A ceasefire has been in effect in Gaza since October 10, but Israel has not stopped its brutal violence. More than 220 Palestinians were killed in three weeks. On Tuesday, more than 100 people were massacred in 24 hours. Israel continues to refuse to accept the amount of aid agreed to in the ceasefire. Materials and equipment for reconstruction and large-scale medical evacuations are being blocked.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers and settlers continue to attack Palestinians and their property with impunity. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including 213 children. Just on October 16, Israeli forces shot and killed a 9-year-old child who was playing soccer with his friends.
It is clear that a ceasefire will not stop the killings as long as Israel receives political, military and logistical support from the West to continue its occupation and colonization of Palestine. Two years of street protests around the world have put pressure on governments to reverse their positions on Israel, but no major changes have been achieved.
Massive labor mobilization may be the answer. European trade unions, in particular, are in a unique position to play a central role in undermining governments’ support for Israel. Given the active trade between Israel and European countries and the logistical importance of European ports, workers from many sectors could make a difference by organizing on behalf of Palestine.
Over the past two years, millions of people have marched across Europe, but governments have largely ignored calls to end all support for Israel. Even the Irish government does significant trade with Israel, despite being a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights. Ireland will become Israel’s third largest importer in 2024.
Public marches often act as pressure valves, channeling dissent and reducing pressure on governments for policy changes. However, industrial action is different. Workers drive the economy. If they refuse to do their jobs, the consequences can be politically and economically costly.
Unlike protest marches, strikes and industrial action can cripple supply chains, raise production costs and force concessions. Unions have organizational experience in strategically escalating actions that turn economic turmoil into political pressure, from localized economic slowdowns to nationwide strikes.
In liberal democracies, trade unions remain the most effective means by which people can force governments to act. And recent history is full of evidence of that.
For example, trade unions in Western countries played an active role in fighting the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Irish anti-apartheid strike at Dunn’s Store in July 1984, when workers refused to carry South African products in protest against apartheid, was a landmark in the history of workers’ struggles. Similarly, in November 1984, longshoremen in San Francisco took a stand by refusing to unload cargo from South Africa.
These and other examples of solidarity actions by workers increased the momentum of anti-apartheid movements in Western countries and eventually led to governments imposing formal sanctions on the apartheid regime.
disrupt EU-Israel trade
The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for 32% of Israel’s total merchandise trade in 2024. The EU supplies 34.2% of Israel’s imports and receives 28.8% of its exports. Much of Israel’s military supplies and logistics come from EU member states. Disrupting this supply chain could directly undermine Israel’s war machine.
Ports are important choke points in this chain because they control the flow of goods. The suspension of cargo shipments to and from Israel due to selective industrial action at ports would have significant consequences. While such measures would hit Israel hard, the impact on the EU economy would be minimal, as Israeli products account for only 0.8% of the EU’s total trade.
Moreover, disruption to EU ports would have ripple effects throughout Europe. Much of Israel’s trade with the United States, Israel’s largest trading partner with trade volume of goods and services reaching $55 billion in 2024, passes through major ports in Europe. Increasing freight costs by blocking transshipments or forcing ships to avoid EU hubs could cause Israel’s logistics costs to skyrocket.
Unions can also take action by refusing to handle goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Or you can go further and refuse to carry products destined for or from Israel. This makes trading with Israel significantly more costly for small and medium-sized businesses and businesses in Europe.
In doing so, trade unions comply with international law and act in accordance with established human rights principles.
Given the wide scope of industrial protests, the Solidarity movement should seek collaboration with trade unions across Europe. Solidarity groups could focus on rallying public support, promoting consumer boycotts, and educating local communities about Palestinian history and Israeli actions. These activities maintain legitimacy, expand the support base, and keep the Palestinian struggle in the public consciousness.
Unions, on the other hand, can take direct action at production sites and ports to stop the flow of goods to Israel.
The coalition of solidarity movements and trade unions will move the struggle from symbolic protests to a substantive confrontation with the regime that supports Israel’s wars. In September, Italian activists and workers launched a nationwide strike in Gaza, demonstrating how effective such collective action can be.
Focus on labor and human rights
Israel’s wars and colonization of Palestine are particularly dependent on its close relationships with European and North American companies. Many of these companies are also major employers in these places, exploiting workers, lowering wages, and lobbying for labor deregulation while profiting from occupation and war. They support Israel and encourage governments to buy weapons and technology tested on Palestinians and use them to monitor and repress their own populations.
This creates common ground for solidarity movements and trade unions to unite against a common oppressor. By disrupting Israeli supply chains, unions can not only weaken Israel’s war effort, but also hold companies accountable for prioritizing profits over human lives, whether Palestinian or European.
This combination of solidarity movements and union efforts is critical, especially now as Israel turns to low-level killings and starvation under the guise of a ceasefire to quell global outrage.
We are already seeing this pattern of continuation of genocidal violence within previously concluded agreements, highlighting why symbolic gestures and diplomatic commitments are not enough to stop genocide in Gaza. Only concrete, coordinated action can defeat Israel’s war machine.
European trade unions have the power to do just that by destroying Israel’s economic lifeline through strategic industrial action. By targeting war-mongering supply chains, unions can put pressure on complicit companies and force governments to abandon their empty rhetoric. Symbolic protests and chants against the war will not stop Israel from killing Palestinian children. Workers must unite, stand up and end colonial-era violence in Palestine.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
