Trade union members for peace and justice in Palestine
Demands
Ban on weapons exports
Transnationally, Germany is a major weapons exporter to the Israeli state, second only to the United States. Unfortunately too many of these weapons are built and transported by workers in Germany. Trade unions in Belgium have refused to be involved in build or transporting them. There are pending lawsuits over Germany’s moral and legal liability in arms export.
Permanent Ceasefire
Our sibling trade unions across the world (UNI Global; USA) have called for an immediate and lasting cease fire. A ceasefire is not the end-goal, but it is the most urgent measure and a starting point.
Freedom of assembly and political expression
Uphold civil liberties and political activities of workers and migrants within Germany. The overt repression and racist retaliation targeted participants of demonstrations, people’s livelihoods (recently Berlin women’s shelters – FRIEDA-Frauenzentrum were shut down), academic invites withdrawn, journalists arrested to name a few. Meanwhile, far-right wing candidates in Germany are growing in strength and numbers largely without opposition.
Open forum
Opening the conversation about Germany and civil society’s role. Most civil actors in Germany are hesitant to engage in this topic, either due to overt support for the Israeli state at worst, or because of a political climate where any dissenting voices fear political backlash. This is unfortunately true within our trade unions as well. We want to host public educational panels, speak at workers’ assemblies and continue the political education to show why this conversation cannot wait any longer.
Stories
Open letter by dozen Jewish trade union members to the executive boards of the trade unions
Demonstration of over 100 trade union demos for a #CeaseFireNow
European Federation of Public Service Unions adopts resolution for ceasefire in Gaza - ver.di remains silent
Statement in support of unjust arrests in Berlin
About
We are a network of trade union members, activists, works council members who believe our trade unions can and should do more to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Silence is not an option
In November 2023, dozens of Jewish members of German trade unions shared this letter with ver.di, GEW, IG Metall and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) regarding their political positioning on the unfolding situation in Palestine and Israel and the reverberations domestically within Germany.
We are proud Jewish trade unionists and labour activists based in Germany. Many of us are the descendants of Holocaust survivors, who have chosen to make our lives here in Germany as active members of the labour movement, fighting for the rights and dignity of all workers - irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity, or religion.
We are deeply disappointed by the union’s public statement posted to its Instagram account on October 9th, which expressed unilateral support for Israel while failing to address the already-escalating bombing campaign on Gaza. Since then, the DGB has also co-sponsored a rally in solidarity with Israel, while remaining silent about both the war in Gaza and suppression of protests in solidarity with Palestinians throughout Germany.
Our politics of solidarity and internationalism are not conditional, and we urge our German Trade Unions to show solidarity towards all those affected by the violence of the past three weeks and follow the global labour movement and human rights community’s calls to minimise bloodshed. Further, in light of the German authorities’ suppression of protests in solidarity with Palestinians, we also call on the unions to affirm the importance of core civil liberties in Germany such as the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
We unreservedly condemn Hamas’s brutal October 7th attack and mourn the killings of 1,200 civilians in Israel and the kidnapping of hostages. We are also outraged by the Israeli military’s response and the brutal bombardment of a civilian population trapped under siege. The results are harrowing: 8,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed by the Israeli military, with countless more injured while hospitals are running out of supplies and fuel. The number of casualties grows with every hour. We all have family and friends in Israel and Palestine and are worried for their safety while we anxiously watch these horrors unfold from afar. Every day we are afraid of what will come next in this rapidly escalating situation.
The Israeli military explicitly prevents Palestinian civilians from leaving Gaza. At the same, it also prevents any food, humanitarian aid, or journalists from entering one of the most densely populated places on Earth. While civilians cannot leave the area, the shelling of residential buildings, schools, and hospitals continues. All of these acts constitute grave war crimes and are unacceptable under any circumstances.
The current political situation in Israel and Palestine is exacerbated by the most right-wing government in Israeli history, which preaches a policy of permanent occupation and ongoing violent displacement of Palestinians over diplomacy or respect for human rights. Right-wing extremism has no place anywhere and will not bring any kind of durable safety for Israelis or Palestinians, as it only serves to sow the seeds of further violence for all communities.
