Across the west, solidarity marches are testing governments’ tolerance for dissent. From arrests to bans, free-speech boundaries are shifting
T
he ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been met with joy and relief across the Middle East and beyond. Over the past two years, outrage at Israel’s war in Gaza has erupted across Europe and the US, manifesting itself in university campus protests, massive marches through countless capitals and the disruption of major sporting events.
Even as hopes rise of an end to the war, international anger over Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have been deemed a genocide by a UN commission of inquiry, remains raw, as evidenced by last weekend’s huge rallies in Spain and Italy.
While the fury that fuels them has been shared and ubiquitous, the demonstrations – and the authorities’ responses to them – have varied considerably from country to country. If some of the official reactions have been draconian, there have also been exceptions, especially in countries where public opinion is more openly pro-Palestinian.
