Jewish groups dispute claims Palestine Action targets ‘Jewish-owned businesses’
Jewish groups dispute claims Palestine Action targets ‘Jewish-owned businesses’
Jewish activists have contested the assertions made in a recent documentary that the British protest group Palestine Action focuses on targeting “Jewish-owned businesses,” arguing that these organizations were chosen for their role in supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Government’s proscription under scrutiny
In an episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches aired this week, the show questioned the government’s rationale for banning Palestine Action, including alleged connections to Iran. The focus was on whether these claims were used to downplay the real reason for the proscription—criminal damage.
“The press briefings about Palestine Action’s supposed ties to Iran were ‘wrong,’” stated Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, during an interview with Dispatches journalist Matt Shea.
Targeting Jewish-owned businesses
Among the accusations leveled against Palestine Action by the government is the claim that its members attack Jewish-owned businesses. This was reiterated in the documentary by Gideon Falter, head of the pro-Israel group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
“Palestine Action had created a climate of fear in the Jewish community after a series of actions targeting ‘Jewish-owned businesses,’” Falter said. “These attacks, like splattering offices with red paint and smashing computers, are thuggish and violent.”
Incident at Hillsdown House
Falter cited an event in November 2024 when Palestine Action activists painted Hillsdown House in north London with red paint. At the time, the building housed the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (Bicom), which was established in 2001 following the Second Intifada.
“It’s very hard to see what links would justify this kind of thuggery,” Falter said. “But there’s a common thread—those attacks often target Jewish-owned businesses.”
Bicom describes itself as working to enhance understanding of Israel in the UK, offering journalists access to senior Israeli officials and even arranging trips to the country. Falter added that while the fear caused in the Jewish community might not be the main goal, it is a side effect of their actions.
Counterarguments from Palestine Action
In response, Shea posed the question: “Is there a risk of conflating criticism of Israel with an attack on the Jewish population as a whole?”
“The allegations are weaponizing antisemitism and obscuring the facts,” said Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action. “Our actions were about targeting the Israeli weapons industry, not the identity of the business owners.”
Ammori explained that the offices were targeted on 2 November 2024 to commemorate the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which laid the groundwork for a Jewish national home in Palestine. She emphasized that the group’s focus is on holding the arms trade accountable.
Jewish Voice for Liberation’s perspective
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, a spokesperson for the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Liberation, criticized the portrayal of Jews as a collective in the documentary.
“I was shocked that he even suggested this group of young people, who are fighting the arms trade, were a threat to Jewish people,” Wimborne-Idrissi told MEE. “That’s absolutely gobsmacking.”
She also highlighted that CAA was established in 2014 with the specific aim of advocating for Israel and accused it of fostering antisemitism without responsibility. Meanwhile, activists from Palestine Action noted that they also painted the London headquarters of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an entity linked to Palestinian displacement efforts.
Additional actions included the seizure of a bust of Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, from the University of Manchester, symbolizing the group’s connection to the Balfour Declaration’s legacy.
