British police have charged seven people for holding signs saying ‘globalise the intifada‘. This comes after Keir Starmer asked police forces to prosecute people using the phrase back in December 2025. Keir Starmer called the phrase an example of “extreme racism”. However, the reality is that the British state is just reacting to Israel being under pressure – this time, by oppressing the Arabic language, specifically, the word ‘intifada’. Intifada The term intifada ( ةضافتنا) comes from the Arabic root n-f-ḍ, which means “to shake off,” “to rise up”, or “to rid oneself of something burdensome”. In modern Arabic, the term…