FOR many of us who have taken part in the now 24 major marches for Palestine in London, there has been one consistent, calming figure at the head of them. One steady voice of assurance, advocating peace. If provoked by zionists or police, don’t retaliate. Remember this is a march of love. No matter the incitement, remain peaceful.

And it worked. There have been few, if any, incidents of unrest at any of the rallies in London or at the countless others across the country. A lot of that credit goes to our chief steward, Chris Nineham, one of the founders of the Stop the War Coalition.

It was a supreme irony, therefore, not to mention an outrage, to see footage of him being violently wrestled to the ground and arrested for trying to facilitate a consummately peaceful act, the laying of flowers to remember the Gaza dead. Justifying Nineham’s arrest, the police claimed protesters tried to force their way through a police line.