Jewish anti-genocide activist Tony Greenstein says that multiple “political debanking” attacks have forced him into the “cash economy”.
His trial under the Terrorism Act, for supporting Palestinians’ legal right to resist Israel’s occupation, begins on18 August.
In a statement, Greenstein explains the history of debanking — an attack also used against the Canary — and details how he has been a recurrent victim of debanking as the UK state represses pro-Palestine speech.
In full, the statement reads:
When Nigel Farage was debanked in June 2023 by Coutts for his political opinions it made the national headlines. Dame Alison Rose, CEO of the National Westminster Group, which owned Coutts was forced to resign.
In July 2024 I was debanked by Nationwide Bank for ‘regulatory reasons’. They refused to provide any reasons. I had been with Nationwide over a quarter of a century.
In July 2025 I was debanked by HSBC which closed the account which my wife and I had open for our son, who is autistic. The only transactions that were made on it were for my son’s care.
At the same time I was debanked by First Direct, the telephone bank owned by HSBC, which I had been with for 33 years, just three years less than the bank itself had been in existence. Again no explanation was provided by either bank and unlike Nigel Farage my debanking has attracted no publicity from the mainstream press.
In June 2026 Santander froze both my personal accounts and those of The Brighton Trust, a registered charity for which I am Treasurer. At the time of writing they are still frozen. No explanation has been given for their actions.
In July 2026 Kent Reliance (One Savings Bank) also froze the savings accounts of my family without giving any explanation. They have now closed them.
In December 2023 I was arrested for supporting the October 7 resistance operation by Palestinians in Gaza. I have been charged under s.12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for what is an expression of opinion but which is classified as ‘terrorism’ today.
In much the same way over 3,000 people have been arrested for supporting the ‘terrorist’ group, Palestine Action.
It is clear that some national agency – either the National Crime Agency or the Counter-Terror Police has been feeding malicious allegations to the banks.
Under money laundering and anti-terrorist legislation if banks are told that someone is suspected of money laundering then they are forbidden to ‘tip off’ the customer for fear of jeopardising an investigation. That may make sense when someone is involved in financing the drugs trade or ISIS but makes no sense when the ‘terrorism’ alleged is an expression of free speech.
At my trial later in August I will be pleading not guilty to supporting a proscribed organisation, Hamas. Clearly certain agencies of the state cannot wait for the trial verdict and are actively seeking to destabilise me.
I make no apology for supporting Palestinian resistance against Israel’s genocidal occupation which is now 59 years old. As far as I am concerned Palestinian resistance is no different to the resistance of Black people during Apartheid in South Africa. The only difference is that conditions in Israel today for the Palestinians are far worse than they ever were in South Africa.
In the 1980s both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher called the ANC terrorists however neither of them went as far as to accuse their supporters of terrorism too. In today’s political climate any support for Palestinian resistance against Israel’s genocidal army is called ‘terrorism’.
Indeed the accusation of terrorism is being made against UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. We live in an era where opponents of Western wars and terrorism are themselves being accused of terrorism.
Debanking someone because of their political opinions is Financial Terrorism yet that is what the British State is doing today. Not only to me but Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The BBC and British press, who were ready to cry foul when the leader of Britain’s racist Reform Party was debanked, are remarkably silent when it comes to opponents of racism being debanked.
Greenstein is holding a webinar exactly a week before the start of his trial to raise support for his legal fight. Speakers include Electronic Intifada‘s Ali Abunimah, Palestinian author Ghada Karmi, Jewish ANC veteran Ronnie Kasrils, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, and Greens for Palestine’s Lubna Speitan.
Featured image via YouTube
By Skwawkbox
