Heavily abridged. Hyperlink to article in title.

Those who championed free speech in the UK and US now wage war on it. And here’s why: Palestine

Mehdi Hasan

The Guardian: 8 Jun 2026

It was once an article of faith that even those who speak words we disagree with deserve protection. As regards Palestine, that’s now not true.

In Britain, where I was born and raised, the government proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation – with the shameful support of 385 votes in parliament from across the political spectrum. We have since witnessed priests and elderly and disabled people grabbed by the police for holding signs that simply said, “I oppose genocide; I support Palestine Action”. Their real crime was daring to speak out against a UK-enabled genocide.

Yeah, labor in the tank for Israel.

In general I'm very much for free speech.

However, much of the rhetoric from pro Palestiniacs is basically calling for valence and genocide against Jews.

So when that's the issue, I think there is room for debate just as yelling fire in a crowded theater is "free speech" that is not OK

Every other day for past 30 months been hate, calls for murder in the pally wally marches in London..don't see any censorship there..what are you talking about???

It is sad the UK, which was effectively the base of free has deteriorated to this.

Palestinians and their supporters are nothing but trouble . They cause a disruption everywhere they go .

Go and shout and protest and be a nuisance somewhere else

@unblocktheplanet : The opening post of this topic has been edited as per the following forum rule:

27. You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Only post a link, the headline and three sentences from the article. Content in the public domain is limited to the same restrictions.

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Every other day for past 30 months been hate, calls for murder in the pally wally marches in London..don't see any censorship there..what are you talking about???

I get what you're saying. Social media is chock full of explicit racist Jew hatred linked to Gaza (how convenient) 24/7 non-stop. There are some specific cases of censorship such as the Trump regime going after foreign students with dissenting opinions, but overall there is very little cause for complaint. It reminds me of how the love that can't speak it's name transformed into the love that won't shut up. Of course personally I like LGBT visibility, but as far as pro Palestinian messages it could just as easily be argued that it's gotten way out of hand in volume and frequency relative to other issues in the world that are objectively more important.

Edited June 8Jun 8 by Jingthing

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I get what you're saying. Social media is chock full of explicit racist Jew hatred linked to Gaza (how convenient) 24/7 non-stop. There are some specific cases of censorship such as the Trump regime going after foreign students with dissenting opinions, but overall there is very little cause for complaint. It reminds me of how the love that can't speak it's name transformed into the love that won't shut up. Of course personally I like LGBT visibility, but as far as pro Palestinian messages it could just as easily be argued that it's gotten way out of hand in volume and frequency relative to other issues in the world that are objectively more important.

The Palestinians have successfully learned how to utilize propaganda on social media.

5 minutes ago, Effective altruism said:

The Palestinians have successfully learned how to utilize propaganda on social media.

There are a lot of other groups behind that other than Palestinians.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

There are a lot of other groups behind that other than Palestinians.

I agree that some organizations aim to create chaos in the Western world.

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

There are a lot of other groups behind that other than Palestinians.

The American left, for example.

13 hours ago, Jingthing said:

In general I'm very much for free speech.

However, much of the rhetoric from pro Palestiniacs is basically calling for valence and genocide against Jews.

So when that's the issue, I think there is room for debate just as yelling fire in a crowded theater is "free speech" that is not OK

Some rhetoric from some Palestiniacs Pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide supporters.

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Some rhetoric from some Palestiniacs Pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide supporters.

Not really anti genocide, more like anti Palestine losing a war

Edited June 9Jun 9 by Nick Carter icp

45 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Not really anti genocide, more like anti Palestine losing a war

I would agree, the anti-Palestine will lose in the end.

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Some rhetoric from some Palestiniacs Pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide supporters.

Nobody expected the word police!

Edited June 9Jun 9 by Jingthing

16 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I would agree, the anti-Palestine will lose in the end.

Wait what? I thought Iran already beat the US and Israel, no?

