On 17 May, the National Union of Students national executive council passed policy on Israel-Palestine - itself something of a departure for NUS. What it passed was a toned down version of a "left" motion remitted from national conference in April to the NEC.
Immediately, the Union of Jewish Students issued a statement condemning the very fact that the NEC had taken the vote. It described the decision as being made by "around 10... activists - most ex-students - [who] spoke on behalf of 7 million students". In fact there were 16 NEC members present, and they were not just random NUS activists (let alone "ex-students" who had sneakily crept in!) but representatives elected through NUS's (yes, very imperfect - no thanks to UJS) democratic structures. The total size of the NEC is about 40, so no doubt any decision could be condemned as "a few dozen activists speaking for million of students".
There is a grain of truth in UJS's criticism. The meeting was almost inquorate, and in any case, it is not ideal that the NEC should set policy on an issue that is never debated at NUS conference. On the other hand, it is the NUS leadership of which UJS is part which is the main force working to prevent such a discussion! We should be very sceptical about people condemning a vote simply because they don't like the outcome. At the same time, we would advocate a vigorous discussion up and down the student movement on Israel-Palestine, not just a snap NEC vote which the "left" wins because the meeting was poorly attended. (It seems very likely that the next NEC meeting will overturn the decision anyway.)
So much for procedure. What about the substance of the motion?
While the central focus must be on organising students to fight cuts and fees, Workers' Liberty supports student unions and NUS taking positions on international solidarity - including with the Palestinians. (We take the same sort of position in the trade unions.) We are in favour of NUS actively opposing Israel's oppression of the Palestinians and supporting the Palestinian struggle - not bland platitudes about "peace" covering up for equivocation.
However, the policy passed by NUS NEC is both wrong politically and dishonest.
Dishonest because if the authors of it were honest they would have said: "We believe Israel is an apartheid state, comparable to South Africa before 1994. We support the dismantling of Israel and its replacement with a single state covering all of pre-1948 Palestine. As a means towards this we support a boycott of all aspects of the Israeli state, economy and society. We make solidarity with all Palestinian resistance movements, including or most of all Hamas, and believe it is inappropriate to criticise them. We do not want to work with any Israelis, even vehement opponents of the Israeli government, except the vanishingly tiny minority who believe in the dismantling of Israel."
Instead not even the apartheid comparison or the call for a boycott were stated forthrightly. Instead the motion hides behind phrases such as "has been compared by... Desmond Tutu to the Apartheid regime" and "the TUC supports a boycott of good produced and companies operating in Israel's illegal settlements".
The motion uses the ambiguous phrase "freedom for Palestine" and "the right to return for all refugees", instead of stating clearly what it wants. It also advocates links with "students at the Islamic University of Gaza", a Hamas stronghold. There is, of course, not a word of criticism of Hamas and its drive to build a one-party theocratic state in Gaza, destroying the labour movement and all elements of democracy in the process (or a word about its rancid, anti-semitic chauvinism towards Israelis).
We believe that the essential elements of a rational, democratic, internationalist policy on Israel-Palestine are:
● Immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories; evacuation of the settlements; dismantling of the Wall;
● A Palestinian state with the same rights as Israel, alongside Israel, in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, on the 1967 borders;
● Support for the Palestinians' plans to declare independence in September;
● A generous, negotiated settlement to the refugee question;
● No to boycotts of Israel, which are harmful and counter-productive; yes to positive, active solidarity with the Palestinians, particularly the Palestinian left and labour movement, and with left, anti-racist, anti-occupation and labour movements in Israel;
● In the student movement, opposition to both right-wing attempts to prevent discussion of Palestine and 'left' demonisation of anything connected to Israel, including comparisons between Israel (as distinct from the regime of colonial occupation in the West Bank) and apartheid South Africa. (For why we disagree with such comparisons, see here.)
We will continue to fight for these demands at every level of the student movement.
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The motion passed by NUS NEC
Conference believes:
1. Israel's continuing oppression of the Palestinians has been compared by South African trade unions and activists including Desmond Tutu to the Apartheid regime.
2. Israel does not allow Palestinian refugees or their descendents to return to the territory from which they were expelled in 1948. The population of the Gaza strip is subject to a blockade described by the Director of UNRWA Operations as a "Medieval siege".
3. Palestinian organisations have called for a policy of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. The TUC supports a boycott of goods produced and companies operating in Israel's illegal settlements.
4. Israel's attack on Gaza, launched in December 2008 killed over 1,400 Palestinians - more than 300 were children. Gaza's general infrastructure including schools, universities, hospitals and homes suffered enormous damage.
5. Since 2007 Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza which violates international law and leaves the people of Gaza short of food, medicines and other vital supplies such as cement. The damage caused by Israel's attack cannot be repaired.
6. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has had a detrimental impact on students. Gaza's electricity supply is controlled by Israel and shut-down for several hours most days, making it difficult for students to study. Moreover, the blockade means insufficient quantities of educational equipment, such as paper, desks and books, reach students.
7. The Trade Union Congress - representing 7 million people - has strongly condemned the siege on Gaza.
8. The National Union of Students has so far refused to join the growing movement in support of Palestinian human rights. For example, the NUS leadership refused to condemn Israel's war on Gaza in 2009 and failed to condemn the killing of 9 civilian peace activists onboard the Mavi Marmara - the international aid flotilla to Gaza - in May 2010.
Conference resolves:
1. To demand freedom for Palestine, calling for an end to the siege of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank and the right to return for all refugees.
2. To encourage unions to twin with universities in Palestine and to send an NUS delegation on future convoys to the Gaza strip.
3. To strongly condemn Israel's siege on Gaza and actively campaign for it to be lifted in accordance with international law.
4. To support the Palestinians' right to education by building links with students at the Islamic University of Gaza and other educational institutions in Gaza.
