British trade unions express solidarity with Palestinians

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Trade unions in Britain reaffirmed their solidarity with the people of Palestine on Thursday amid Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Around 280 participants held a discussion titled "Why Trade Unions Should Stand With Palestine" during an online meeting hosted by the Stop the War Coalition.

Defining what is happening in Gaza as an "appalling genocide," Alex Gordon, president of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union, highlighted the importance of pressuring politicians to take action against the bombardment of Gaza.

"They're not immune from political pressure and the trade unions are a very important lever on public policy," he said.

Gordon said that as unions, they have to be visible and loud, which is "the first lesson that we need to learn."

Louise Regan from the National Education Union (NEU) expressed her anger over the silence of governments, including the British government and opposition party, in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"They're doing nothing to stop it" said Regan, who is also the vice chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).

Pointing out the situation in the West Bank, she said the area is under a "huge lockdown," as there is a massive restriction of movement while Jewish settlers are armed and are firing indiscriminately.

"We must all be calling on members of our union to pressure politicians for an immediate cease-fire," noted Regan, underlining that this is not just about what happened on Oct. 7 but "a longstanding situation."

She said there is "a huge attempt" to silence them now, but it is time "more than ever for us to be speaking out, saying we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people."

Sean Vernell from the University and College Union (UCU) highlighted the importance of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, saying there are a number of academics in higher education who are refusing to speak in Israel or participate in university activities there.

Criticizing the British government, he said "the main enemy is at home."

"The anti-imperialist struggle, the pro-Palestinian struggle is the center of the trade union movement," he added.

Lindsey German, a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition, said the situation in the West Bank is "absolutely terrifying" as well as in Gaza.

Touching on the massive pro-Palestinian rallies in London, she said it was not easy to get those kinds of numbers 20 years ago against the Iraq war.

Explaining this, she said people know what is going on in Gaza, which is not just "a war crime, but there's also ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people."

"But also I think people see the danger of a much bigger regional war," German said, mentioning the movements and escalation in the wider region.

Comparing the situation with the war in Ukraine, she said the same people who are promoting that war in Ukraine are also backing Israel over this present conflict.

The meeting was also attended by a West Bank resident, Mahmoud, who spoke about the worsening situation in the West Bank.

What is happening to Palestinians now is a consequence of what happened 106 years ago, he said, referring to the 1917 Balfour Declaration in which the British government called for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

Referring to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's visit to Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks, Mahmoud said the UK government sadly did not change its position.

"Every 10 minutes, there is a Palestinian child who is losing their life because of the war, the ugly war…in the West Bank."

"If we want to see what is happening in the West Bank, if Gaza is under genocide, the West Bank is in a concentration camp. I am living in a village with almost nowhere to get out. Every single entrance of the village is closed," he said.

Mahmoud added that Palestinians are being killed by settlers in the West Bank, and they don't know who is a settler and who is a soldier.

Touching on the pressure by the Israeli government, he said more than 200 Palestinians who possess Israeli citizenship have been arrested because of their social media activity.

"I have been involved in popular resistance for more than 20 years. I have been in jail. But I never witnessed this situation before," he said.

He called for boycotting Israeli products, saying its importance is "not an arguable issue."

The Israeli military has expanded its air and ground attacks in Gaza, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a cross-border attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,600 people have since been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,061 Palestinians.

Basic supplies are running low for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents due to Israel's "full siege," in addition to the large number of casualties and displacements.