Pink Floyd icon Roger Waters may soon be behind bars just for saying four little words. Being opposed to Israel’s genocide in Palestine is an increasingly dangerous opinion to have for Americans. Donald Trump has made clear that he considers criticism of Israel as anti-American, with prominent pro-Palestine campaigners detained, censored, and threatened with deportation.
But spare a thought for those in the United Kingdom. The U.K. has no written constitution and no protection of freedom of speech. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has just taken advantage of this to crack down in a big way on Palestine campaigners, going so far as to declare the non-violent protest group Palestine Action a terrorist organization.
Palestine Action – whose most high-profile protest was throwing a bucket of red paint on some airplanes, which were then cleaned and returned to service – is now legally considered to be on par with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Membership is strictly banned, as is expressing any support or sympathy for them.
As of Saturday, if you were to say “I support Palestine Action” in public in the United Kingdom, you would be arrested and could face a crushing 14 years(!) behind bars. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un wouldn’t even go that far!
It’s today, July 5th 2025.
— Roger Waters ✊ (@rogerwaters) July 5, 2025
This is the “I am Spartacus” moment.
Please stand up. pic.twitter.com/oGYdZvjrWK
Now Waters, a longtime Palestine campaigner, is putting this oppressive law to the test. In a video posted to X, he described this as an “I am Spartacus” moment and read out a message: “Roger Waters supports Palestine Action, 5th of July 2025. Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power. Stand up and be counted. It’s Now.”
He underlined that Palestine Action has committed no violent acts against anyone and underlined his point: “They’re a nonviolent protest organization protesting the presence in the U.K. of Elbit Systems, who are an Israeli arms manufacturing organization. All right. So, that’s that. I support Palestine Action, and I always will because that is the right thing to do.”
No freedom of speech
For saying this, as is now the law, Waters has now been reported to counter-terror cops by UK Lawyers for Israel, who said: “Their activities fell squarely within the definition of terrorism under the Act. We hope that the police will act in this case and investigate Mr Waters’ ill-judged words and actions.”
It should be noted that scores of people across the United Kingdom were arrested and questioned over the weekend for saying “I support Palestine Action” or holding signs saying the same thing, including a retired 83-year-old vicar.
You have to wonder what the endpoint of all this is. I mean, arresting people for saying “I support Palestine Action” isn’t going to get anyone to start supporting Israel. If anything, it’s likely to harden resistance to the government as it tries to enact an absurdly authoritarian law. In the meantime, perhaps American readers should at least feel smug that, unlike their British counterparts, they can express themselves freely under constitutional protection. For now.
Published: Jul 8, 2025 08:26 am