Introduction

The final stages of preparation for this special issue took place against thebackdrop of some of the biggest and most sustained anti-colonial mobili-sations in Australian history, prompted by six months of fierce bombardmentand occupation of Gaza by Israeli forces. At the beginning of the Gaza crisis,in October 2023, a debate broke out in Australian trade unions. Frustrated by the lack of any clear public union expressions of solidarity with Palestinian people facing what many described as a second “Nakba” – or “catastrophe”in Arabic – referring to the foundational violence of the state of Israel,rank-and-file activists initiated an open letter for members of all trade unions. The letter quickly gained more than 3,000 signatures. Appealing to “the union movement’s values of peace, justice and solidarity,” the letter called for unionists to support the pro-Palestine, anti-war demonstrations that, with tens of thousands of people marching in capital cities every weekend, were growing around the country...