As trade unionists, we also have to look at this with the regional labour regime in mind: The harsh response by the Israeli government sets back the rights and safety of both Israeli and Palestinian workers. It is not possible to understand the labour situation in the region without understanding the legalised exploitation of Palestinian workers. The militarised system of work permits not only hurts Palestinians, but also undermines the bargaining position of Israeli workers. Our trade union’s decision to issue a blanket statement of support for the government of Israel at this time, while remaining silent about the brutal nature of the onslaught on civilians in Gaza is deeply disappointing. Such a statement is also highly inappropriate as it is out of line with the convictions of many trade union members.
Moreover, we are alarmed at the domestic response by the German state: in recent weeks, German authorities have suppressed free speech and protests – arresting people of all backgrounds, including Israelis and Jews, for opposing the bombardment of civilians in Gaza. This is based on blanket accusations of hate speech, which the DGB has itself repeated. This draconian restriction of gatherings and protests perpetuates and nourishes a growing fascist threat by limiting our fundamental rights and embracing the AfD’s xenophobic and racist rhetoric about minorities and our communities in Germany.
As Jewish trade union members in Germany, we know our history: we are all too aware of the vile harms of fascism and nationalism, just as we remember that Jews and trade unionists were amongst the first to be targeted by the Nazi regime. We also know that antisemitism is unfortunately deeply anchored within contemporary Germany and is certainly not a phenomenon that can merely be imputed onto migrant communities as “imported antisemitism.” State elections in Hessen and Bavaria in October 2023 show that antisemitism, and indeed hatred of minorities generally, is not merely a threat of the past in Germany, but a present and growing threat to the safety of all minority communities today.
As Jews and trade unionists who know this history, we cannot tolerate right-wing rhetoric creeping into the labour movement, nor can we be silent as entire segments of Germany’s increasingly diverse populations are accused of antisemitism and tarred with violent and dehumanising language. We refuse to let our union misrepresent our views, especially when such misguided statements are ostensibly made in solidarity with our own Jewish communities. The statements issued by ver.di and the DGB do not speak for many of your members, and they certainly do not speak for us, nor do such statements make us safer as Jews - whether here in Germany, or in Israel.
In line with UNI Global Union, ITUC, and other trade union organisations around the world, we call on the union to adopt a statement that shows solidarity with both the Israelis and Palestinians harmed by the recent escalation of violence in the region. Solidarity with Jewish victims of terror does not negate our solidarity towards Palestinians and our duty to safeguard their human rights.
In concrete terms, such a statement must include calls for:
An immediate cease-fire;
Safe return of all Israeli hostages;
An end to the siege blocking humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and electricity from reaching
Gaza;
Recognition of both Israeli and Palestinian right to dignity and safety.
We also ask that the union affirm the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly as core tenets of the labour movement. As labour activists, we cannot abide the erosion of these rights, nor can we sit back and watch as authorities restrict our fundamental rights and shrink the realm of public space for civil society. Our solidarity is most critical when it is most difficult to find. We sign this document to promote internal debate of this complex and dire situation within the trade union movement of Germany.
Around 100 trade unionists responded to the call, which had been issued by the Peace Working Group of the Berlin GEW and was also supported by colleagues from other trade unions. Among others, there were speeches by IG Metall and ver.di colleagues who expressed their dissatisfaction with how little solidarity the executive boards of their organizations show with all victims of war. They pointed out that many trade unions in other countries are positively different. There are also resolutions from the world federations of industrial trade unions and public service unions that have taken a critical stance on Israel’s mass murder in Gaza. However, these have not been disseminated in their German member organizations. A young female colleague, who introduced herself as a trade unionist, migrant and Jew, also received a lot of applause and discussed the unconditional support for Israel that has been declared a reason of state in Germany.
While trade unions in Germany are largely silent on the genocide in Gaza, the situation is completely different at international level. The congress of the EPSU (European Public Services Union), which represents 6 million employees through its member unions in the individual countries, met in Bucharest from June 18-20. From Germany, ver.di and the Marburger Bund are member unions.
The congress discussed and passed many important resolutions on the defense of public services and working conditions in the public sector. However, it also passed a resolution on the war in the Middle East. [1]
This resolution makes no distinction between the victims, as we know it from politics and the media in Germany. It names 7th October 2023 as the starting point of the current war, but also states: “We recognize that the policies of Israeli governments over the past decades (well illustrated by the ruthless expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory) are an undeniable factor in the current terrible situation.” The strength of this resolution is that it states in clear terms the ongoing violence against the civilian population:
“However, Israel’s military response to this attack is disproportionate and is to be condemned. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 8 May, more than 35,000 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed in the war between Hamas and Israel (including hundreds of health care workers and humanitarian aid workers, 179 of them from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - UNRWA). There have been even more casualties and many families have been internally displaced. The attacks in Gaza have brought public services to a virtual standstill and destroyed vital infrastructure such as hospitals and other health facilities. A large number of children, women and men have limited or no access to water, food, electricity, shelter, healthcare and other support. Public sector workers are unable to carry out their duties. We are experiencing a major humanitarian crisis that is a clear violation of international law and our shared values. Hunger and misery in Palestine are increasing every day, especially among children and vulnerable people.”
