Dozens of scholars, public figures express support for Palestine Action group

More than 130 leading scholars, writers, and artists on Friday said, "We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action," ahead of next week's hearing in London.

In an action, the signatories are risking arrest under the Terrorism Act after writing an open letter to the Court of Appeal ahead of next week's appeal hearing in London.

Irish writer Sally Rooney, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, English musician Brian Eno, as well as professors and researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge were among dozens of public figures expressing support for the Palestine Action group.

The letter, which only had seven words, read: "We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action," a slogan that has become synonymous with the Lift the Ban campaign and has resulted in the arrest of thousands of protesters since the ban of the group in July 2025.

In a statement, Penny Green, professor of law and globalization at Queen Mary University of London, who is among the signatories, said: "It is both indefensible and revealing that peaceful protesters opposing genocide are being branded as terrorists while the Labour government, itself complicit in Israel's state terror, avoids all accountability."

"The scholars who have signed this letter have spent their lives analysing complex political situations and moral problems and today have decided to put their liberty and reputations on the line because saving lives is not terrorism," said a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, a group organizing the Lift the Ban protest in support of the group.

Earlier in April, hundreds more protesters were arrested for showing support for what the Metropolitan Police called "a proscribed organisation," referring to the Palestine Action group.

The Metropolitan Police had announced it resumed arresting anyone showing support for Palestine Action, even after the High Court ruled that the group's proscription as a terror organization was unlawful.

Palestine Action was banned last July under the Terrorism Act after members of the group entered a Royal Air Force base and spray-painted two aircraft, causing £7 million ($9.44 million) in damage, according to police. Hundreds of pro-Palestine activists have since been arrested across the UK.

Human rights organizations, as well as UN experts, have criticized the escalating crackdown on peaceful protests in the UK, urging the government to reverse its ban of Palestine Action as a terror group.