Early on December 20, the sound of my doorbell at 7am interrupted my sleep. When I answered, two police officers were standing there.
I was informed of my arrest under suspicion of committing an offense stipulated by Section 12 (1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000 in the United Kingdom.
The law specifies that an offence is committed when a person “(a) expresses an opinion or belief supportive of a proscribed organization, and (b) is reckless as to whether this expression will encourage others to support a proscribed organization.”
They clarified that the accusation against me stemmed from a single tweet I had made about Hamas back on November 15.
How I initially responded, still groggy from sleep, was by labeling my arrest as “Orwellian” and lamenting that expressing an opinion could lead to arrest in 21st-century UK.
The tweet in question was a response to a Zionist online, provoking users into declaring “support for Hamas” hence leading to arrests, as Hamas is considered a terrorist organization in the UK.
James, that’s how he identified himself, had taunted me saying:
“Just tweet ‘I support Hamas!’—three words to let us know your stance.”
I sidestepped this provocation by saying “I support the Palestinians that is enough” and added “and I support Hamas against the Israeli army.” In retrospect, my words were well-considered and a true representation of my feelings—suitable on a platform like Twitter.
The perception that I politically support Hamas isn’t accurate. As a Jewish atheist, socialist, and a secularist, supporting any Islamist or religious factions doesn’t align with my values. Yet, I do respect and admire Hamas’s resistance against what I consider Israel’s genocidal military tactics.
I’ve criticized Hamas on various occasions, including their initial reaction to the Egyptian uprising against Hosni Mubarak, their endorsement of the two-state solution, their treatment of women, oppressing secular Palestinian youths, and so forth. One of my blog posts, “We Support the Palestinian people of Gaza not Hamas,” was published in 2009, reflecting these views. Additionally, I’ve highlighted how the Israeli state played a role in creating Hamas, predicated on facts often overlooked by the West.
Discussing my interrogation, I confessed nodding to the resistance elements of Hamas against Israel’s military, noting that I’d side with any resistance against what I view as Israel’s destructive campaign in Gaza—drawing a parallel to the Polish Home Army’s fight against Nazis, despite their anti-Semitism.
In recent times, UK police efforts have escalated to conflate support for Palestinians with endorsement of Hamas, threatening freedom of speech. Mick Napier from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign faced arrest just days before mine under analogous grounds.
This crackdown, following Israel’s ongoing conflict with Gaza, has been intensified due to political pressures demanding surveillance of and punitive actions against pro-Palestinian advocates.
The endeavor to brand pro-Palestinian activism as anti-Semitic has not gone unnoticed. Both the BBC and the Home Secretary Suella Braverman have previously erred in labeling pro-Palestinian protests, requiring retractions or political consequences, yet these attempts continue, often supported by the political and media establishments.
Contrary to what the argument presumes—not every Jewish individual stands with Israel or its actions in Gaza, and yet, any dissent from Israel’s operations is at risk of being falsely labeled as anti-Semitic.
As for my situation, Hamas’s status as a proscribed terrorist organization facilitated my arrest. Although the UK government extended the proscription to the political wing of Hamas in 2021, their reasons pale in comparison to the scale of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians, raising the question of hypocrisy.
The UK aims to criminalize any form of solidarity with Palestinians, threatening our freedom of speech enshrined in both the Human Rights Act 1998 and Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, all in a bid to ensure Israel’s continual legal violations remain uncontested.
As I await a march decision on whether charges will be filed against me, I remain undeterred, determined to voice opposition to Israeli atrocities and advocate for the Palestinian fight for freedom and dignity. Supporters of Palestine in the West now face their battle for free speech, but the resolve for a free Palestine and a truly democratic Britain endures.
The perspectives offered here do not necessarily correspond with those of Al Jazeera’s usual stances.
