I am ready to stand corrected, but I think this is historic. The motion approved is particularly notable because a proffered soft-Zionist amendment attempting to introduce some spurious 'balance' and 'moderation' into the motion was defeated. The motion condemns the attack on Gaza, calls for TUC support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, and is harshly critical of the racist Israeli trade union federation Histradut for having backed the Gaza aggression. Given that previous efforts to raise the boycott issue within national trade unions have often been followed by retreat under sustained counterattacks and legal threats by Israel's apologists, it is significant that the support for a boycott among trade unionists would appear to have increased. This is undoubtedly a result of the criminal attack on Gaza earlier this year. If this is actually implemented, it means the BDS campaign has real social weight behind it. It also means that Zionists of all shades are about to throw a massive tantrum.

Labels: boycott, gaza, Israel, palestine, trade unions