Protesters Gather in Oxford to Protest the Proscription of ‘Palestine Action’

On Tuesday 18 November, a group of around 30 protesters met outside the Clarendon Building in central Oxford to protest the government’s proscription of the group ‘Palestine Action’ in July. This government decision made it illegal to show any support or affiliation with the group. 

Since then, there has been a huge wave of arrests at demonstrations in support of ‘Palestine Action’ across the UK, mainly in London. The action in Oxford on Tuesday was at the beginning of what the group ‘Defend Our Juries’ has described as “the most widespread mass civil disobedience across the UK in modern British history”. At the demonstration, which began at 1pm, a group of protesters held up signs outside the Clarendon Building which expressed support for the proscribed organisation.

Alongside this, a number of other signs protesting the government’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict could be seen, which included the messages, “Starmer supports genocide” and “Peace activists are not terrorists”. At the centre of the protest was a banner with the words “LIFT THE BAN.”

The Lift the Ban action, organised by the group ‘Defend Our Juries’ was one of many demonstrations scheduled to occur across the UK on Tuesday. The group aims to continue them in different cities until 29 November, ahead of the judicial review for the ban from 25-27 November. The organisation also stated that, “Prisoners for Palestine held in British jails without trial will go ahead with a rolling hunger strike from 2 November after the Home Secretary failed to respond to their demands” in solidarity with the actions of ‘Defend Our Juries’.

Many of those protesting in Oxford were older adults. At the beginning of the action, there was a long silence. Early on, the crowd that formed around the scene clapped in support of protesters. Those taking part in the action then sang several songs throughout the protest, with lyrics including, “We’ll have human rights some day” and “Gaza will be free.”

At around 1:30pm, a group of police officers approached protesters and appeared to begin making arrests. The protesters did not attempt to resist. The crowd clapped for the protesters, with cheers of “Thank you” and “Well done” from other people participating in the action. 

An official statement has not yet been made regarding the number of arrests, but ‘Defend Our Juries’ claims that 20 of their protesters were arrested in Oxford.