SINDYANNA SOLIDARITY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2012 :: RMTnews 31 SINDYANNA SOLIDARITY You can buy goods from Sindyanna, a women workers' cooperative in Galilee, through the RMT website and helpline Alongside baseball caps, pens and ties, you can now buy RMT olive oil, baskets and soap. And by doing so, you will be supporting women workers and trade unionists in a part of the world that needs all the solidarity we can give. As agreed by the union’s women’s conference and the annual general meeting, RMT has ordered this merchandise from Sindyanna, a women workers' cooperative in Galilee which is linked to the Workers' Advice Centre (WAC), a trade union project that unites Jewish and Arab workers and campaigns against the oppression of the Palestinian people. Sindyanna has a history of improving the situation of the most disadvantaged labour groups - Arab ‘unskilled’ women - by offering them social benefits not available under Israeli law which operates as an apartheid state. In addition, it runs several projects that aim to promote Arab women’s position in the society as well as providing them jobs with all labour rights. Sindyanna spends its income on social projects providing women with new skills, organising meetings between Arab and Jewish women and between Sindyanna’s women and women from cooperatives in the Palestinian territories and supporting WAC’s projects to promote employment of Arab women. Projects include a women’s training project, a basket- weaving project and a visitor centre in Kufr Manda. There is also a campaign to bring Arab women back to work as well as donating to documentary film on unemployment and to Bread and Roses exhibitions since 2009 Agricultural projects include planting of olive trees in Roha, public olive-picking days, meetings between WAC’s agriculture workers, WAC’s youth movement and Israeli peace activists. Hadas Lahav of Sindyanna explained that Israel was a conflict-ridden society. “Arab Palestinians are discriminated against in all walks of life. We at Sindyanna strive to build a society based on justice and equal opportunities for all its citizens. "We see WAC’s struggle to unite in struggle Jewish and Arab workers as an example to what a trade union should be. It is all about solidarity. “We try to create solidarity between people, producers in the Middle East and customers in the North, Arab women and Israeli women and Arab working women and Israeli peace activists. "We believe that a trade union can benefit from promoting solidarity between people whenever and wherever it emerges. “It is the best way to educate working people to develop and appreciate their movement. "We hope that RMT’s first order will set an example for other trade unions. We hope that these products will find their way to the hearts and minds of your members and help us demonstrate that working people of all nations share joint interests," she said. This merchandise is a practical way of showing solidarity with women workers and helping the efforts of Sindyanna and the Workers’ Advice Centre to organise and unite Arab and Jewish workers against oppression. Available from www.rmt.org.uk and the RMT helpline 0800 376 0376 EU imports from illegal Israeli settlements The European Union is importing 15 times more from Israel's settlements in the West Bank than from Palestinians, despite repeatedly declaring that the settlements are illegal and spending billions on efforts to develop the Palestinian economy. A report published today by a coalition of 22 non- governmental organisations, including Christian Aid and the Methodist Church, criticises the "inconsistency at the heart of EU policy". It calls for EU member states to issue strict guidelines on labelling products that are grown or made in the settlements, rather than in Israel. Among the settlement goods that are on sale in Europe are dates, grapes, citrus fruits, herbs, wines, cosmetics from Ahava, carbonation devices from SodaStream and plastic garden furniture produced by Keter. Such goods contribute to £188 million worth of exports from the West Bank settlements to Europe a year, compared to £12.3 million from Palestinians. The report, called Trading Away Peace, blames the discrepancy on Israel's policy of providing subsidies to settlers for infrastructure, business development and agriculture, while imposing "stringent restrictions on Palestinian access to market and resources". "Europe says settlements are illegal under international law and yet continues to trade with them," said William Bell, Policy and Advocacy Officer at Christian Aid UK and Ireland.