To demonstrate their support for Palestine, workers are planning for Thursday's Stop the War workplace day of action.

However, management is attempting to stifle pro-Palestine opinions in some companies. Supervisors at the east London hospital Homerton seek to prevent employees from donning lanyards and badges with Palestinian colours or emblems.

One of the workers at Homerton told Socialist Worker, “We have had complaints from people who support Israel about organising for Palestine. The hospital trust treats this as if Zionists and Palestinians are going through the same thing, which of course they are not.

“The trust’s communications with us make me sick, because they say that those people who complain have a good cause to be frightened and distressed. But that’s a joke. They aren’t distressed—they just don’t want people to show solidarity with Palestine. It’s not about distress—it’s about silencing people.”

The hospital’s actions are having a sickening effect on some workers. “People are intimidated—people want to see a ceasefire and an end to the genocide so they want to organise,” the worker said.

“But we can’t talk about Palestine like we do outside of work. Muslim colleagues are in a difficult situation. Now they have to police themselves ten times more than others because the assumption is that they would support Palestine, so they are under more surveillance.”  

Homerton’s stance over Palestine is also deeply hypocritical. “No one was told you can’t support Ukraine. People wear badges for all sorts of things and nobody says anything—it’s only solidarity with Palestine that’s an issue,” the worker added.

The worker said Palestine solidarity needs to be a priority. “It’s important that workers do things for Palestine,” they added. “The unions have a lot of power to change things and we are offering solidarity to people on the other side of the world.

“Working class people can see that this is an injustice and it’s wrong. The unions have got a role to play in encouraging people to be brave and to speak to their colleagues even if we can’t do it openly.”

It’s essential that workers deepen the Palestine movement in trade unions. The TUC union federation has backed the workplace day of action which calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to arms sales to Israel.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, hospitals and other public bodies flew the Ukrainian flag. Now they try to silence those who wave the Palestinian flag as a symbol of resistance against Israel’s genocide. The best way to take on this hypocrisy is to organise solidarity.