The Board of Efling Union expresses its strong support for the Palestinian people in the terrible calamities they are enduring, and places special emphasis on our solidarity with the workers of Palestine who must endure the appalling crimes of the illegal occupation every single day. We strongly condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza and demand immediate action by the Icelandic government and the international community.
The Israeli military’s attacks on civilians – children, women, and men – as well as the bombing of hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, are crimes against humanity. The Board of Efling expresses its revulsion at Israel’s systematic killings of health workers and journalists in Gaza. These executions horrify all who follow the news from the region and clearly demonstrate the perpetrators’ deliberate intent to inflict irreversible harm on Palestinian society. These atrocities are violations of international law and United Nations resolutions. The International Court of Justice has equated Israel’s conduct with genocide and ruled its occupation of Palestinian land illegal.
Efling demands that the Icelandic government exert its full weight to ensure that Israel’s crimes in Palestine are stopped without delay. The occupation must end, and the right of refugees to return to their homes must be guaranteed.
We call on Efling members and the general public to attend the solidarity rally A Nation Against Genocide, to be held on Saturday, 6 September at 14:00. The rally will take place in Reykjavík, Stykkishólmur, Ísafjörður, Akureyri, Húsavík, and Egilsstaðir, and is organised by the coalition Solidarity with Palestine, in which Efling plays an active role.
Together we can send a clear message to the Icelandic Parliament, the Government of Iceland, and the world at large: Genocide will not be tolerated. Justice and peace must prevail.
Alexa Tracia Patrizi
Guðbjörg María Jóepsdóttur
Guðmunda Valdís Helgadóttir
Hjörtur Birgir Jóhönnuson
Ian Phillip McDonald
Innocentia Fiati
Karla Esperanza Barralaga Ocon
Michael Bragi Whalley
Olga Leonsdóttir
Rögnvaldur Ómar Reynisson
Sigurjón Ármann Björnsson
Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir
Sæþór Benjamín Randalsson
Þórir Jóhannesson
The authors are members of the Board of Efling Union.