“The past two and a half years have been one of daily horror and fear as Palestinians have watched our families and friends massacred, starved and tortured,” she said, describing this period as the darkest chapter in Palestinian history since 1948: British Palestinians feel ‘gaslit’ and unable to speak out, says leading activist

Ahead of Nakba march, Sara Husseini says many feel they are being treated as suspects rather than victims of mass suffering

Aamna Mohdin Community affairs correspondent

Sat 16 May 2026 01.00 EDT

 

‘We feel a great deal of solidarity from the British public.’ A Together for Palestine march in central London in March. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska/PA

British Palestinians feel unable to speak openly about Israel’s war on Gaza, the director of the British Palestinian Committee has said, amid what campaigners believe is a growing climate of hostility around Palestinian identity and activism in the UK.

Some were afraid to wear Palestinian symbols at work or display Arabic jewellery and keffiyehs in public, Sara Husseini said.

“We have many documented reports of Palestinians and allies being silenced or punished for wearing Palestinian symbols, watermelon pins, or speaking about the genocide,” she said. “Many colleagues across all kinds of sectors feel they are being gaslit while friends and families are being massacred back home.”

Speaking before Saturday’s national march in London commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nakba (“catastrophe”) – the displacement of at least 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948 – Husseini said many Palestinians felt they were being treated not as victims of mass suffering, but as suspects whose grief had become politicised.

“Cruelty is the word I would use, particularly for colleagues who are from Gaza or have family there, knowing these atrocities are being inflicted on their loved ones day in, day out,” Husseini said.

“And then being effectively told: not only are we not going to acknowledge that this is happening to you, we’re going to disbelieve you, interrogate you, stop you from speaking about it, and if you do speak, we’re going to paint you as the problem.”... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/16/british-palestinians-feel-unable-speak-out-sara-husseini

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