Exclusive: Prof Haim Bresheeth’s anti-genocide speech before he was arrested for ‘terrorism’
Jewish Israeli academic was arrested for this as Starmer government’s assault on anti-genocide speech continues
As Skwawkbox reported on Friday night, Israeli Jewish academic Prof Haim Bresheeth was arrested by the Metropolitan Police as he spoke to the weekly anti-genocide demonstration, sponsored by Jewish groups IJAN (International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network) and and JNP (Jewish Network for Palestine), outside the London residence of far-right Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely.
Hotovely, an extremist described by Israeli paper Haaretz as ‘the ugly, extremist face of Israel’ who has attempted to justify Israel’s flattening of Gaza and mass killing of civilians, is feted by the government of Keir Starmer.
Yet Bresheeth was arrested for a speech in which he factually slammed Israel for its colonialism, racism and violence, including the mass murder of civilians including tens of thousands of children and eight hundred babies:
A Met Police spokeswoman, in a statement to Skwawkbox, claimed the force is engaged in “a constant balancing act” and that it was acting to “prevent intimidation and serious disruption to communities”. She confirmed that ‘one man’ – Bresheeth – had been arrested for supposedly supporting a proscribed organisation:
One man was arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation. This person had been a speaker at the demonstration. He has been released under investigation.
In fact, as a hearing of his speech immediately reveals, rather than supporting any group Bresheeth made the factual observation that Israel has proven unable to defeat Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis – the first two have been proscribed by the British state – however many civilians it kills.
Bresheeth’s arrest forms part of a state campaign, which has escalated under Keir Starmer, of the abuse of anti-terror legislation to harry and attempt to intimidate British journalists and activists, many of them Jewish, who expose and oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed around two hundred thousand people and maimed many more, almost all of them civilians.
In October, police raided the home of journalist Asa Winstanley, seizing his electronic devices even though he was not arrested. In August, police detained journalist Richard Medhurst citing the Terrorism Act as his plane arrived in the UK, before stripping him of his electronic devices and forcing him to disclose passwords under threat of imprisonment – refusal to hand over logins or to answer any questions is an automatic offence under the legislation – and denying him access to legal advice and even water.
A week later, journalist Sarah Wilkinson was arrested as masked officers raided her home in the early hours of the morning, forced to hand over passwords, and police attempted to make her hand over details of her contacts in Palestine, a gross violation of journalistic privilege.
Before them, Jewish activist and author Tony Greenstein, journalist Kit Klarenberg and journalist and former ambassador Craig Murray were also targeted for detention, arrest and harassment. Greenstein was told he was arrested for social media comments supporting Palestinian resistance, the right to which is firmly enshrined in international law. Greenstein succeeded last week in overturning abail condition banning him from attending anti-genocide protests in London.
Prof Bresheeth was released on Saturday morning after a night in custody, but remains under investigation.
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