Category Archives: Canada

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (Vancouver & District Labour Council)

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS

At the June 19, 2018 Regular meeting of the Vancouver & District Labour Council, delegates present passed the following motion in support of boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel in response to the country’s actions against the Palestinian people.

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BECAUSE article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its own civilian population to territory it occupies; and             

BECAUSE the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) violate international law; and

BECAUSE Israeli settlement expansions in the OPT are an undeniable obstacle to the Israel – Palestine peace process; and  

BECAUSE Israel has continued, despite international pressure, to expand its settlements and to demolish Palestinian homes and other infrastructure in the OPT; and

BECAUSE UN Resolution 194 establishes the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their lands and properties; and

BECAUSE Canada and other nations have previously succeeded in ensuring respect for human rights through the use of economic and political sanctions, including in the case of South Africa; and

BECAUSE the world has watched in horror as dozens of unarmed Palestinian protestors have been killed, and hundreds wounded, by Israeli military forces in recent weeks,

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL support the use of boycott, divestment and sanctions (“BDS”) that are targeted to those sectors of Israel’s economy and society which profit from the ongoing occupation of the OPT; and

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL FURTHER support such a form of BDS until such time as Israel implements a permanent ban on further settlement construction in the OPT, and enters into good faith negotiations with representatives of the Palestinian people for the purpose of establishing a viable, contiguous and truly sovereign Palestinian state; and

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL FURTHER support such a form of BDS until such time as Israel dismantles the apartheid wall, recognizes the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality, ceases the use of excessive force against protestors, and respects the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194; and

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL FINALLY oppose all efforts to prohibit, punish or otherwise deter expressions of support for BDS.

CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS ENDORSES “PEACE IN PALESTINE” CAMPAIGN (CJPME)

Montreal, October 5, 2017 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is thrilled to announce that the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has officially endorsed its Peace in Palestine campaign. The campaign is a strategy to get Canada’s parliamentarians to pass a motion calling for an end to Israel’s illegal “settlements” (a.k.a. colonies.)

The CLC is the largest labour organization in Canada, representing 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC’s endorsement of “Peace in Palesine” follows on more than 50 years whereby the CLC has supported policies and programs that seek to promote positive social change. CJPME President Thomas Woodley responded enthusiastically, “We are excited to see Canada’s largest labour organization boldly stand up for human rights at home and abroad.”  CJPME encourages other Canadian civil society organizations to stand up for social justice as the CLC has.

A core component of the Peace in Palestine campaign is a Parliamentary ePetition calling on the government to “demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.” The ePetition mirrors the wording of UN Security Council resolution 2334 (December 2016), and has the sponsorship of NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Helène Laverdière. CJPME has launched a four-month cross-Canada campaign promoting this Parliamentary petition and the follow-up Parliamentary motion CJPME hopes this campaign inspires.

Over 70 unions and organizations have already endorsed the Peace in Palestine campaign. Other organizations wishing to endorse the campaign may do so on-line.  Canadian individuals are also encouraged to sign the Parliamentary ePetition, thus demonstrating support for the “Peace in Palestine” campaign, respect for Palestinian human rights, and promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

 

About CJPME – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is a non-profit and secular organization bringing together men and women of all backgrounds who labour to see justice and peace take root again in the Middle East. Its mission is to empower decision-makers to view all sides with fairness and to promote the equitable and sustainable development of the region.

For more information, please contact Miranda Gallo, 438-380-5410
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East www.cjpme.org

The whole or parts of this press release can be reproduced without permission.

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Canadian teacher Nadia Shoufani defeats silencing campaign against her advocacy for Palestinian freedom (Samidoun)

Canadian teacher Nadia Shoufani has won a significant free-speech victory after a year-long battle and a prolonged campaign by pro-apartheid Zionist organizations attacking her and attempting to have her fired from her job for speaking about Palestinian prisoners at a public rally in 2016.

