OPINION: I quit my union when it told its civil servants to stay away from Israel-related work
A now former member of Public and Commercial Services Union on why they quit over its dangerously misleading advice to members.
As a British citizen who moved back to the country after living in Israel, a policy job in the civil service felt like a soft landing. The public sector makes an effort to connect faith groups in a diverse and inclusive workforce. I’ve never felt as though I had to hide my Jewishness, from talking about my Tel Aviv holiday on my departmental chat to bringing doughnuts in for colleagues to share during Chaunukah.
Until 7 October.
Last week I received an update on ‘the war in Palestine’ from my union, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), with its self declared “proud history of solidarity with the Palestinian people”. The PCS Union, as the email reminded us, was one of “the first trade unions in the UK to hear the Palestinians’ peaceful call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against apartheid Israel.“
The email was sent to thousands of primarily junior civil servants, recommending several actions civil servants could do in their private lives such as joining demonstrations and opposing a new law to outlaw BDS.” Civil servants were encouraged to be vigilant their shopping habits supported BDS, “watch out for those avocados and red peppers at this time of year!”
Then came the kicker. Although the email didn’t want to ‘alarm’, it reminded me I could be involved in illegal activity by supporting work that “contravenes broader domestic or international law”.
In that light, the email attached a letter to permanent secretaries in three Government departments, headed, ‘Israel’s war on Palestine’.
Absent of any reference to the events of 7 October or Hamas, the letter stated its purpose is “to ensure no civil servant is being asked to undertake work that may aid and abet a war crime”, asking permanent secretaries to confirm they have “sought and received legal advice concerning any work regarding Israel and Palestine”, given actions to seek prosecutions of government officials that are complicit.
Further, the letter asks permanent secretaries to clarify that civil servants who voice disquiet in undertaking ‘tasks in relation to Israel’ will not be disadvantaged.
Sensitive to the distress caused to ‘colleagues who have family or friends in Palestine, or who feel strongly – as I hope we all would – the injustice being meted out against Palestinians’ the correspondence demands that Israeli flags are removed to stop the ‘politicisation’ of the civil service and the causing of “undue distress” to staff.
Working towards a two state solution, and ending Hamas’ barbaric regime over the Palestinian people, will require huge efforts from Government across a breadth of departments.
Such a partisan and ill-thought-out communication, which has so spectacularly floundered in taking anything approaching a central position or empathy on both sides, is downright reckless. When your union writes to you to inform you that its (collective) view is that “what we are all witnessing is, or may be, a genocide in addition to the ongoing illegal occupation of and implementation of a system of apartheid in Palestine”, why would civil servants not take this view as red?
Working towards a two state solution, and ending Hamas’ barbaric regime over the Palestinian people, will require huge efforts from Government across a breadth of departments.
Is the PCS seriously suggesting it wishes to dismantle such endeavours, all in line with UK Government policy and clearly in UK security interests? Civil servants are expected to abide by the Civil Service Code, carrying out their role with a “commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality”. Misleading, misinforming and alarming civil servants will do nothing to further these objectives; neither will this outrageous breach of the civil service code, which must be addressed.
PCS has abysmally failed to see me and my Jewish colleagues. PCS has made Jewish civil servants, like me, feel unsafe.
I am worried, by the complete misinformation that is presented as fact. I am disturbed, by the scaring of civil servants who will be made to think they could be supporting a ‘potential genocide, war crimes and/or other breaches of international humanitarian law’ by just doing their jobs.
And I am profoundly saddened that a letter like this, so inflammatory in its lopsided, lazy, distorted perspective, has been allowed to circulate, unravelling sincere attempts between faith groups and undermining potentially meaningful and crucial endeavours by officials.
Things have got progressively worse and will continue to, I believe, as the war continues. There have been recent reports of a pro-Palestinian PCS rally outside Parliament. When a professional decided to counter protest, holding a banner, ‘Hamas = Terrorist* *UK Government definition’, he was faced with a barrage of antisemitic abuse.
PCS has abysmally failed to see me and my Jewish colleagues. PCS has made Jewish civil servants, like me, feel unsafe. And when 69% of British Jews have said they are less likely to show visible signs of being Jewish and almost half have thought about leaving the UK – its really the least my union, which I have now quit, could do.
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