On Sept 22, a general strike across Italy brought trains and highway transport to a halt after unions called a nationwide walkout in support of Palestinians in Gaza. The strike was organized after dockworkers in Genoa vowed to support the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes prominent activist Greta Thunberg, by threatening to block the exit of container ships carrying goods to Israel. Trains and buses were canceled, and schools and universities were closed as local transport workers, teachers and students went on strike.
In Genoa, dockworkers obstructed the entrance to the port, while students blocked entrances to universities in Turin, Rome and Milan. In Venice, demonstrators marched to the port with banners reading “Gaza is burning, we will block everything.”
Tens of thousands of protestors marched in over 80 Italian cities under the slogan “Let’s Block Everything.” The protesters demanded that their government recognize Palestinian statehood and suspend commercial and military cooperation agreements with Israel.
The pro-Palestinian anti-war movement has grown faster and more broadly than any similar movement in our planet’s history. The momentum continues to rise as evidenced by the recent general strike led by Italian trade unionists. In North America an increasing number of unions have passed or strengthened pro-Palestinian resolutions.
The Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU), representing over 200,000 public workers, has finally recognized Anti-Palestinian Racism. OPSEU has declared it will no longer tolerate harassment and discrimination against Palestinians and will undertake training of its membership. In addition, “Palestinians“ will now be included in the Statement of Respect read before all union events. Earlier this summer National Union of Provincial Government Employees (NUPGE) demanded an arms embargo against Israel.
The pan-Canadian organization, Labour4 Palestine recently issued a Labour Day statement entitled “Time for Canadian Unions to Declare Hot Cargo on Israel”. The statement demanded:
1) Declare all Israeli products, services and relationships as Hot Cargo, not to be touched by workers of conscience.
2) Endorse the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
3) Publicly speak out against anti-Palestinian racism and support workers who are being discriminated against in workplaces across the country for speaking out against the genocide.
4) Publicly oppose the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and the attempts to conflate criticism of Zionism or Israeli state policies as anti-Semitism.
5) Officially break off relations with the Histradut (Israel’s central labour body) for supporting the genocide and discriminating against Palestinian workers.
At its recent convention in Vancouver, Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada (320,000 members) passed a resolution calling for an arms embargo against Israel and in support of Palestinian workers. Unifor had already previously voted to support BDS. This resolution followed a letter from Lana Payne, Unifor president, to Mark Carney: “Prime Minister, we call on your government to fulfil Canada’s obligations under domestic and international law and suspend exports to Israel.”
At its 79th convention, the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), which has a substantial history of supporting Palestine, unanimously voted for another resolution demanding “that the US government immediately cease all military aid to Israel, and instead pressure Israel to: a) end their apartheid policies and the genocide, occupation and destruction in Gaza, as well as the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and b) negotiate a peace agreement on the basis of equality, democracy and human rights, including Palestinian self-determination and the right of return of refugees;”
These are positive actions. Unions in support of Palestine must now mobilize their members in support of Palestinian solidarity demonstrations and other events. The organized workers have the strategic power to end the genocide while building solidarity within the labour movement. Our Italian comrades and siblings are showing the way!