Israel/Palestine response: BDS and PGFTU

In his comments, Terry McCorran is either misinformed or seeks to mislead others. He says he visited Israel and Palestine with TUFI, “in a personal capacity due to the UNISON Boycott”. Terry should read UNISON policy. Neither UNISON policy nor that of the TUC calls for an outright boycott, but of those companies involved in activities deemed by the international courts to be illegal, of produce from the illegal settlements or colonies and a review of trading relations between EU and Israel. http://cms.unison.co.uk/MotionText.asp?DocumentID=1000235

With the STUC delegation in March of this year, I met with Shaher Sa’ed, General Secretary PGFTU in Nablus. His comments are well documented in the published report of the delegation. http://www.stuc.org.uk/files/Palestine/Delegation%20Report%202009.pdf

He said PGFTU has told Histadrut that the Israeli army is acting against our people, and that is why international organisations are raising the issue of BDS.

He told us that PGFTU cannot advise against this, it is an organisations’ own decisions, and they must decide what they really believe. He acknowledged that companies could be the object of attention due to their engagement in unlawful activities, such as the construction of the wall.

He also acknowledged that many sections of Palestinian society were calling for boycott, particularly the boycott of goods from illegal settlements.

He pointed out that the main market for the benefit of Israel is Palestinian people, and that Palestinians have to transport many things through Israel, and Gaza depends on milk products from Israel.

Shaher Sa’ed said that PGFTU has stated from the beginning that it is keen on its continuing relationship with Histadrut, but that it cannot determine what STUC, or other international organisations decide to do in relation to a boycott.

On BDS and the possible negative impact upon Palestinians, at a meeting in Ramallah, we were told by a Palestinian Authority Minister, that boycott may affect 20% of those in employment, in construction and service industries, they don’t work in export industries.

“For the sake of the political issue of our land, We can afford the economic sacrifice,” he said.

Mike J Kirby