A former terrorist is angry at how easily Palestine Action supporters get labelled terrorists. No training, no weapons a bit of vandalism and holding up placards.
Aidan Kingkerry, who wishes to remain anonymous, has reached out to express his disgust at how easily people can become labelled as terrorists. We have disguised his writing to protect Aidan’s identity. “Back in my day you started off as a teenage just yelling abuse at the police and chucking stones. Looking back there wasn’t much other entertainment. After a few years you might get spotted and recruited to do other stuff. Then there were the months stuck in the desert in Libya doing training. We had it tough”.
He is disgusted at how Palestine Action got to be labelled a terrorist group. “How many bombs have they set off? None. How many guns do they have? None”. The worst they have done is some minor vandalism. When he saw the picture of Reverend Sue Parfitt (83) being arrested for being a terrorist he was very annoyed.
Kingkerry is sceptical about how they got to be classified as a terrorist group. One of Yvette Cooper’s justifications is that Palestine Action are funded by Iran. The main source of this ‘evidence’ seems to be an organisation called NGO Monitor. While it sounds like some kind of authorative body it is an Israel based organisation that has an aversion to investigating right wing groups.
The description of Palestine Action “demonstrating a willingness to use violence” by Yvette Cooper also seems a bit tenuous. “Sure they sprayed a bit of paint on an RAF plane and vandalised a couple of properties with links to weapons manufacture for Israel. That is hardly violence.”
Recently a large group of female MPs gathered to celebrate the Suffragette movement. The female MPs included Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Deputy Speaker Caroline Noakes, and Home Office Minister Angela Eagle. Happy to honour the Suffragettes who used large scale violence and damage to property to further their cause, and happy to condemn Palestine Action who are far more benign in comparison.
At the time of Suffragettes campaign of arson and bombing that ran between 1912 to 1914 the authorities, the press and the Suffragettes themselves agreed that their actions were terrorism.
How Palestine Action compare to Suffragettes
Various authors have tried to tabulate the activities of the Suffragettes, understandably the ladies were not keeping detailed notes for future historian. Good sources include Bearman, C. J. (2005). “An Examination of Suffragette Violence”. The English Historical Review. 120 (486): 365–397, and Rebecca Walker (2 January 2020). “Deeds, Not Words: The Suffragettes and Early Terrorism in the City of London”. The London Journal. 45 (1): 53–64.
| Suffragettes | Palestine Action | |
| Cabinet ministers homes attacked | 3 | 0 |
| Arson and bombing of theatres | 1 | 0 |
| Axes thrown at Prime Ministers | 1 | 0 |
| Vandalism | 200+ | 3 |
| Arson | 100+ | 0 |
| Posr boxes booby trapped | 100+ | 0 |
| Railway signals sanbotaged | 8 | 0 |
| Railway carriages set alight | 1 | 0 |
| Bombs and letter bombs | 100+ | 0 |
| RAF planes sprayed | 0 | 2 |