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In today's Britain, public demonstration has ceased to be a fundamental right. Instead, it has become a privilege that authorities allow or deny as they see fit. This constitutes the implication of new regulations that the current government is putting forward, which would dictate when and where demonstrations can occur, with potential imprisonment for those who defy these restrictions.

Gradual Weakening of Civil Liberties

Earlier administrations had already weakened this essential right: the previous Tory administration had given law enforcement extensive additional powers, which international human rights organizations had condemned as "significant and undue restrictions" on civil liberties. Collectively, these incremental assaults on freedom have effectively abolished the hard-won right to freedom of protest.

Exploiting Tragedy to Rationalize Suppression

The latest limitations are being defended by referring to last week's heinous anti-Jewish assault on a Manchester mosque. There should be universal agreement that the safety of British Jews must be protected. However, employing this horrific incident as a pretext to stifle dissent is not only unrelated to that duty but perverts it.

"When you can't draw the line at genocide, you probably cannot establish limits at democratic principles," observed a well-known American author, a statement that applies equally for the current government.

Historical Context of Protest

Consider Britain's rich history of protest and direct action against racism and fascism, from the historic 1936 Cable Street confrontation to after World War II Jewish groups opposing fascism and the 1970s demonstrations against the National Front. Many of these early protesters were labeled as extremists in their era, even while they were advocating the freedoms of marginalized groups.

Present Situation

In today's complicated landscape, here's what's truly happening: Israel – a foreign state – is committing what United Nations investigations have characterized as genocide. Its warfare have led the global justice body to release arrest warrants against Israel's prime minister and his ex-military leader.

International popular sentiment has shifted dramatically against Israel's violent actions. In Britain, a substantial majority of the public think Israel has probably committed international law violations. Most people would endorse a total prohibition on arms sales to the state, and approve the detention of the Israeli leader.

Suppressing Opposition

Having essentially lost the argument, Israel's supporters are now seizing on a vile antisemitic crime to attempt to suppress a mass movement against a moral catastrophe. The British government seems included in this attempt. Government officials have not enacted extensive restrictions on Israel and have permitted weapon shipments to continue.

People who are protesting against the erasure of Gaza have been characterized as hateful extremists. Yet there's a significant reason why there hasn't been a more extensive suppression on these protesters until now: extremely few protesters have made genuinely hateful statements about Jewish people, giving police authorities little justification to intervene.

Dangerous Conflation

Merging Jewish identity with the actions of the government of Israel is not only manipulative but also dangerous. The standard interpretation of anti-Jewish prejudice, adopted by the British government and numerous institutions, has been rightly challenged for potentially restricting legitimate criticism of Israel. However, there should be universal agreement about one of its central illustrations: that "holding Jewish people collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel" constitutes antisemitism.

Escalating Restrictions

This is why we've arrived at a situation where law enforcement can propose that demonstrations criticizing Israel's actions should be canceled because they might "inadvertently or intentionally" support antisemitism. Similarly, government officials have stated that recognition of Palestine as a nation has made political parties "implicated" in alleged abuse experienced by British Jews.

Inconsistent Treatment

On the very day as the religious center assault, the Israeli military killed numerous of Palestinians in Gaza – increasing the horrific toll from two years of ongoing violence that have claimed tens of thousands of lives. British politicians and media outlets have hardly hidden the limited value they assign to Palestinian life. This represents one of the boldest expressions of racism in our time.

Breaking Boundaries

Our government has already passed a dangerous threshold by proscribing Palestine Action, a peaceful, human rights-focused activist collective. Multiple thousands of British protesters have been detained, primarily for holding signs opposing mass killing and endorsing the proscribed group. Many of those detained are elderly citizens; including a former clergyman and the child of a World War II genocide survivor.

Global Comparisons

It's not difficult to see where this trajectory leads. In the United States, political leaders helped demonize demonstrations supporting Palestine: a former House Speaker implied that some were "connected to" foreign governments, while the current president characterized such demonstrations as anti-Jewish. In taking these actions, they contributed to normalizing the authoritarian crackdown on such demonstrations – and on freedom of expression in general.

Looking Ahead

If a conservative administration comes to power, it would be granted extensive authority to control dissent. What might a new administration do with this restrictive framework? Our ancestors fought, endured hardship and sacrificed their lives to establish our liberties. We may eventually regret how casually we allowed them to slip away.