“A victory for myself, for the Palestine solidarity movement, for freedom of expression! A victory for the Palestinian cause and the struggle of Palestinians!” said Shoufani in a Facebook post on 8 September offering thanks to friends, colleagues and supporters for their consistent support throughout a year of struggle. Shoufani kept her job and defeated the allegations that targeted her as well as ongoing racist campaigns of harassment carried out by far-right groups and individuals. Organizations including B’nai Brith Canada, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Canada were actively involvedi in the campaign to silence Shoufani.

“Their goal was to destroy my reputation and livelihood and ultimately make me lose my job, but they were defeated! It’s true they targeted me but their ultimate goal was to send a silencing message to intimidate and scare anyone who speaks in support of Palestinians and to put a chill on people,” Shoufani wrote, but the attack in fact led to “more support and created more awareness of the Palestinian cause.”

“The attack that I was put through was not just an attack against me, it was ultimately against every voice that speaks and calls for the freedom and justice of Palestinians who are living under and suffering daily from a brutal occupation and apartheid, with the ultimate aim to silence them and silence any criticism of ‘Israel’, the occupying power,” Shoufani wrote in her social media post.

Shoufani was attacked for her remarks at the 2 July 2006 Al-Quds Day protest, particularly her comments about Ghassan Kanafani and her support for imprisoned Palestinians and strugglers for Palestine, specifically Bilal Kayed – then on hunger strike – and Georges Ibrahim Abdallah.

Shoufani quoted Ghassan Kanafani, the Palestinian writer, political leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and intellectual assassinated by Israel on 8 July 1972: “The Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only, but a cause for every revolutionary…a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era.”

“On this day…we need to salute and acknowledge, stand in solidarity and demand the release of prisoners, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons,” said Shoufani in her speech. “We salute and demand the freedom of Bilal Kayed…who was scheduled to be released on June 13th after 14 and one-half years of imprisonment. Instead of being released, he was ordered to six extra months of adminsitratioe detention without charge or trial…Bilal Kayed has launched an open hunger strike demanding his freedom. This illegal Israeli order of administrative detention is seen as an attempt to set a precedent of the future indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners after the completion of their sentence.”

She linked the attack on Kayed and fellow Palestinian prisoners to the imprisonment of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine, imprisoned in French jails for 33 years, demanding his immediate release.

“I urge you to speak up, to resist this occupation, and support the steadfastness of Palestinians, support their resistance, in any form that is possible. I urge you to support BDS – boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. This is the least we can do here in Canada,” said Shoufani, closing with a rousing chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Shoufani was defended after being suspended with pay by her Toronto-area Catholic school board by her trade union, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association.  Union activists, Palestine solidarity organizers, professors and organizers collectively spoke out in support of Shoufani and against the attacks from right-wing organizations attempting to silence her and force her from her teaching position.

The attack on Shoufani has come in the context of ongoing attacks on freedom of speech about Palestine in Canada, including attempts to legislate against BDS and parliamentary resolutions denouncing boycott campaigns.  This comes amid an ongoing, relentlessly pro-Zionist policy pursued by the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau, continuing the notoriously anti-Palestinian policy of Conservative Stephen Harper. Canadian support for Israeli occupation didn’t begin with Harper, but dates back to the Balfour Declaration and Lester Pearson’s recommendation to the United Nations to create the Israeli state. This role has always been distinctly related to the Canadian state’s own settler colonial nature, based on the continuing dispossession and genocide of Indigenous peoples.

Recently, Niki Ashton, a leading candidate for the leadership of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada, was attacked by B’nai Brith and other pro-apartheid organizations for participating in a rally commemorating the Nakba and in support of Palestinian political prisoners.

