It starts with Palestine protests. But where will the crackdown on Britain's democratic freedoms end? | Owen Jones

"In Britain, protest is no longer a right. Instead, it is a privilege that is granted or withheld at the whim of those in power. This is the implication of new rules that the Labour government is proposing, which would dictate the time and place that protests are permitted to occur, and carry the risk of prison time for those who defy orders."

"Using this atrocity as a justification to throttle dissent is not only unrelated to that duty, but perverts it. Consider Britain's history of protest and direct action against racism and fascism, from the battle of Cable Street in 1936, to postwar Jewish anti-fascist movements such as the 43 or 62 Group, or the mobilisations against the National Front in the 1970s. Many of these protesters were derided as extremists in their day, even while they were fighting for the rights of minorities."

"Israel a foreign state is committing genocide. Its war crimes have led the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister. Public opinion in the west has turned sharply against Israel's violence. In Britain, a large majority of people believe Israel has likely committed war crimes. Most people would back a total ban on arms sales to the state, and support the arrest of Netanyahu."

The Labour government proposes rules that would allow authorities to dictate the time and place of protests and impose prison for defiance. Successive governments have incrementally expanded police powers, measures that the UN human rights chief condemned as undue restrictions on democratic freedoms. These combined moves have effectively abolished the hard-won right to protest. The latest measures are justified by a recent antisemitic mosque attack, but using that atrocity to throttle dissent perverts the duty to protect vulnerable communities. Britain has a history of anti-racist direct action, and public opinion has shifted sharply against Israel over alleged war crimes.

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