NUJ votes to boycott Israeli goods

Jeremy Dear
Dear: tabled motion to take 'no further action' on the Israel boycott. Photograph: Stefano Cagnoni


Today's vote was carried 66 to 54 - a result that met with gasps and a small amount of applause from the union delegates present.

The vote came during a series of motions on international affairs and reads: "This ADM [annual delegate meeting] calls for a boycott of Israeli goods similar to those boycotts in the struggles against apartheid South Africa led by trade unions and the TUC [Trades Union Congress] to demand sanctions be imposed on Israel by the British government and the United Nations."

The motion was originally brought by the union's South Yorkshire branch and opposed by the Cumberland branch, which said it was too political and was not tied closely enough to journalistic matters.

After a show of hands twice failed to give a clear result, union scrutineers were called in and the doors to the conference room closed.




The union's national executive committee has been instructed to support organisations including the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians and the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding.

