As a doctor I had to oppose Palestine Action’s proscription

JVL Introduction

In this moving and clear account, a doctor (and former editor of the BMJ) explains why she felt compelled to participate in the September 6th peaceful protest at the proscription of Palestine Action and its labelling as a terrorist group.  She was one of more than 850 arrested that day over a period of nearly ten hours.  A ridiculous waste of police resources to say the least.  The contrast with the inaction taken by the government over Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its ethnic cleansing in the West Bank is clear.  Even now the government is considering giving a £2 billion contract to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, the very company that Palestine Action was formed to stop.

She is one of so many ordinary people from all walks of life who are compelled to do something, whatever they can, to stop this horror and the British government’s complicity.  Her words and her calls for more medical leaders to speak up have particular resonance, especially as the health system has been almost destroyed in Gaza, exactly when the people’s needs are greater than ever.

LL

This article was originally published by British Medical Journal on Tue 23 Sep 2025. Read the original here.