Many ISM activists are thuggish fascists, I'm not surprised the ISM were refused the indulgence to spew their venom at this event.

So, JuJu which ISM activists are "thuggish fascists", exactly? How would you know?

Are they anyone who your boss at Junior Mossad tells you?

Or is this just another kneejerk reaction from the sort of jerk who actually believes what they read in the Jersualem Post?

 http://www.bigcampaign.org.uk/
 http://www.jewsagainsttheoccupation.org/
 http://www.btselem.org/
 http://www.tikkun.org/
 http://www.divest-from-israel-campaign.org/
 http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html

That sounds unbelievable. Perhaps, the PSC could say if this is true ?

This type of thing just typifies the hypocracy and distance from the real issues at these sort of conferences. How many of them (on the platform)are prepared to live through that sort of conflict voluntarily to put words of solidarity into action? It's a farce that we live in a democracy and this demonstrates it, so how can we even talk of imposing democracy (oxymoron) on other countries.

It's hypocrisy, amelia darling.

ISM has done lots of good.

Unfortunately, they've also done the following:

ISM members acted as human shields to protect Yasser Arafat a year ago when he was initially under siege.

Arafat, in case you don't know, spent the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and part of the 1990's INTENTIONALLY killing innocent people to make his point that the jews of israel will never be safe (in the 1990's he changed his tune and started playing to the media cameras that he has reformed).

ISM members also acted as human shields to protect armed hamas terrorists when they took refuge in the church of nativity about one year ago.

While hamas are supported by some palestinians who want war, there are just as many palestinians who want peace who are against hamas' methods, since every time hamas attacks israel, israel usually reponds by hunting them down, which makes things more dangerous for everyone.

ISM has also done many good things that don't involve protecting terrorists, but my point is, true peace-lovers who truly seek safety for both sides and advancement in a lasting peace process should be wary of praising ISM.

The ISMer wasn't there a year ago. He spent his time in Rafah, opposing housing demolitions and protecting water workers.

Anyway, if you go to the PSC website, you'll find they have a whole section dedicated to the PA, so I can't see how ISMs past (btw Arafat wasn't actually alone in the Muqataa, was he?)explains their refusal to allow an activist with very recent and relevant experience to speak at the rally, can you?

The sad truth is that the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is a 'popular front' style coaltion group dominated by party hacks of the SWP, pretty much in the same way that the Stop the War Coalition is. It's just like in the antiwar movement, where the SWP members in the StWC operated to marginalise groups and individuals calling for and taking direct action against the war in favour of symbolic protests, lobbies and marchs.
Of course the they usually don't openly condem direct action because that risks alienating the activist elements ( the one exception to that would be Lindey German's condemation of direct actions as 'elitist ( - but it always seems to be the case that such topics fall to the bottom of the agenda where there's no time to discuss them or if such tactics are endorsed they just aren't publicised etc,

At the core of this is the sad truth that the basic motivation for these folks involvement in the 'movement' is not to directly promote meaningful and effective action in solidarity with people struggling against capitalism and it's international war machines but instead to build under their leadership a 'broad movement' encompossing the old left bureacratic groupings, liberal NGO's and the various religious based groups. This 'popular front' can be used as a recruiting pool for their party -as was demonstarted on Saturday by the ridulous profussion of SWP stalls with identical Marxism 2003 leaflets (pus Globalise Resistance - recently taken out of mothballs(

this is the underlying reason why there's always space on PSL or StWC platforms for christain or muslem clerics, Labour party MPs and trade union bureacrats but not for people directly engaged in struggle

Not everyone in the ISM is a terrorist. Typical of all the Media in this country to tarnish everyone with the same brush. How dare they ! The people who believe the one sided purely biased mainstream media truly are unquestioning sheep.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has nothing whatsoever to do with the SWP. They are not on the organisation's steering committee, and I didn't see a single SWP speaker on the rally platform. Believe it or not, the leadership of the PSC probably hate the SWP more than you do!
So the SWP did not organise Saturday's rally with a hidden agenda to use it as a "recruiting pool", they turned up to sell their papers and promote their events (like a number of other socialist and *gasp* anarchist groups)
As for Globalise Resistance being taken out of "mothballs", I have seen them (with a bloody huge banner) on every one of the anti-war demos, at last year's ESF, and on a whole number of other events in the last year. Odd sort of mothballs.
Criticism is good, but informed criticism is better.