They ask why we protest. We ask: How can we not?
As we enter the 22nd month of Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza, one question continues to echo. Not from those under the bombs, but from those watching in silence: “Why are they still protesting?”
But perhaps the better question is: How could we possibly not?
For nearly two years, Gaza has endured a campaign of annihilation — the systematic bombing of homes, the deliberate starvation of civilians, the erasure of entire families, and the destruction of everything that sustains life.
In the face of such horror, protest is not a choice. It is a moral obligation.
Across Britain and far beyond, people have risen. Not for a weekend, not for a photo. But consistently, month after month, to declare: We will not be complicit. We will not be silent.
Protest works. That’s why it frightens them
In recent months, we’ve seen an intensifying effort to suppress solidarity with Palestine. Arrests, surveillance, suspensions and smear campaigns. Not against those committing war crimes, but against those daring to oppose them.
That fact alone speaks volumes.
Because if protest made no difference, they would not go to such lengths to suppress it. You don’t criminalise what poses no threat. You don’t silence what isn’t being heard.
READ: Gaza’s population drops by 10% amid Israel’s genocidal war
Students occupying their universities. Workers refusing to stay quiet. Citizens standing in the rain with banners. These acts are not violent. But they are powerful. And power unsettles those invested in injustice.
This crackdown is not about preserving public order. It is about containing public awareness.
Would ministers react this strongly if the movement posed no challenge? Would institutions panic if public opinion were not shifting? They fear protest. Because protest works.
A movement too widespread to ignore
This is no longer a fringe issue. Palestine has reached public institutions and it’s gaining ground.
- Trade unions such as UNISON, UCU and the NEU have endorsed ceasefire calls, backed boycotts and publicly challenged government complicity.
- Local councils in Glasgow, Leicester and Tower Hamlets have debated divestment, passed motions supporting arms embargoes and questioned ties with Israeli firms.
- Students have staged historic sit-ins, demanding universities cut academic and financial ties with companies profiting from war.
- MPs across the political spectrum have stood up in greater numbers than ever. Many have even defied party lines to speak the truth.
Even institutions once seen as untouchable, such as pension boards and investment funds, are now under pressure to reassess their portfolios in light of growing public outrage.
This is no longer just a protest movement. It is the rise of a collective moral conscience.
If not protest, then what?
To those still asking “What’s the point?”, we offer a simple reply. What’s the alternative?
Should we stay silent while thousands are massacred? Should we applaud empty gestures while governments arm the killers and shield them from accountability? Should we wait, passively, for justice to fall from the sky?
Silence sustains genocide. And those trying to silence us know it.
We are being told, both subtly and openly, to choose comfort over conscience.
We choose conscience. Every time.
We will not stop
We have not marched for a month or two. We’ve marched for 22 months. Through storms, through smears, through arrests and exhaustion.
We have occupied, disrupted, educated and mobilised. Not because it was easy, but because it was necessary.
Not because we expect guaranteed success. But because silence guarantees complicity.
And so, as the 22nd month begins, our message remains resolute.
We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. And we will not stop standing with Palestine. Not until the killing ends, the siege is lifted, and justice begins.
If protest meant nothing, they would not be trying so hard to break it.
And that, above all else, tells us one thing. We are exactly where we are meant to be. On the right side of history.
OPINION: Palestine lives on: Why solidarity can’t be outlawed
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.