In recent years several trade union delegations and members of our European network (Belgium, Ireland, Norway and others) have sent delegations to Palestine in order to build solidarity ties with Palestinian workers and gain a deeper understanding of the reality of the occupation. Why do we promote such initiatives?

Ambassadors for Palestine
Once you have visited the Occupied Palestinian Territory and witnessed with your own eyes the ongoing injustice – whether in Hebron, the Jordan Valley, refugee camps or in occupied East-Jerusalem, you will become a different person. It’s crucial to encourage trade union leaders and shop stewards to immerse themselves in the reality of Palestinian workers and become an advocates for their rights in Europe. By return, these ambassadors or trade unions friends of Palestine will be able to talk to their colleagues, neighbors, fellow trade unionists about what they have witnessed and experienced.

 Solidarity in action                                                                                  
Palestinians don’t ask for money, they ask for testimonies and solidarity. Anyone can do this at their own level: neighborhood, work place and through the mobilisation of our union organisations. It is also a way to build direct ties with Palestinian workers and trade unions and support their struggle for decent work and ending Israel’s illegal occupation and annexation of Palestinian land.

Exchange information and program                                                                                
Every union delegation can build their own program but also learn from other delegation visits. One of the advantages of a European trade union network is that we can now all learn from each other’s experiences of these delegations. This way we continue to develop more effective solidarity relationships.

Visiting those who are struggling against intense oppression in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, or in Israel, is an important act of solidarity. We hope to see this established as a core part of trade union international solidarity, so that as many of our members as possible become acquainted with the struggles of our brother and sister trade unionists in places like Hebron, the Jordan Valley, Qalqilya, Nablus, Bethlehem, Tilkarem or Nabi Saleh.

Recently Israel has published a list of 20 organizations from all over the world, including the Jewish Voice for Peace, who are being banned from entering Palestine. This ban is intended to silence and intimidate international advocates for Palestinian rights, to cut the connections with them – whether living under Israel’s military occupation or as residents or citizens of Israel under a system of apartheid and racial discrimination.This is not acceptable. We will continue to promote field visits to Palestine and denounce the ongoing illegal occupation. The experience of sending trade union delegations to Palestine will be discussed at our next conference on May 18 and 19 in BARCELONA.