Just when you think the UK can’t get any more authoritarian, British police somehow manage to sink to a new low. This time they have arrested a Jewish-Israeli academic called Professor Haim Bresheeth.
Prof Bresheeth is a film maker, photographer and author who has taught at the University of East London and now teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies. He has written best-selling books about the holocaust and is the child of holocaust survivors so he is more than qualified to warn us of the dangers of genocide. However, police have decided criticisms of Israel by Jewish-Israeli academics count as terrorism now. In case you didn’t know, Jews are only allowed to have one set of opinions. Prof Bresheeth at an anti-genocide protest in March 2024
Prof Bresheeth was speaking at a weekly demonstration organised by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the Jewish Network for Palestine. I can only assume these Jewish groups were motivated by anti-Semitism when they expressed concern about tens of thousands of civilians being slaughtered. They were speaking outside of the London residence of Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely who they argue should be kicked out of the country. Hotovely is Israel’s spokesperson for genocide in the UK, but it’s fine being a spokesperson for genocide in the UK. However, opposing genocide is a different matter. Opposing genocide makes you a terrorist.
Hotovely has made a string of unquestionably racist comments towards Palestinians, yet she is invited to parties by the prime minister who won’t even respond to letters from Muslim groups expressing their concerns about genocide. The British government has previously apologised to Hotovely for the protests against her presence in the UK.
Will Prof Bresheeth ever receive an apology for the way he has been treated by police? I’m not exactly holding my breath. The professor was later released without charge, but his case has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, leaving him in limbo while they make a decision. Police justified their latest abuse of power by saying: “One man was arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation. This person had been a speaker at the demonstration. He has been released under investigation.”
You would therefore assume the professor had said he supported Hamas or Hezbollah, two proscribed organisations in the UK. However, the recording of his speech shows he said no such thing. Either an overzealous police officer overreacted, or more likely, this was part of a strategy of silencing opposition to genocide.
The professor pointed out Israel is failing in its military objectives, explaining “it has not achieved any of its declared aims, either in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Iran, or anywhere else”. He then highlighted the futility of trying to wipe out resistance movements, explaining “they cannot win against the united resistance to the genocide they have started”. This is not the same as expressing support for proscribed organisations.
Ironically, the professor mentioned that police have been arresting people for speaking out against the genocide and they then arrested him. The arresting officer said: “So earlier today, you made a speech so you are under arrest under the Terrorism Act 2000 for making a hate speech.”
Imagine the gall of an officer young enough to be the professor’s grandson thinking he can lecture a Jewish academic on anti-Semitism. By his own admission, the officer classed “hate speech” and “terrorism” as the same thing. Now I don’t accept the professor’s words counted as hate speech, but even if they did, there is a significant difference between hate speech and terrorism. If they were the same thing, everyone who heard the professor’s speech could say they survived a terrorist attack! That’s how stupid this is.
Anyway, who exactly is the professor accused of hating here? His own people? Are we seriously expected to believe a Jew criticising the actions of the Israeli government is the equivalent to him hating all of his fellow Jews? Surely, the arresting officer is guilty of the self-hating Jews trope. Perhaps the officer should be arrested for terrorism, given that hate speech is terrorism now.
Honestly, it looks like the officer had no idea what was going on and plucked any excuse out of thin air to justify the arrest. His justification of hate speech was not the same as the later justification of supporting a proscribed organisation. The officer might as well have said: “I’m arresting you for being the wrong kind of Jew and having a conscience. We’ll work out the details later.”
British people live in a crazy time when every word we utter in condemnation of Israel’s genocide leaves us fearing arrest. When I was finishing my last article, I asked myself if there was anything that could be misconstrued and used as justification to arrest me. I didn’t think I’d done something wrong, but I asked myself if police would argue I had done something wrong. My answer was they might, but there wasn’t a word I would change. I therefore resigned myself to the possibility I might be arrested for a thought crime. It’s madness.The last working-class hero in England.
Clio the cat, ? July 1997 - 1 May 2016 Kira the cat, ? ? 2010 - 3 August 2018 Jasper the Ruffian cat ? ? ? - 4 November 2021
The short speech he made was excellent: need to decolonise not only Palestine, but also Judaism,
on November 4, 2024, 1:50 pm