While the far-right political parties in Israel argue over who will form the next government following the deadlocked election, the international trade union movement is tightening its sanctions against it.
In the past month, members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union belonging to the Congress of South African Trade Unions successfully stopped Israeli cargo being unloaded at Durban from the Johanna Russ.
COSATU issued a statement calling on “other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free.”
Simultaneously, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) launched a report on Israel and Palestine compiled by 11 senior members who had conducted an on-the-spot inquiry.
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams who hosted the report’s launch in Stormont’s Long Gallery supported a conference to be held later this year to decide whether to impose a boycott of Israeli goods.
“Unless the international community, and that includes the Irish government, the British government, the EU and the US government, exercises its considerable influence and authority, any relaxation of the current assault on Gaza will only bring a short respite for citizens there,” Adams said.
Now a group of left-wing American trade unionists have signed an open letter calling for an end to US aid for Israel and the divestment of business and labour investments.
Commending the South African dockers’ boycott, the American union leaders said:
This action is in the best tradition of dock workers in Denmark and Sweden (1963), the San Francisco Bay Area (1984) and Liverpool (1988), who refused to handle shipping for apartheid South Africa; Oakland dock workers’ refusal to load bombs for the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (1978); and West Coast dock workers’ strike against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2008).
While the disparate actions of trade unionists in South Africa, Ireland and the US may not immediately trouble the Israeli Government, they show that the worldwide support Israel once enjoyed among labor unions is slipping away.
I have no doubt that there are many in the South African, Irish and US union members who sincerely empathize with Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. However, the ‘deliriously cheering’ crowd (South African Jewish News, January 23, 2009). at a recent rally organized by COSATU, reveal a more sinister undercurrent of anti-Israeli feeling. The crowd were responding to a speech by the Deputy Foreign Minister Ms Fatima Hajaig, and other presenters who offered their versions of the international Jewish consipiracy and virtually called for a progrom against South African Jews. At least in the case of COSATU, anti-Israel feelings appear to be aligned with, if not derived from, clearly anti-semitic ones.
Well argued Tom McLoughlin. I’ll be speaking to the ACTU on this very point next week.
Sam Sharpe: you don’t really expect that Crikey readers will swallow your dross re anti-semitism?
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Following my comments on Crikey last week against the Israeli fascists, my name & email address, & password were stolen by Australian fascist Zionists, who posted pro Israeli comments on Crikey in my name. What more would you expect from those who support the murder of women & children in Gaza.
Crikey management have been alerted to these incidents, and are now closely monitoring stories re Israel.
I formally warn those responsible for stealing my details that I’ve spoken to my solicitor who is investigating what legal redress is open to me.
I agree with Naomi Klein, Canadian Jewish media practitioner supporting a global boycott, divestment and sanctions policy on the ultra right governments of Israel is necessary, in fact the only way, to bring an end to the active aparthied differential land laws both within and near Israel pandering to racist Israeli Jewish squatters. These are an affront to any self respecting lawyer let alone peace campaigner. Last time I looked Obama was a highly regarded jurist. As was Gandhi. As was Mandela.
This cynical creeping conquest under cover of historical western guilt is stomach churning. The Israeli Right have no credibility as the deliberate malice of their squatter mates is expressed through regular murder and theft from Palestinian Arabs virtually at will. Shooting ‘fish’ in a barrel comes to mind. On the pretext God gave it to them. As if. The western allies after WW2 gave it and the gift is debased, and squandering any global good will generated.
And the Israeli Right think it doesn’t matter. They’ve got nukes. That’s what the pro Nazi South African National Party thought too when the global anti aparthied movement galvanised against them. They counted on inherent white supremacism in western countries. They counted on inherent bigotry against black folks. Just substitute the Hollywood Chosen (?) for white supremacism and Palestinians for Black (?).