And so the trade union federation also comes to clear demands: “For this reason, we believe that the international community must mobilize all means to end this conflict, obtain the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, lift the blockade of Gaza and enforce human rights for the Palestinian population. We call for the release of Palestinian civilians imprisoned in Israeli jails for political reasons. We recall that the Geneva Convention of 1864 and its Additional Protocols provide standards for the minimum protection of persons and for their humane treatment, as well as basic guarantees of respect for and compliance with individuals who are victims of armed conflict.”
It is also noteworthy that EPSU supports the peaceful demonstrations against the genocide: “We call for the full implementation of the six emergency provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26… …We support peaceful protests and condemn attempts to silence a democratic mobilization.” Something ver.di in Germany unfortunately does not do.
The EPSU statement is available on its website in six languages. It can be downloaded, copied, brought into trade union branches and companies and distributed. This can effectively break the discussion blockade within ver.di, which does not follow the international solidarity of the employees, but the rhetoric of the German state.
Within the trade union ver.di, clear questions should also be put to the board and the delegates at this congress in Bucharest:
Did you agree to this resolution or not?
If not, why not and who decided?
If yes, why is it not being publicized and implemented? Why is ver.di not calling for a ceasefire and for demonstrations against the genocide?
Why is it not on the ver.di website? Why is the EPSU solidarity declaration on Ukraine there, but not the one on Gaza? Why is there no report on this congress?
International solidarity and the fight for trade union democracy go hand in hand!
We are here today as members of trade unions and the labour movement, to stand in solidarity with those bearing the cost of shocking abuse by police in Germany over recent years. The court cases today are among some of the first stemming from the dramatic escalation in abusive conduct by police in the past 13 months, which have completely trampled on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly - both of which are supposedly core civil liberties in this country.
Last October 2023, the German government and the Berlin police effectively suspended these rights for Palestinians and allies of Palestinians, who have faced brutal attacks from police simply for gathering to mourn and raise awareness for the dangerous conditions unfolding in Gaza - in what by then was already clearly the start of Israel’s genocidal campaign on Palestinians in Gaza - which has done nothing but continue to grow and escalate in its brutality, severity, and scope - from Gaza, to the West Bank, to Lebanon over the past year, with the active participation and complicity of German, European, and U.S. political support and weapons.
The role that the German government and here locally, Berlin police, have played in opening up an internal front to suppress Palestinians in their right to come together to mourn for their loved ones, and to organize for the safety, dignity, and wellbeing of their families is an utter disgrace, and marks an alarming turning point for our society and civil liberties.
Today, a minor faces trial and criminal charges. Families sitting and eating at a chicken shop on Sonnenallee were harassed and racially profiled by police simply for wearing kuffiyehs and wearing symbols of solidarity with Palestine. Police continued to provoke individuals until the police officers found an excuse to escalate the encounter and use force against people who moments prior had been sitting, eating, and minding their business.
Over the past year we have seen countless examples of police using unprecedented levels of brutality and violence, as well as deeply alarming surveillance tactics, against people engaging in Palestine solidarity. These have always demonstrated a shocking level of selective enforcement and racial profiling, and a crude disregard for the checks and balances that are intended to protect society from government and police impunity and abuse of power.
Berlin is home to the largest Palestinian community in all of Europe, and disgracefully, the German government has been an active partner in the brutal assault on Palestinians. At the international level, the German government’s policy of continuing to arm the Israeli military - despite domestic and international courts raising the alarm that these are being used to perpetrate crimes against humanity - dangerously undermines the international post-war legal order. The police’s assault on civil liberties domestically mirrors this perfectly, and is an alarming sign of dangerous times. Although trade union leadership in Germany has been largely silent and complicit in arms production and military armament, rank and file members will not be silent. As trade unionists, we stand in solidarity with anyone fighting to exercise their right to gather and express their political voice and speak out, and we will always stand in solidarity with those fighting against abuse of power.