In particular, right-wing Zionist organizations attacked Ashton for speaking in front of a sign urging freedom for imprisoned Palestinian leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the General Secretaty of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Following the attacks, rather than backing down, Ashton reiterated her support for Palestinian rights and noted that it was “powerful to join many at a rally in solidarity with those on hunger strike in Palestine.” Ashton is one of the front-runners in the NDP leadership campaign and has won support from many youth and progressive voices.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Nadia Shoufani and all of those involved in the campaign to defend her right to speak and right to teach. Her clear and principled voice in defense of Palestinian rights and freedom – and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners in particular – is one that cannot be silenced. As she noted, “Our fight for justice and a free Palestine will not be over and the path ahead will always have obstacles and difficulties, but as long as we believe in a cause so embedded in us, we will persevere! No such attacks will stop us, nor will they intimidate or silence us. On the contrary this will make us stronger believers in our fight for justice and freedom. We will never be silent until we win and justice prevails!”

Unifor Canadian Council passes BDS motion at Winnipeg convention

Unifor Canadian Council passes BDS motion at Winnipeg convention

Congratulations to the Unifor’s Canadian Council on easily passing a pro-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) motion at their recent convention in Winnipeg, between August 18-20.

Submitted by Unifor Local 222 (Oshawa), Unifor Resolution No. 5 is titled “Palestinian Self-Determination and the Movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions,” and reads in part:

“… BE IT RESOLVED that Unifor supports the use of divestment, boycott and sanctions (“BDS”) that are targeted to those sectors of Israel’s economy and society which profit from the ongoing occupation of the OPT; and […] BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Unifor will support such a form of BDS until such time as Israel implements a permanent ban on further settlement construction in the OPT, and enters into good faith negotiations with representatives of the Palestinian people for the purpose of establishing a viable, contiguous and truly sovereign Palestinian state ; and THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Unifor opposes all efforts to prohibit, punish or otherwise deter expressions of support for BDS.”

During the summer 2014 bombing of civilians in Gaza, the Palestinian trade union movement, with support from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and its affiliates, unanimously called on international trade unions to take immediate action to stop the Israeli massacre in Gaza and hold Israel to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people.

They wrote: “… civil society solidarity is the only force that can help stop the ongoing slaughter of our people and send them a message that they are not alone, exactly as effective international solidarity had done in supporting the struggle for freedom in apartheid South Africa […] In the face of this international inaction, we, the Palestinian trade unions, call on trade unions around the world to take urgent measures, and in particular to intensify Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, until it complies with international law.”

The entire resolution as passed can be downloaded here:

http://www.unifor.org/sites/default/files/attachments/final_resolutions_eng_2017-07-27.pdf

See the complete list of Unifor resolutions: http://www.unifor.org/en/whats-new/news/canadian-council-resolutions

Our heartiest congratulations to members of Unifor Local 222 who crafted, submitted and argued in favour of the successful motion supporting BDS tactics.

Canadian Labour Congress resolution of support for prisoners’ strike joins growing labor solidarity for Palestinian freedom (Samidoun)


The Canadian Labour Congress, the national labor federation representing 3 million workers across Canada passed an Emergency Resolution at its 2017 convention in Toronto on 10 May in support of Palestinian prisoners’ #DignityStrike. The text of the resolution follows:

Emergency Resolution

CLC Supports Palestinian Prisoners’ Dignity Strike

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) will:

a) Call on the Canadian Government to pressure Israel to stop violating international law by illegally detaining Palestinians and depriving them of their basic human, civil and political rights;
and

b) Work with global union federations, affiliates and civil society organizations in Canada on campaigns in support of Palestinian prisoners.

BECAUSE More than 1600 Palestinian prisoners have been on a hunger strike since April 17, 2017; and

BECAUSE Key demands of the hunger strike include: end to the denial of family visits, the right to appropriate health care, the right to education in prison and an end to solitary confinement and “administrative detention”; and

BECAUSE The CLC supports the right of the Palestinian people to national self-determination and an end to the illegal Israeli occupation as the basis for a just peace in the region.

This important resolution follows on strong, growing international labor movement and trade union support for Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian struggle for justice, self-determination and liberation.

