back away from clear and principled solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, we have ensured that the fight will take place on the terms of those who want to stifle us. The notion that, provided we water down our solidarity, they will leave us alone is entirely wrong. They want loyalty oaths and complete submission and nothing encourages them to attack better than running away.
As mass murder and dispossession are inflicted on the Palestinians on a vast scale, if we can summon up 1% of their courage and determination, we ought to be able to hold up and offer them an effective and vital display of solidarity that will strike a chord and prove impossible to crush.
The Abolitionary 