Palestine debate at UNISON Conference

Rather than repeat a better post elsewhere I recommend this report from Labournet of the significant debate on Palestine at UNISON Conference, which saw Conference reject an NEC proposal for "critical engagement" with the Israeli Histradut trade union federation.

UNISON supports Gaza

UNISON's National Executive Council (NEC) was today united in condemning the Israeli attack upon the Gaza flotilla. UNISON also condemned the "muted" response of the UK Government.

This follows on from the statement issued earlier in the week by the TUC.

UNISON calls upon members to support Saturday's national demonstration in London (and a similar event in Glasgow) - I hope to see you there (in London that is)!

Piracy with violence

What else do you call it when an aid convoy is intercepted - and some of its members murdered - in international waters?

Will we see the same condemnation for Israel as we have for North Korea? What will our Foreign Office say? (Sweden have summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain the actions of the Israelis - will the UK at least do the same?)

What will the White House say when their Israeli visitor arrives?

How can we respond to this outrage? Trade unionists must continue to support the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and particularly the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Update - circular from the Stop the War Coalition;

ISRAELIS KILL 10 STORMING GAZA FLOTILLA
EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION TODAY
MONDAY 31 MAY 2.00PM DOWNING STREET LONDON
SPREAD THE WORD

Yet another act of Israeli barbarism as its forces storm one of the seven ships
on the international flotilla taking aid to Gaza, where Israel's illegal seige
is starving Palestinians of essential resources. At least ten activists on
board have been killed by Israeli forces.

Please join the emergency demonstration today if you can. Publicise it as
widely as possible.

See video of Israeli assault from Turkish televison: http://bit.ly/aKExFf
For updates see: http://bit.ly/bg5gIu

CONTACT FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE & YOUR MP

PROTEST TO FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE:
EMAIL:
msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk AND/OR
private.office@fco.gov.uk AND MSU.PublicIn@fco.gov.uk
LETTER TO:
William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary, King Charles Street, London,
SW1A 2AH

CONTACT YOUR MP: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk
Ask him/her to contact Hague on your behalf

CONTACT DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER NICK CLEGG
EMAIL: cleggn@parliament.uk
LETTER TO: Nick Clegg MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Palestine - think globally act locally

I missed out on yesterday's lunchtime street stall run jointly by my local UNISON branch and the local branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign(PSC) but understand that it went well.

Campaign materials jointly produced between the PSC and the TUC are now available online at www.palestinecampaign.org/ban-settlement-goods and will shortly be circulated to UNISON branches.

It is time to step up campaigning for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against the aggression of the Zionist regime and the unjust occupation of Palestine. Our trade union movement has a clear pro-Palestinian policy and, having won the vote at the TUC, we need to implement the policy on the ground.

Viva Viva Palestina

Whilst we are slipping on the ice and waiting for it to melt there is good news from Palestine where the aid convoy has got through.

Details at http://readingpsc.org.uk/convoy/

Whilst the priority of our Government now appears to be changing the law to guard against the possibility that our Israeli "military allies" could face justice if the visit this country, our trade union movement needs to do more to help those in the Middle East who need and deserve our support.

(Returning to the parochial question of when we in the ice-bound south can expect a thaw, I did see a couple of large drips yesterday - but they turned out to be half remembered Blairite former Ministers.)

Update at 2pm - you can watch a film of the arrival of the convoy on the Grauniad website.

The anniversary of an outrage

It is almost a year now since the barbaric attack upon Gaza by Israel. The siege of Gaza by Israel continues.

The Viva Palestina aid convoy is now stuck in Jordan where the Egyptian authorities are refusing to allow the convoy to progress through Egypt to Gaza to deliver aid directly where it is required.

You can add your protest by telephone or email to the Egyptian Embassy in London on 020 7499 3304/2401 and/or eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg. (Apparently the embassy email addresses are only meant for information, so you could include a kind note to forward the message to the appropriate diplomatic staff).

2009 was the year that our trade union movement voted to step up solidarity with the Palestinians. In 2010 we need to continue to put this solidarity into effect.

A ceasefire is not enough

Of course any ceasefire - however poorly observed - is almost inevitably better than the absence of a ceasefire.

In general the fewer people who are killed the better.

However, as today's Morning Star points out, an Israeli ceasefire does nothing to lift the siege of Gaza or to resolve the problems underlying the conflict.

First among these must be the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.

I hope that the mobilisation in support of the Palestinians which we have seen in the trade unions in recent weeks can now be sustained.

We need to raise funds to meet the pressing material needs of the people of Gaza - and to sustain the political pressure on our Government, and those of the European Union, to isolate Israel whilst the occupation continues.

UNISON on the Palestine demo

I was really pleased to see a better number of UNSION banners on yesterday's enormous demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

UNISON's President and General Secretary were both there with the national banner - and the Greater London Regional banner was carried by a number of Regional activists (and friends and family). A particularly honourable mention goes to Jean Geldart for taking custody of the banner at the end of the demonstration.

With the attacks on Gaza intensifying we need to step up political pressure on the Government. Building on UNISON's existing policy we need to call for an end to diplomatic relations with Israel until their guns fall silent, and - now - we need to build an approach to economic and cultural boycotts which can defeat zionism as we defeated apartheid.

UNISON supports the Palestinians

I am very pleased that UNISON is supporting the Palestinians in the face of Israeli military aggression.

It’s excellent news that the Union has made a donation of £10,000 to Medical Aid for Palestinians and is encouraging branches to make donations.

I hope that the Lambeth Branch Annual General Meeting next week will agree a donation, and also that a decent number of branch members will attend Saturday’s demonstration.

The national UNISON banner will be at Hyde Park on Saturday as will the Greater London Regional banner and – I hope – many branch banners.

We need to demonstrate that millions of trade unionists in the UK are on the side of the victims of aggression and that we stand for peace. See you there?

Opposing the pogrom against Palestinians in the Ghetto of Gaza

I was pleased to be able to be among the tens of thousands who demonstrated in London yesterday against the attacks on the people of Gaza.

I was particularly pleased to be asked to help carry one of the few trade union banners on the demonstration, the banner of the Kensington and Chelsea local government branch of UNISON, which we then took home to Kensington for the protest outside the Israeli embassy.

The disregard shown by the Israeli military for the humanity of the Palestinian people and the lack of concern shown by the leaders of the Western powers challenge all trade unionists to respond.

UNISON has called upon our members to support protests against the attacks on Gaza. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign are organising regular protests, and the website of the Stop the War Coalition confirms what was announced yesterday – that there will be a march on the Israeli Embassy next Saturday, 10 January.

In the next week every UNISON branch should dust off its banner and organise delegations to support next Saturday’s demonstration. I hope and expect to see the national banner there too.

Elementary internationalism – in line with UNISON Conference policy – calls for an immediate end to Israel's military assault on Gaza and an immediate end to the blockade and siege on Gaza. Our task is to put pressure on our Government, whose “even handed” response to this grossly uneven battle amounts to tacit support for criminal aggression against the Palestinian people.