1,700 scholars, public figures and concerned individuals risk arrest via an open letter declaring support for Palestine Action as government appeal begins

Today and tomorrow, the Court of Appeal in London will hear an appeal by the Israeli-owned Starmer government against a High Court ruling in February, in which judges found that the government’s decision, last July, to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful.

Over 130 scholars and public figures signed an open letter to the Court of Appeal in London on Friday April 24, which stated, simply, “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action” — a crime, according to the government and the police, who have arrested over 3,300 people for peacefully holding up placards featuring that message  over the last ten months.

Over the weekend, the number of signatories has risen to over 1,700, as other concerned individuals have also chosen to risk arrest by signing the open letter.

As the court convenes, the organizers of the letter, Defend Our Juries, which began in support of climate protestors facing unfair trials, asked the pertinent question, “If the police proceed to arrest these scholars on terrorism charges, the authoritarian nature of the ban will be further exposed. But if they don’t, the more than 3,000 previous arrests of people for saying precisely the same thing will be shown to be not just unlawful but arbitrary and discriminatory.”

See the complete list of signatories here: defendourjuries.net/wp-…