Sarah Helm doubles down as pro-Israel groups urge police action and Zack Polanski praises her 'bravery'

Prominent journalist and author Sarah Helm has remained defiant after pro-Israel groups urged the Metropolitan Police to investigate her over a post on X backing Sally Rooney, the Irish author whose books are being withdrawn from the UK market over her support for Palestine Action. Helm is the wife of Jonathan Powell, who served as former Prime Minister Keir Starmer's adviser on national security, foreign policy and intelligence and remained in the role when Burnham became prime minister. On Sky News on Thursday, journalist Adam Boulton criticised Rooney and accused her of taking a "very strong pro-Palestine, and, I have to say, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish stance". Responding, Helm posted: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action. Sounds like Adam would have all our books swept off the shelves in a jiffy." Campaign Against Antisemitism, a group that has been accused of targeting critics of Israel, called on the police to investigate Helm and make her "face the full force of the law". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters However, Green Party leader Zack Polanski told Middle East Eye: "Sarah Helm is speaking absolute common sense and should be commended for her bravery. "In a week when the Labour government’s ludicrous and authoritarian proscription of Palestine Action has led to the banning of one of the most influential authors from our bookshelves and pensioners continue to be arrested for opposing a genocide, it is obvious to everyone apart from this Labour government that Palestine Action must be de-proscribed immediately." Helm is a former foreign correspondent for The Independent newspaper and has been a long-time critic of the Israeli government's policies towards Palestinians. Asked to comment on Saturday morning, she pointed to an article she wrote for Middle East Eye in 2020 about Yaakov Sharett, the son of one of Israel's founding fathers, whom she interviewed in Tel Aviv when he was 92 years old. His father, Moshe Sharett, was Israel's first foreign minister and its second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. 'We are living by the sword': The regrets of an Israel founder's son Read More » Yaakov Sharrett told Helm: "Now, at [92]-years-old, I realise that the story started with the very idea of Zionism, which was a utopian idea. It was meant to save Jewish lives but at the cost of a nation of occupants who inhabited Palestine at this time. The conflict was unavoidable from the beginning." He added: "I am not afraid to say that the treatment of the Palestinians today is Nazi treatment. We don’t have gas chambers, of course, but the mentality is the same. It is racial hatred. They are treated as subhuman." Sharrett branded Israel a "criminal state" and said: "Seeing the difference between antisemitism and criticism of Israel is crucial. To be honest, I am amazed how in 2019 the world outside accepts Israeli propaganda." He argued that his father "would have to agree with me somewhat. He remained a Zionist to the end, but I think he realised something was wrong. Sometimes, I say he was too moral to be at peace with what is going on here". Met 'assessing' the post Helm is also the author of the 2025 book Gaza: The Long Road to Destruction, 1870-2024, a history of Gaza that includes interviews with survivors of the 1948 Nakba. She posted on X in response to the backlash: "Thanks to all supporters. As an 83 yr old survivor of the Nakba and one of my many friends in Rafah (now obliterated) said to me when I was last there, 'keep writing Sarah we need all the pencils we can get'." Meanwhile, the Met said Helm's original post "is in the process of being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required". A Downing Street spokesperson said: "These views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity." Sally Rooney's books to be withdrawn from sale in UK over Palestine Action support Read More » Keir Starmer's Labour government proscribed Palestine Action in July 2025. Expressing support for or being a member of the direct action group, which aimed to damage property belonging to companies manufacturing weapons for sale to Israel, is a criminal offence that could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The ban has been widely denounced as draconian by human rights organisations. Thousands of people have been arrested for holding placards expressing support for the group since the ban came into effect. Marji Mansfield, a retired tax adviser, said: "I’m a 70-year-old grandmother who was arrested for defying this ban. Counter-terrorism officers have even come to my home over a few seconds of social media footage expressing support for Palestine Action. "Sarah Helm is similarly at risk of arrest for speaking out against the first ever ban of a direct action protest group in Britain. We are on the right side of history." Earlier this week, it emerged that bestselling author Sally Rooney is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK after she said she would use proceeds from her book sales to support Palestine Action despite its ban. Rooney cancelled a trip to England last September to collect a literary award because she feared she would be arrested. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said last month that Andy Burnham's government was “looking at” whether the ban on Palestine Action was politically sensible, arguing that the government had not intended the proscription to lead to mass arrests. He argued: "I don’t think anyone’s intent was to have those people criminalised, but obviously the Supreme Court has got to look at this issue, and obviously it’s something we keep looking at as government."