Committee statement on situation in Gaza
We welcome the statement on the UoB website that condemns violence in Palestine-Israel. We know our union members have diverse backgrounds and we have always celebrated this as one of our strengths. We are proud of our community and of our multicultural city. The current escalation saddens us, as its consequences spread among our own communities in Birmingham and more widely. We are concerned about the possiblity of any member feeling intimidated or afraid because others make assumptions because of their appearance or background. As always we will support any member who contacts us.
Our union is committed to fight against all racism, but our support for the Palestinian cause is long-standing because we believe that they, like we, have the right to live with dignity and self-determination. We believe that human rights are universal. We believe violence begets violence and peace cannot come from wars where large numbers of civilians are subject to the violation of their rights and are victims of violence. We do not distinguish between state or militant violence in this matter. We are particularly saddened by the damage that has been inflicted upon children now and in previous decades who grow to adulthood with formative experiences of trauma and war.
We deplore hostage-taking as we deplore the detention of all civilians and hope that the voices of the international community which urge ceasefire, will prevail ; that the innocent will be freed ; that all parties will conform to international law.