On 12 May, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which represents nearly one million workers in Norway, endorsed a full international economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel as a necessary means to support fundamental Palestinian rights.

The Congress of LO unanimously supported some form of boycott of Israel, as 193 delegates voted for a full boycott and 117 voted for a limited boycott of Israeli settlements. The strong majority of the LO congress embraced a full boycott of Israel, emphasizing the importance of meaningful international action in the face of impunity and apartheid.  The LO vote escalated the existing position of the labor confederation in support of the boycott of settlement products.

This important action came as 1500 Palestinian prisoners have been engaged in a hunger strike since 17 April for their basic human rights, including an end to the denial of family visits, proper medical treatment and health care, the right to pursue distance higher education, and an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial.

A number of trade unions and workers’ organizations have been vocal in their support for the Palestinian prisoners. 26 European trade unions and labor organizations endorsed a collective statement in support of the hunger strike:

“We believe that as trade unionists and conscious citizens of this world, we have duty and power to take a stand. We stand in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in their demand for fair treatment and justice. We commit to working within our respective unions not to renew contracts with corporations like HP and G4S profiting from the imprisonment of Palestinians. In addition we call on the EU and European member states to end their complicity and hold Israel accountable for its gross violations of human rights,” emphasized the unions, including labor organizations in Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway, the UK, Galicia, Basque Country, Valencia, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands, Catalonia, and Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Teachers in the UK has joined several other international labor unions in being an HP-free zone.  Kevin Courtney, general secretary with the National Union of Teachers, said in the Electronic Intifada that “the NUT does not buy or use HP products or services as a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people.” HP provides services and technologies to the Israeli military as well as the Israel Prison Service, and the boycott of HP is a priority for BDS campaigns in support of Palestinian prisoners.

These statements followed declarations by the World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 92 million workers in 162 countries, and the International Trade Union Confederation, representing 181 million workers in 163 countries, in support of the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike.

The WFTU statement “expresses its firm internationalist solidarity with the more than 6700 Palestinians, including 389 children and 56 women, currently imprisoned by the Israeli occupation forces.

We strongly denounce the imprisonment of the Palestinian people by Israel, the inhumane detention conditions and the acts of abuse like the violent beatings against our Palestinian brothers and sisters and we demand the immediate release of all Palestinian prisoners and the end of Israel’s arrest campaigns, aggressiveness and occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The WFTU also issued a statement condemning the Pizza Hut Israeli advertisement – later pulled – mocking Palestinian hunger strikers, emphasizing again that “The World Federation of Trade Unions and the international class oriented trade union movement stand on the side of the heroic Palestinian people and prisoners, express their solidarity and support to their fair struggle.”

ITUC also expressed its solidarity with “Palestinian prisoners who have declared an indefinite hunger strike to protest against violations of human rights inside Israeli Prisons. We also support the ‘general strike for freedom and dignity’ held in solidarity with hunger striking prisoners and call for wider international solidarity…

We add our voice to the demands of the hunger striking Palestinian detainees calling for the lifting of restrictions on family visits, improved overall detention conditions and access to medical care, including easing restrictions on access to education materials and food, as well as the installation of telephones to communicate with their relatives. We also recall that under international humanitarian law, detainees from occupied territories must be detained in the occupied territory, not in the territory of the occupying power, as enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In South Africa, among the endorsers of the South African Campaign for Palestinian Political Prisoners is the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) as well as the South African Municipal Workers Union.  Sidubo Dlamini, the President of COSATU, is joining in the broad one-day hunger strike in South Africa in support of Palestinian prisoners, alongside government officials, anti-apartheid struggle veterans and former political prisoners.

