London Diary: Age no bar for plucky campaigner against Gaza genocide

Who says passion and idealism wither away as one grows older? Meet Reverend Sue Parfitt, a priest from Bristol, who at 83 is just as passionate about humanitarian causes as she was when younger.

Currently, she is at the forefront of the campaign against Israel’s brutal military action in Gaza which has already claimed thousands of lives while the international community watches from the sidelines.

On 5 July, Parfitt was arrested for taking part in a peaceful protest in London’s Parliament Square. A video of her holding a placard supporting a banned campaign group went viral. It read: ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’

The retired Anglican priest had travelled to London from the west of England. She took part in the protest sitting on a fold-away seat before she was led away by officers, walking stick in hand.

Parfitt described herself as a “long-standing supporter of Palestine” who has repeatedly visited the West Bank. “I feel the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza and practising apartheid in the occupied West Bank,” she said.

The arrest came just hours after the Labour government designated Palestine Action as a 'terrorist group' for its ‘direct action’ attacking security-sensitive targets. Asked if she thought it was a terrorist group, Parfitt said: “Of course not. Civil disobedience has a long and honourable history in this country. Our government is cowering to the powerful Israeli lobby.”

Parfitt’s arrest has been widely condemned even by those who don’t agree with Palestine Action’s methods. Urging that she be released, a friend Jerry Hicks said: “She is against genocide and that’s not a crime”.

Many took to social media to voice their support for her, while criticising the UK government and police for silencing any criticism of the war on Gaza.

Retired Reverend Sue Parfitt with her placard London Diary: BBC sandwiched between Jewish and Palestinian pressure groups

An estimated 61,700 Palestinians have already been killed in Israel’s military attacks, which has been labelled a genocide by Amnesty International. Israel has blocked emergency aid from coming into the Strip while civilians have been systematically targeted at aid distribution sites.

"According to [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer’s new law, this puts her [Parfitt] in the same category as an ISIS or Al-Qaeda terrorist, with a prison sentence of up to 14 years,’ wrote journalist and activist Owen Jones.

A post on X read: ‘We are not living in a rational civilised democratic society. How is this 83-year-old priest considered a “terrorist” for supporting Palestine Action? This is like something out of a Kafkaesque nightmare.’

****

Fixing Britain’s broken community relations

The alarming rise of a nationalist far right is playing havoc with Britain’s community cohesion, including Hindu–Muslim relations, often culminating in violence.

Memories of the 2022 riots in Leicester, also known as ‘Little India’, are still fresh. Last summer was marred by violent clashes between white supremacists and largely Muslim immigrants after rumours spread that an asylum-seeker was behind an attack on a dance class — killing three children and injuring eight.

Misinformation and anti-immigrant sentiment spurred nationwide violence with rioters targeting hotels that housed asylum-seekers, smashing windows and attacking police officers.

Now, an all-party commission has been appointed to examine the ‘deepening polarisation’ in British society. It has recommend measures to ‘fix’ it. The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion will develop a policy agenda for the government with the aim of sparking a national conversation about the kind of country the public wants.

Led by former Conservative cabinet minister Sajid Javid and former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, its main focus will be on identifying the ‘forces driving disconnection and divisions’.

London Diary: ‘Island of strangers’

“This commission,” Javid said, “has been established to take a long view, propose radical policy changes and, crucially, help forge a cross-society consensus about how we want to live together now and in the future.” He lamented that social cohesion had been treated as a “second tier” issue by successive governments.

The initiative coincides with a new Refugee Council report expressing concern over a lack of government effort to integrate refugees into British life.

The Commission has been widely welcomed and one is almost inclined to commend it to the Indian political class.

****

More hurdles for foreign students in Britain

There’s more bad news for international students, with the British government under increasing pressure to scrap the graduate visa route except for those pursuing postgraduate research degrees.

This follows a report from the right-wing think-tank, Policy Exchange, claiming that foreign students are using universities as a ‘back door’ to long-term settlement in the UK.

The government has already taken a series of measures to check the alleged abuse of student visas as part of a broader crackdown on immigration. Earlier this year, it reduced the length of time overseas students can live and work in the UK from two years to 18 months.

Students, with the exception of those pursuing postgraduate research courses, are also banned from bringing dependants with them. Critics are pushing back, pointing to the contribution foreign students make to the British economy.

Jo Grady, general-secretary of the University and College Union, said: “International students are essential to the financial stability of our higher education sector; they also contribute tens of billions of pounds to the UK economy each year.”

A case of politics trumping economics.

And, finally, even in this modern age of sneakers, apparently the true sign of a gentleman in Britain remains whether his shoes are polished enough to see your face in them.