TUFI Delegations to Israel and Palestine
TUFI regularly organises trade union delegations to Israel and the West Bank, helping trade unionists gain a better understanding of trade unionism in the region as well as the issues affecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
TUFI's most recent delegation to Israel and Palestine (November 2009) comprised of delegates from the GMB, USDAW, Community Union, Advance Union, Unison and Unite.
The trip involved a full itinerary, including briefings with sister unions, factory visits, a tour of the Old City in Jerusalem, and meetings with the PGFTU, government officials, ministers and others.
Read the full delegation report below or, alternatively, click here to read the PDF version.
Full Delegation Report: 1 - 6 November 2009
The delegates
Sheila Bearcroft, GMB Executive Council Member & TUC President 2009
Gerry Moloney, Advance Union, Head of Communications
Mike Dixon, Usdaw National Executive Member
Robert Mooney, Community Union National Executive Member
Duncan Harrod, Community Union, PR & Communications Officer
Terry McCorron, Unison Branch Chair (attending in a personal capacity)
Joe McGowan, a Unite Regional Officer
The delegation was led by TUFI Chair, Roger Lyons, and the TUFI team.
TUFI delegations to Israel and Palestine aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the politics and society of the region: focusing on trade union issues, Israeli-Palestinian trade union co-operation, the demographically diverse peoples of both Israel and Palestine, Israel’s security dilemmas and Palestinian progress towards statehood.
The visit included high level meetings with Israeli and Palestinian trade unionists, parliamentarians, diplomats and opinion formers from across Israel and the West Bank.
The delegation coincided with a visit to the region by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who was hoping to reach a breakthrough on restarting peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. The main sticking point was the issue of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal by the international community. The possible outcome of Clinton’s meetings and the effects on the peace process were the subject of many discussions during the delegation.
Monday 2 November, Jerusalem
The first day of the delegation began with a busy day of briefings and a tour of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is one of the most historic cities in the world and holds a special place for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
Terry McCorran, Unison
The tour started at the top of the Mount of Olives to take in the magnificent views overlooking the Old City and beyond. The delegation was then taken through the Old City to see the Jewish, Arab, Armenian and Christian quarters, the Western Wall, the Garden of Gethsemane and the church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Lunch was provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in the King David Hotel, which was once the headquarters of the British Secretariat during British Mandate Rule. The MFA officials talked about the existential threat to Israel from Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, and fielded questions from the delegates. One significant point the diplomats repeatedly raised was the growing PR campaign against Israel. They argued that because Israel had not been beaten militarily, it was now subject to an increasingly vicious propaganda campaign around the world.
After lunch the delegation went to meet the Labour Party Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog MK at the Knesset - the centre of Israel’s democracy. Minister Herzog spoke about Labour’s bad results at the last General Election, but was also keen to emphasise that his party still wielded great influence within the governing coalition and “punches above its weight”.
He spent time outlining the work his department has been doing to help Israel’s Arab communities, noting that there had been a 30 percent increase in the amount spent on community cohesion over the last year. He said one of his main aims was to close social gaps between different communities and empower Arab-Israeli women.
Minister Herzog also addressed the matter of tribal politics in Israel. Owing to Israel's very pure form of proportional representation, the twelve parties that are represented in the Knesset reflect the diversity of Israel’s electorate, which includes immigrants from all over the world with specific religious and cultural connections. This was exemplified after the meeting when the delegation was taken into the Knesset’s chamber while it was in session and heard an Arab-Israeli parliamentarian making a speech against some of the government’s policies in the West Bank.
Next was a meeting at the American Colony hotel in East Jerusalem with Ben Scott, a representative of the UN Middle East Quartet who works under Tony Blair. He told the delegates that the Quartet’s main work involves: facilitating movement around the West Bank, opening crossings and checkpoints, obtaining permits for Palestinians working in Israel and helping with security and economic development.
He spoke about some big changes on the ground in the West Bank, such as significant growth in the Palestinian economy and the removal of several military checkpoints. He said the rule of law had also greatly improved with the development and training of a more contiguous Palestinian Authority security force. Comparing these improvements with the situation in Gaza, he noted that people there had to live with “order without law”.
In the evening the delegates ended a busy day with dinner hosted by the Union of Clerks, Administrative Public Service Employees (UCAPSE), which is the largest trade union in Israel.
Tuesday 3 November
The second day began with more rain in Jerusalem and an early start for a meeting with the Jerusalem Municipality Employees’ Committee at the City Hall. The Committee is made up of people representing workers from both East and West Jerusalem and the delegation heard how Jews and Arabs work together in Jerusalem, despite their differences.
Gerry Moloney, Advance Union
On the question of boycotts of Israel, the consensus was that it would hit low paid Arab workers first, and it would be them, not the Israeli government, that would suffer. They were exasperated and said that there must be countless other avenues that people could pursue if they want to aid peace in the region without harming ordinary workers.
After the meeting the delegation was driven to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Centre in Jerusalem, which was established in 1953 and now hosts over a million visitors a year.
For lunch the delegation met with staff at the Sourasky Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, which was followed by a presentation and a tour of the hospital. The hospital has a special programme to bring Palestinian children to the hospital when they require specialist treatment and the delegation visited some of the wards to meet a number of young children and their parents from Gaza.
The last meeting of the day was at the Histadrut’s headquarters with Chairman Ofer Eini. Ofer spoke about the Histadrut’s relationship with the new coalition government, which he personally helped to broker. He said this had given the Histadrut unprecedented influence and since the new government had been formed, he had been able to negotiate and push through new legislation on pensions, nursery places and equal rights. Altogether, twelve new labour laws have been passed, which has subsequently helped the Histadrut recruit more members.