This support comes amid a growing campaign in the international labor movement in support of Palestinian rights, including an end to occupation and apartheid, full equality for all and Palestinian refugees’ right to return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled. Unions endorsing BDS include COSATU, CUT in Brazil, CSN in Quebec, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Irish Confederation of Trade Unions and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE) in the United States. Unions in Scotland, Canada, the UK, Sweden, Belgium, the Basque Country, Uruguay and many other countries have also taken a stand in support of Palestinian rights and the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions. Workers’ struggles and popular movements like the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) in Brazil have been strong supporters of the Palestinian struggle – including that of the Palestinian prisoners – for many years.

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes all of the labor unions taking a stand with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian prisoners. We echo the call of Palestinian trade unions:

“We also take this opportunity to call on trade unions yet to join the BDS movement to: implement boycotts of Israeli and international companies that are complicit with violations of Palestinian rights, divest trade union funds from companies and institutions complicit in Israel’s occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid, and apply pressure on governments to cut military and trade relations with Israel. We reiterate our call for a boycott of Histadrut, Israel’s general trade union, for its complicity with Israel’s violations of international law and its refusal to take a clear stand in support of comprehensive human rights for Palestinians.” 

We urge all labor organizations and workers’ movements to express their solidarity and support for the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike, for the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and for the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. The majority of Palestinian prisoners are Palestinians of the popular classes: workers, from the villages, the refugee camps and the cities. The international workers’ movement is engaged in a battle confronting capitalist exploitation, oppression and austerity around the world. The Palestinian prisoners in their battle for dignity and freedom are on the front lines not only of the struggle for Palestinian freedom, but for social justice and human liberation in the world today.

Les luttes de la classe ouvrière palestinienne et le mouvement mondial de solidarité pour la Palestine

fsm_logo_frLes luttes de la classe ouvrière palestinienne et le mouvement mondial de solidarité pour la Palestine / The struggles of the palestinian working class and the global solidarity movement for Palestine / Las luchas de la clase trabajadora palestina y el movimiento de solidaridad global para Palestina

Atelier de discussion

Avec / with / con :
PALESTINIAN GENERAL FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (PGFTU)
PALESTINIAN POSTAL SERVICES WORKERS UNION (PPSWU)
PALESTINE NEW FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (PNFTU)

Avec l’appui / with the support of / con el apoyo de :
ELA (Pais Vasco), CIG (Galicia), CSN (Québec), CUT (Brasil), CGIL (Italia), STTP/CUPW (Canada), USS (France)

L’atelier mettra l’accent sur les conditions de travail et de vie de la classe des travailleuses et travailleurs palestiniens, la lutte pour la justice sociale, le travail décent, les réalités particulières du travail syndical sous un régime d’occupation, les défis du mouvement ouvrier et la lutte politique pour la libération de la Palestine. Ensuite, la discussion sera ouverte sur la façon dont les syndicats et les organisations à l’extérieur de la Palestine peuvent agir en solidarité avec les travailleuses et travailleurs palestiniens.

The workshop will focus on the conditions of the Palestinian working class, the struggle for social justice, decent work, the particular realities of the union work under an occupation regime, the challenges of the Labor movement and the political struggle for the liberation of Palestine. The discussion will then open on how unions and organizations outside Palestine can act in solidarity with the Palestinian Workers.

El taller se centrará en las condiciones de trabajo y de vida de la clase trabajadora palestina, la lucha por la justicia social, el trabajo decente, las realidades particulares del trabajo sindical bajo un régimen de ocupación, los retos del movimiento obrero y la lucha política por la liberación de Palestina. A continuación, la discusión se abrirá en cómo los sindicatos y organismos fuera de Palestina pueden actuar en solidaridad con los trabajadores palestinos.

