Why are trade unions obsessed with Palestine?

Once defenders of the working class, trade unions have been captured by the anti-Israel Left

Trade unions were once the backbone of working-class life. They were tasked primarily with fighting for higher wages, job security, and better working conditions. In recent years, however, British trade unions have taken up a new cause, the “Palestinian struggle”.

For a while now, the face of trade unionism has not been a bolshy miner or steelworker, but a middle-class leftist in the public sector wearing a pride flag lanyard and a keffiyeh. This shift among trade unions is best demonstrated by Britain’s biggest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), which has decided to hold a workshop in June to train members in how to “advocate for Palestine in our schools” – a striking example of just how far unions have drifted from their core purpose.

The educational group running the workshop, Makan, says it is “aimed at strengthening the movement for Palestinian liberation”.

This push to indoctrinate children with anti-Israel propaganda is deeply concerning by itself. But equally concerning is how the labour movement more broadly became so captured by Israelophobia.

After all, it’s not just the middle-class NEU that is spreading lies about Israel. UNISON, the University and College Union, the Public Services Union, and the Trade Unions Congress have all aligned themselves with Palestine and against Israel. Some have even gone so far as to accuse Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid”.

To me, it seems odd that Palestinian liberation has replaced workers’ liberation as the focus of trade unions, especially since the main representatives of the Palestinians, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, have consistently demonstrated disregard for workers’ rights. In Hamas-controlled Gaza, labour rights are practically absent, independent trade unions face harassment, and labour activists are suppressed. Hamas has even used child labour to build its terror tunnel network, resulting in many deaths from cave-ins.

Meanwhile, Palestinians working in Israel receive higher wages and better working conditions than anywhere else, with a guaranteed minimum wage, paid vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, severance pay, and limits on working hours.

Furthermore, far from being an apartheid state, Israel guarantees equal rights for all its citizens. In stark contrast, Israelis taken hostage by Hamas have been tortured, abused, starved, and murdered. Additionally, Israel has taken many steps to reduce civilian casualties, including dropping leaflets and sending text messages encouraging civilians to move to safe zones. Notably, Israel evacuated 1 million civilians out of Rafah in an attempt to save lives before beginning its assault on the city. When Israel did this, however, it was unfairly accused of “ethnic cleansing”.

There are rational sovereignist arguments to be made for Palestinian self-determination, and there are valid criticisms to be made of Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza. But why are unions so singularly obsessed with Palestinians when there are other stateless people, such as the Tibetans, Uighurs, and Kurds, who do not receive any attention? Why, for example, is China not called out for its persecution and enslavement of the Uyghurs? Why haven’t unions taken up the cause of Kurdish independence? Why is there no boycott movement against Turkey and Iran for their violent suppression of the Kurds? By singling out Israel as uniquely bad while refusing to condemn other countries with much worse human rights records, the trade unions have exposed their hypocrisy and prejudice against the world’s only Jewish state.

One might wonder why a “Palestinian struggle” 3,000 miles away would be of any interest to British trade unions, but the question would be moot. It is a sign that the increasingly middle-class labour movement has become detached from the interests of workers. From trans rights to Palestine, trade unions have become a platform to advocate for fashionable causes. Rather than being solely focused on higher pay, better working conditions, and job security, union leaders have become left-wing hobbyists.

While of course, trade unions should be free to champion any cause they like, the strident focus on Palestine in particular is especially toxic and risks dividing workers into ethnic and religious blocs. A recent survey from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, for example, found that nearly two-thirds of Jewish employees have encountered anti-Semitism in the workplace. This goes to show just how much worker solidarity has been harmed by false narratives Israel that sometimes cross the line into anti-Semitism.

If trade unions want to be taken seriously, then they need to stop needlessly attacking Israel and instead refocus on their core task of advancing workers’ rights.