Ofer said his relationship with the leadership of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) was better than ever and he had recently secured pensions for Palestinian workers in Israel. He said he hoped that together they would be able show the way for their political leaders and provide a valuable contribution to the peace process. He criticised the boycott campaign and said it seemed like it was being engineered simply to cause damage and split the budding relationship between Palestinian and Israeli trade unionists.
The long day was rounded off with a dinner hosted by the Employees’ Committee of one of Israel’s largest supermarket chains, Blue Square.
Wednesday 4 November, Nablus
The third day of the delegation started with a visit to the Israeli settlement of Alfe Menashe. Alfe Menashe neighbours Qalqilya, a Palestinian town almost completely encircled by the security barrier. The delegates were given a tour of the barrier and were able to view the lay of the land from a strategic viewing platform. From this position, Israel can be seen at its narrowest and shows how vulnerable the country is to attacks.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) guide who gave the briefing spoke about the 90 percent drop in terrorist attacks on Israel since the erection of the barrier in August 2003. He also explained that over 95 percent of the barrier is a fence, which gives the IDF the flexibility to open new gates as and when they are needed, or quickly remove it completely if the peace process allows.
A lot of questions were fielded from the delegates about access for Palestinian workers and the route of the barrier. These are some of the most controversial aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The guide said the route of the barrier had been changed many times due to rulings made by the Israeli Supreme Court and pointed out a section that was in the process of being relocated to prevent a nearby Palestinian village from being cut-off from Qalqilya. He said the principle established in Israeli law was that the barrier is only legal as a security measure and only allowed if the disruption caused to Palestinians is proportionate to the security threat to Israel.
The IDF guide also told the delegation about the recent increase in co-operation between the Israeli military and Palestinian police, which has led to the opening of 50 new Palestinian police stations in areas where Israel has sole security responsibility under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
From the border, the delegation drove into the West Bank toward the Palestinian city of Nablus. Since 1995, the day-to-day administration of Nablus has been the purview of the Palestinian National Authority, though Israel retains control over entrances and exits to the city. Nablus is a commercial trade center dealing in traditional industries such as the production of soap and olive oil.
The delegation stopped just south of the city at the Hawara checkpoint, which is one of the busiest in the West Bank. It used to be a major friction point, but Israel has recently closed the old crossing and now waves the traffic through, only carrying out random checks. This decision followed the removal of other checkpoints, such as Beit Iba in West Nablus.
After driving straight through the checkpoint the delegation continued on to Nablus for a meeting with the acting Governor of the city, Anan Atteereh, who spoke at length about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and garnered a lively discussion with the delegates. She said the economy in Nablus had improved over the last few years, but wanted the delegates to understand that the Israeli occupation, security situation and settlements still caused great problems and animosity. She concluded the meeting by saying the Palestinian Authority was ready to negotiate and urged the delegation to put pressure on Israel to stop building more settlements in the West Bank.
The delegation then travelled through the city to have lunch with regional PGFTU delegates at their head office, followed by a meeting with the General Secretary, Shaher Sa’ed.
Shaher spoke about his willingness to contribute to the peace process and work with the Histadrut.
When asked about the PGFTU’s position on boycotts, he said that he preferred to focus on helping workers, but added that the PGFTU did have a boycott policy with regard to produce from West Bank settlements. However, he said that he had concerns about whether a boycott would do more harm than good for the 30,000 Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements.
Mike Dixon, USDAW
The delegates then went on a walkabout tour of the famous Old City of Nablus, which was mainly built during Ottoman Rule. The delegation walked through the narrow streets of the souk and several delegates tried the famous native sweet dish, Kanafeh.
The group then returned to Tel Aviv for dinner with the British Ambassador to Israel, HE Tom Phillips. The discussion centred on the Goldstone Report as well as the US administration’s failure to secure a settlement construction freeze from the Israeli government.
Thursday 5 November, Sderot
The final day began with a journey to Sderot in southern Israel. Sderot is the Israeli town most heavily affected by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza and the delegation was shown the rocket shelters and the reinforced roofs of children’s play areas and public buildings.
Delegates heard first-hand the terror inflicted upon the town over the last eight years from more than eight thousand rocket attacks; three hundred of which have been fired since the end of conflict in Gaza. The delegation was also taken to see the town’s ever increasing collection of spent Qassam rockets, long-range Katyusha missiles and mortar shells.
After the briefing the group moved on to a nearby vantage point from which nearly the whole of the Gaza Strip could be seen.
The delegation then went on a tour of the Osem food factory. Delegates were told about the workers impressive terms and conditions and were able to see the food production and health and safety procedures of the modern food processing plant. Ominously there were also bomb shelters and evacuation procedures in the factory for when the air raid warnings sounded. The delegation was told that when the warning alarm sounds, all Sderot residents have less than 15 seconds to run for cover.
The delegation moved onto have lunch at the Ashkelon power station, which was followed by a presentation. Despite being a target of rocket attacks, the power station continually provides two-thirds of Gaza’s electricity needs. The station’s ethos is “taking the problem of electricity out of the conflict”.
The delegation was then taken on a poignant sunset tour of the station which is immediately adjacent to the Gazan border.
Back in Tel Aviv, the end of the delegation took in a leaving dinner by the port of Jaffa, where we thanked our hosts, and a final tour of the old town of Jaffa.
TUFI would like to thank Avital Shapira-Shabirow, Director of the Histadrut International Department for co-ordinating the delegation, the PGFTU for hosting the activities in Nablus, and all the unions for their hospitality.
TUFI takes regular delegations to Israel and the Palestinian territories for British trade unionists. If you are interested in attending the next trip or would like any further information, please contact us.
TUFI kept a blog throughout this year’s delegation. To read posts from the delegates and to see more photos of the delegation, please visit the visit the blog.
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