A Statement from the UK Sex Workers Union
- By Abla Abdelhadi
Introduction from Abla Abdelhadi
All support for my people in Gaza under the genocidal Zionist campaign is important. But this statement is especially meaningful to me as a Palestinian Jordanian feminist. It demonstrates to Arab societies that while Arab leaders spout empty statements of "solidarity" with Gaza, it is the people of the world who are taking a firm stance against genocide.
In Jordan recently, a course on feminism met heated public opposition, with accusations that feminism harms Arab families and societies. Meanwhile, Gazans suffering genocide at Israel's hands watch Arab governments continue to normalise relations with Israel. All the mass protests in Jordan make the same demand: that Jordan end its 1994 Peace Treaty with Israel. The treaty enables political, diplomatic, and economic cooperation with Israel, as well as a military partnership to guard the shared border. Jordanians are calling out their government for its hypocrisy in claiming to support Gazans and Palestinians, while simultaneously working with the colonial state that is slaughtering them.
Paradigms can change in this critical moment. The Arab world sees the solidarity coming from sex workers, as well as from Lebanese porn star Mya Khalifa, who lost her job for speaking out in support of Gaza. We must replace the patriarchal public discourse that equates rights for women with destruction of Arab society, with a public discourse that exposes our governments' complicity with the Zionist regime that is literally destroying Arab societies like Gaza.
Thank you, UK Sex Workers Union for this courageous statement of solidarity. For demonstrating the conscience, morals, and political leadership that Arab governments lack.
Statement of Solidarity from the UK Sex Workers Union
We, the Sex Workers' Union, stand in explicit and unequivocal solidarity with the people of Palestine.
There are no words that can adequately convey the depth of our horror, and the strength of our condemnation, at the dehumanisation and genocidal violence enacted upon the Palestinian people by the settler colony of Israel.
We mourn for the loss of civilian lives, of Palestinians, Israelis and foreign nationals, who have been made victims of the ongoing occupation and conflict. The number of deaths, almost half of which are children, cannot be allowed to grow any further.
We cannot stand back and watch as the state of Israel continues to enforce an illegal occupation, blockade and apartheid, forcing the people of Gaza to live within the largest open air prison in lands they have been continually dispossessed from.
The escalating violence, specifically the indiscriminate destruction of Gaza, of homes, hospitals, schools, churches, mosques and the Rafah crossing, as well as the collective punishment of the civilian population of Palestine, must be met with global condemnation and most importantly, direct action.
We call upon our fellow trade unions to heed the call of Palestinian trade unions:
"to end all complicity with Israel's crimes - most urgently halting the arms trade with Israel, as well as funding and military research.
1. To refuse to build weapons destined for Israel.
2. To refuse to transport weapons to Israel.
3. To pass motions in their trade union to this effect.
4. To take action against complicit companies involved in implementing Israel's brutal and illegal siege, especially if they have contracts with your institution.
5. Pressure governments to stop all military trade with Israel, and in the case of the US, funding to it."
As sex workers, we stand against the violence of borders, imperial and colonial violence, and all state sanctioned violence against oppressed and marginalised peoples.
We recognise, and want to make clear, that this is a struggle against a colonial entity, and not a religious conflict. Standing with the people of Palestine is not a stand against Judaism nor Jewish people, and we hold strong in solidarity with our Jewish members and Jewish comrades in their fight against antisemitism and colonialism.
As workers, united, we must speak out and take action to prevent any further colonial brutality, and for the liberation of all oppressed peoples.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
Click here for the UK Sex Workers Union website.
ABLA ABDELHADI is a Palestinian Jordanian, who has lived most of her life on Algonquin Territory in colonized canada. She started her career at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and other UN agencies and international human rights NGOs. Frustrated with their inefficiency in enforcing international human rights law, Abla shifted to organising in social justice movements. She works on Indigenous solidarity, feminism, disability justice, Palestine solidarity, and BDS campaigns. She is currently writing her first book on women survivors of violence.
