As scholars dedicated to questions of justice and ethics, we believe that Yvette Cooper’s recent proscription of Palestine Action represents an attack both on the entire pro-Palestine movement and on fundamental freedoms of expression, association, assembly and protest. We deplore the repressive consequences that this ban has already had, and are especially concerned about the likely impact of Cooper’s ban on universities across the UK and beyond.
We therefore applaud the growing campaign of collective defiance that aims to overturn the ban. We commend the courageous stand taken by Defend Our Juries, and the exemplary recent motion adopted by Derry City and Strabane district council that “supports all those who have protested the ban on Palestine Action and calls for charges against them to be immediately dropped”.
