Earlier this month, the UK Parliament voted 385-26 to ban Palestine Action after members infiltrated an air force base and vandalized equipment. Under the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000, it is now illegal to fund, support, or even publicly approve of the organization. Arrests have already begun, sparking backlash from critics, who describe cracking down on pro-Palestine Action protests as “dystopian.”
Now, Palestine Action’s U.S. wing, “Unity of Fields” (UoF) faces similar scrutiny for similar behavior, including calling for police to be set on fire, cheering the murder of Israeli-Americans, traveling to Iran and publicly supporting them against the U.S., and advocating for “direct action” tactics including vandalism, violence, and full-blown terrorism. The question is: Should the U.S. follow the UK’s lead and formally ban UoF and similar extremist groups?
That decision rests with lawmakers. Before discussing the decision’s finer details, we must face a more basic truth: Organizations like Unity of Fields aren’t just saying outrageous things. They incite violence, empower extremism, and undermine the legitimate pro-Palestine movement.
Incitement, Not Free Speech
UoF frequently uses far-left, Marxist rhetoric, similar to Iran and Hamas, to disguise their extremist, authoritarian agendas. This dissembling has effectively led many American progressives to embrace organizations like UoF as ideological allies. However, UoF’s rhetoric crosses from critique to incitement – speech “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action” – which the First Amendment does not protect. Among other things, UoF has:
- Stormed Columbia’s library, distributing pamphlets praising terrorists
- Called for violence during the LA riots
- Celebrated the murder of Israeli-Americans as a “legitimate act of resistance” and called for the release of the murderer
UoF claims to lead the pro-Palestinian movement, yet it follows the playbook of online radicalization, prioritizing violence over progress. Consequently, UoF and similar organizations aren’t simply exercising speech; they’re deliberately manufacturing the conditions for violence, which has already paid off in a wave of antisemitism and skyrocketing political violence.
Hellbound and Down 