UK
Stand with Palestine on the UN Day of Solidarity – build BDS campaigns!
Matt Willgress
By Matt Willgress
At the time of writing, Israel’s military assault on Gaza has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, injured more than 93,000 and displaced over 75 per cent of the population.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled earlier this year that this war on Gaza amounts to a plausible case of genocide, and since then arrest warrants have been issued for leading figures in the Israeli regime. This is the context to the massive Palestinian solidarity movement here, which is part of a global movement for justice.
There is also growing recognition here and globally – including from reports from Human Rights Watch to Amnesty International – that Palestinians are subjected to a system of apartheid by the Israeli state.
In terms of the policy of governments internationally, including the UK, genocide and apartheid should be met with a principled foreign policy. Under the Genocide Convention, that requires all steps be taken to prevent genocide and punish those responsible. Specifically, it means sanctions against individuals and entities that have incited genocide.
As was the case with South African apartheid, we therefore urgently need a concerted effort from the labour movement and civil society to see the dismantling of Israel’s apartheid against the Palestinian people.
It was therefore particularly significant that the recent TUC Congress called for BDS – namely boycotts, divestment and sanctions.
As Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN human rights official, puts it, the ICJ ruling makes BDS “not only a moral imperative and constitutional and human right, but also an international legal obligation.” This is also the setting to the passing of the historic UN motion recently, which Britain abstained on, that called for sanctions on Israel in order to end the illegal occupation.
Despite the shameful stance of Keir Starmer’s government, our BDS movement – spearheaded by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign – is growing here in Britain and is part of a significant global call, which must be prioritised in the time ahead, and is making real advances.
In July, Waltham Forest Council, for example, committed to divesting their pension fund from arms companies. Also in July, it was confirmed Islington Council will not renew its banking contract with Barclays due to Barclays’ investments in Israeli apartheid, and funding of companies arming Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Then, in September, Lewisham Pension Fund, a fund of the Local Government Pension Scheme, committed to “review and update its responsible investment policy” with a view to “move away” from companies facilitating human rights abuses, such as through the arms trade.
In response to the student encampments for Palestine making clear disinvestment demands, wins have also been made in this sector.
In August, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s largest private pension scheme, divested from £80 million of Israeli assets including Israeli government bonds, following pressure from the UCU trade union and others.
This followed the news in June that Swansea University had committed to divest from Barclays Bank, as part of ensuring all of its investments follow an ethical investment policy.
Kings College meanwhile has now become the first London college to halt direct investments in Israel’s arms suppliers. Middle East Eye reports that “the divestment will see a stop in all of KCL’s direct investments in companies such as Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies and Boeing, known to be leading military suppliers for Israel’s military and involved in the manufacturing of cluster bombs, land mines, depleted uranium weapons and other armaments.”
In the cultural field, earlier this year after at least 163 artists and venues boycotted The Great Escape, the UK music festival ended its partnership with Barclays.
Moving forward, local Labour Parties, Labour councils and other bodies should now be lobbied hard to build on these campaign successes and immediately engage in such campaigns, as part of a movement across the whole of civil society for concrete actions to be taken to help end genocide and apartheid.
Our message is clear – Israel must face real consequences when it doesn’t abide by international law.
- Join an event marking UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 1pm, Friday 29th November – with Richard Burgon MP; Hugh Lanning, Labour & Palestine, Louise Regan, Palestine Solidarity Campaign; plus guests from Palestine. Register here.
- Join the workplace day of action on 28th November and the National Demonstration on 30th November – details here.
- This article was originally published on LabourHub on 26 November, with thanks to Celie and Lewis at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for research and suggestions.
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