The horrific events unfolding in Israel and Gaza in recent weeks are a stark reminder to the world that the occupation of Palestine must end. It is heart wrenching to witness so many families mourning their loved ones. We want to express our collective sympathy with social work colleagues who are personally affected through connections with Israeli and Palestinian family members and friends who have been killed, injured and made homeless.
The Social Work Action Network has always supported the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom and recognises that the root cause of the conflict today lies in the dispossession of the Palestinians through the creation of the state of Israel and the racist apartheid system which governs the lives of everyone living within the borders of historic Palestine.
Today we are seeing a total siege imposed on Gaza, the closing of all borders to prevent Palestinians leaving and preparations for an invasion. Cutting off electricity, water and food along with continuous bombing are acts of collective punishment against 2.3 million civilians and have been rightly condemned by the UN.
We condemn attempts by governments in the US, the UK and other European countries to encourage the police to arrest those who are protesting against the terror unleashed on the Palestinian people and labelling those who do so as antisemitic. We reject the claim that to be critical of the actions of the Israeli government is to be anti-semitic.
As a campaigning organisation the Social Work Action Network has a long history of standing up against injustice and oppression and call on SWAN supporters to support the protests in solidarity with Palestine being called in many countries.
