Britain must wake up to the enemy within – or this country is finished
Ah, yes. The ancient and inviolable freedom of every patriotic Englishman to break into his own country's military bases and cause tens of millions of pounds' worth of damage to our aircraft. Thanks for the reminder, Comrades. I bet the Soviet Union was always cheerfully tolerant of any gangs of intruders caught ramming crowbars into the engine of a Lavochkin La-7. 'Come on, give the traitorous saboteurs a break,' Stalin would chuckle indulgently. 'They're just exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest!'
I'm sorry to confess, however, that I don't share the Great Leader's easygoing equanimity. Because I agree with our Government that what Palestine Action did at RAF Brize Norton last Friday was a terrorist act. And frankly, instead of wailing about how mean and horrid Yvette Cooper is, these Israel-hating headbangers should be grateful they're alive. Break into most countries' airbases, and within two seconds you'll be riddled with more holes than a porcupine's underpants.
Palestine Action, though, shouldn't be the only object of our contempt. If anything, we should be even more disgusted by the people who condone them. Not just the ones screeching and raving outside Parliament – but the ones screeching and raving inside it, too. Because, incredible as it may seem, Palestine Action has been defended by numerous sitting MPs.
Jeremy Corbyn claims that banning the group represents ' a draconian assault on democratic right to protest '. Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, calls it 'a dangerous attack on civil liberties'. Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, seems to think these crowbar-wielding thugs are 'non-violent'.
Most mind-boggling of all, however, is the attitude of Zarah Sultana, the suspended Labour MP for Coventry South – who, on Tuesday, proudly proclaimed: 'We are all Palestine Action.'
'We'? Who's 'we'? I don't know about you, but I for one have never been accused in court of assaulting police officers with a sledgehammer. Nor have I smashed up a Jewish-owned business in north London. Or posted a photo of a handgun on Instagram, with the caption: 'Resist! By any means necessary'. And, to the best of my recollection, I've never sabotaged any RAF planes, either.
Still, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by the past week's events. Because for some time now it's been clear that the anti-Israel Left is growing ever more extreme. What started with the weekly hate marches has mutated into something truly unhinged.
In the past few days alone, we've seen protesters in London flying Iranian flags, and brandishing placards that praise the Ayatollah for being on 'the right side of history'. We've seen loons from 'Queers for Palestine' (I know it sounds like a spoof, but they're real) disrupting an LGBTQIA+ parade in Cardiff, because they preposterously accuse Pride Cymru of having 'ties to the Israeli war machine'. This weekend, meanwhile, Glastonbury will welcome the anti-Israel rap group Kneecap, even though one member has been charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah. Oh, and the same festival is also due to host a talk by an activist for guess who: Palestine Action.
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We often talk about this fanaticism as a problem we've 'imported'. But the truth is, all too many of today's militant monomaniacs were born in Britain. Numberless hordes of them are white, middle-class – and so deranged with loathing for what they call 'Zionists', they'll even cheer an attack on an RAF base.
At best, these people have lost their marbles. But at worst, they're becoming a threat to national security. For the sake of our future, Britain must wake up to the enemy within – or this country is finished.
Good on the Home Secretary, therefore, for cracking down on Palestine Action. Its supporters may be horrified by the thought of getting locked up with members of Isil and al-Qaeda. Still, I'm sure they'd get used to it. They can while away the long winter evenings in prison together, arguing about which of them hates our country the most.
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