Supporting Palestinians is like supporting the civil rights of criminals not to be beaten, raped and tortured upon arrest and imprisonment

It's the old innocence until proven guilty thing. Not sure if that's English Common Law or not

Personally I am still looking for a Rabbi to explain to me why it's okay to slaughter Palestinian babies on the Sabbath

So far, not a single Rabbi has answered a direct question from me.

The only explanation I can think of is they don't even consider them to be animals, so kosher ❓

16 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

We have since witnessed priests and elderly and disabled people grabbed by the police for holding signs that simply said, “I oppose genocide; I support Palestine Action”.

Anyone would need to be educational subnormal to not understand that showing support for a proscribed terrorist organisation would, rightly, and understandably facilitate your arrest.

As for the woeful, cringe inducing sensationalism. How embarrassing; priests, the elderly, and the disabled, as well as anyone with pink hair, are still subject to obeying the laws of the UK; that as someone from the UK, you don’t understand that is quite breathtaking.

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I would agree, the anti-Palestine will lose in the end.

I did men that you arent opposing genocide, you are opposing Israel defeating Palestine

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

I did men that you arent opposing genocide, you are opposing Israel defeating Palestine

Israel IS Palestine

16 hours ago, baansgr said:

Every other day for past 30 months been hate, calls for murder in the pally wally marches in London..don't see any censorship there..what are you talking about???

The thousand people or so arrested for sign supporting Palestine Action sure weren't calling for any hate or violence.

Show me. Tell me the rallies you mean and how they have incited hate or violence. Specifics, please.

16 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Palestinians and their supporters are nothing but trouble . They cause a disruption everywhere they go .

Go and shout and protest and be a nuisance somewhere else

Sorry, Nick. I'll continue being a "nuisance" right here, thanks.

2 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Sorry, Nick. I'll continue being a "nuisance" right here, thanks.

Happy happy joy joy

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I get what you're saying. Social media is chock full of explicit racist Jew hatred linked to Gaza (how convenient) 24/7 non-stop. There are some specific cases of censorship such as the Trump regime going after foreign students with dissenting opinions, but overall there is very little cause for complaint. It reminds me of how the love that can't speak it's name transformed into the love that won't shut up. Of course personally I like LGBT visibility, but as far as pro Palestinian messages it could just as easily be argued that it's gotten way out of hand in volume and frequency relative to other issues in the world that are objectively more important.

You’re right, opposition to Israel’s wars continue 24/7…because Israel’s wars continue 24/7!

I’m anti-Israel, anti—Zionist but I’m not particularly pro-Palestinian or any other nation.

I’m against anybody’s violence, anybody’s wars. I oppose genocide and human suffering.

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I get what you're saying. Social media is chock full of explicit racist Jew hatred linked to Gaza (how convenient) 24/7 non-stop. There are some specific cases of censorship such as the Trump regime going after foreign students with dissenting opinions, but overall there is very little cause for complaint. It reminds me of how the love that can't speak it's name transformed into the love that won't shut up. Of course personally I like LGBT visibility, but as far as pro Palestinian messages it could just as easily be argued that it's gotten way out of hand in volume and frequency relative to other issues in the world that are objectively more important.

You’re right, opposition to Israel’s wars continue 24/7…because Israel’s wars continue 24/7!

I’m anti-Israel, anti—Zionist but I’m not particularly pro-Palestinian or any other nation.

I’m against anybody’s violence, anybody’s wars. I oppose genocide and human suffering.

I don't think there's anything more important.

12 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

the anti-Palestine will lose in the end.

Unfortunately that's not the history of the world.

Strength in numbers,

ie more lethal germs, steel and guns

tends to win in the long run.

In the long run, we're all going to be speaking English with a Chinese accent.

The Han will assimilate us, just as they've done to a wide variety of people over thousand of years.

15 hours ago, Effective altruism said:

The Palestinians have successfully learned how to utilize propaganda on social media.

How much of the news do you think is coming from Palestinians. Opposition to Israel's wars is coming from everywhere! Palestinians have very little to do with it.

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

There are a lot of other groups behind that other than Palestinians.

And individuals, ungrouped. People with a heart.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Nobody expected the word police!

Okay, Jing, I thought it was intentional and I loved it. Am I a Palestiniac?