TUC passes ‘shameful’ anti-Israel motion which fails to even mention 7 Oct
Observing debate on the Middle East at Trades Union Congress conference, one Labour source said: 'Speaker after speaker laid into Israel, so you would have thought 7 October didn’t happen'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has passed a motion at its annual conference demanding all UK arms trading with Israel be ended immediately – but failed to mention Hamas or the 7 October massacre.
One Labour source who spoke to Jewish News later described the passing of such a one-sided, anti-Israel motion as “shameful” for the union movement.
In Wednesday’s Palestine debate, speakers from eight trade unions addressed delegates at the annual conference in Brighton, with all of them failing to acknowledge the impact of Hamas terrorism or the 7 October atrocity that left 1,300 men, women and children dead.
Instead, the successful motion noted only that Israel’s “military assault on Gaza has killed over 35,000 Palestinians, injured more than 70,000 and displaced over 75 percent of Gaza’s population, destroying housing, hospitals, schools and universities.”
It called for renewed focus on “a strategy of boycotts, divestment and sanctions” and in clear challenge to the Labour government called for the UK to “end all licenses for arms traded with Israel, meeting international law.”
It also demanded the government “revoke the 2030 Road-Map for Israel bilateral relations.”
The one admission of any hurt caused to Israel was that in its call for a ceasefire the motion called for the release of “all hostages” alongside “Palestinian political prisoners”.
Reacting to the passing of the motion, Steve Scott of Britain Israel Trade Union Dialogue (BITUD) told Jewish News: “The debate on Composite 17 was something to behold, not only did the motion not refer to, let alone condemn the 7 October atrocities and subsequent mass hostage taking but no speaker referred to this at all.
“Speaker after speaker laid into Israel, so you would have thought that 7 October didn’t happen.
“No one from BITUD wants war but there were no proposals for peace by the TUC, instead Israel is the problem and the Palestinians apparently have no agency”.
Unsurprisingly, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has welcomed the motion passed TUC delegates with director Ben Jamal claiming: “It marks a clear dividing line between the union movement, which is committed to ending Israel’s genocide, occupation and system of apartheid, and the Labour government which has so far taken a wholly inadequate approach to its obligations under international law.”
In a response to the debate general secrtary Paul Nowak reflected the position of TUC general council when he said:”The TUC unequivocally condemned the attacks by Hamas on October 7 last year and we call for the release of all hostages unharmed.
“We call also called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and respect for international human law.
“We will continue to support and work for a two-state solution based on a safe and secure Israel and a safe and secure Palestine.”
Other attendees though stressed Nowak was not part of the actual debate and it was the composite that was passed.
The anti-Israel motion was submitted by the National Education Union, and had the support of Unison and Unite.
One Labour source responding to the passing of the latest anti-Israel motion by the TUC telling Jewish News: “What do you expect, really? For too long now there has been this out of touch with reality, one-sided view of the Israel/Palestine conflict among too many in the trade union movement.
“To ignore the brutality of Hamas in this way is shameful for the trade union movement.”
Some unions were also not present when the vote on the motion took place, perhaps deliberately so.
Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot was given a standing ovation as he addressed delegates in the main hall at TUC conference.
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