Unpacking the crackdown on Palestine solidarity activism in the UK in a post-7 October reality

Since the events of 7 October 2023, and the subsequent Israeli military campaign that has decimated the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, the increase in grassroots solidarity for Palestine has been significant. The response from ‘Western’ governments has ranged from efforts to contain, to outright attempts to criminalise and delegitimise solidarity with and for Palestine. Here we unpack how Palestine solidarity work has been subjected to increased scrutiny, monitoring, and crackdown in the UK. We highlight that suppression of public support for Palestine takes on a variety of forms, including attempts to foster a narrative that delegitimises the cause of Palestine and those who support it, to repression and criminalisation of those involved, to the more informal silencing tactics, suppression of workplace displays of solidarity, university crackdowns on free speech and attacks on arts and cultural spaces. We note the racialised nature of the criminalisation of dissent, highlighting the disproportionate targeting of people of colour and members of the Muslim community, and reach the conclusion that suppression of pro-Palestine solidarity is linked to a broader attempt to maintain a status quo in the UK (and beyond), one that is based on the functioning and maintenance of global racial capitalism.