Intervenants

À venir, PALESTINIAN GENERAL FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (PGFTU)
À venir, PALESTINIAN POSTAL SERVICES WORKERS UNION (PPSWU)
Jamal Juma, PALESTINE NEW FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (PNFTU)

Atelier de discussion
Activité à confirmer
Date et heure à déterminer
Emplacement à déterminer
Langue(s) principale(s) de l’activité

Français, Anglais, Espagnol, Arabe

Traduction simultannée

Français, Anglais, Espagnol

Publics cibles

Général, Jeunes (13 à 17 ans), Jeunes (18 à 35 ans), Aînés, Femmes, Travailleurs et travailleuses, Personnes en situation de handicap, Autochtones, LGBT, Personnes racisées, Personnes en situation précaire

Activité étendue sur internet

non

Dernière modification
20 June 2016
Les luttes de la classe ouvrière palestinienne et le mouvement mondial de solidarité pour la Palestine / The struggles of the palestinian working class and the global solidarity movement for Palestine / Las luchas de la clase trabajadora palestina y el movimiento de solidaridad global para Palestina
Organisation responsable de l’activité

Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)

Administrateurs

Nathalie Guay

Thème

Décolonisation et autodétermination des peuples

Objectifs

Informer / Sensibiliser
Débattre / délibérer / discuter
Proposer / Développer des alternatives
Converger pour l’action / décider
Développer des partenariats / Constituer des alliances

Canadian Union of Postal Workers passes historic Boycott Resolution

Canadian Union of Postal Workers passes historic Boycott Resolution

Report by Katherine Nastovski
Published here: 21/04/08

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) Congratulates Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) on Historic Boycott Resolution!

16 April 2008

CAIA extends its warm congratulations to the delegates of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers national convention held in Ottawa, Canada, April 13-17th 2008. At the convention, CUPW passed an historic resolution, Resolution 338/339, in support of the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli Apartheid. This resolution is an extremely significant landmark for the Palestinian solidarity movement in Canada. It represents the first time in North American history that a national union has passed a BDS resolution. The resolution recognizes Israel as an apartheid state and expresses CUPW’s support for boycott and divestment from Israel. It was passed almost unanimously after nearly one hour of discussion on the convention floor.

CUPW represents more than 50, 000 postal workers across Canada and has been at the forefront of campaigns against privatization and deregulation at Canada Post. The union has a proud history of international solidarity. During the South African apartheid years, CUPW was at the forefront of labour solidarity with South African workers and engaged in concrete actions such as the refusal to handle mail from South Africa.

The CUPW resolution was modeled on Resolution 50 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Ontario), which was passed in May 2006 and re-affirmed in 2007. The resolution commits CUPW to “support the international campaign of BDS until Israel meets its obligations to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.”

The resolution states that CUPW will work “Š with Palestinian solidarity and human rights organizations to develop an educational campaign about the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and the political and economic support of Canada for these practices.” The resolution also calls on the Canadian government to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians who have been affected by the conflict, and commits CUPW to research on Canadian involvement in the occupation.

CAIA congratulates CUPW on this vital show of support for Palestinian workers and their families. At a time when the Palestinian people are suffering under brutal siege and daily bombardment this resolution is an important show of solidarity. Today alone, 22 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were killed by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. The explicit recognition by yet another Canadian union that Israel is an apartheid state, deserving of international isolation and boycott in the manner of South African Apartheid, is an inspiration for the North American and international labour movements. It is one further confirmation that the Israeli apartheid regime has deservedly become a pariah for progressive movements across the globe.

We call on supporters across the world to take the following action in support of CUPW:

1) Immediately email and fax the CUPW National office congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid (sample letter below). Please fax your letter of support to CUPW National Office at ++ (613) 563-7861 or email endapartheid@riseup.net and we will pass them on to the CUPW national officeholders.

2) If you are a member of a union then get involved! Please contact the CAIA Labour Committee, Labour for Palestine, at labour@caiaweb.org for ideas and ways to get involved in Palestinian solidarity work within your workplace and union.

3) Visit your local post office and thank the workers for this resolution! Let them know that you appreciate this show of solidarity with Palestine.


Sample letter

Dear CUPW-Executive:

Thank you for passing the resolution to support the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

Like South Africa, Israel will have to be subjected to intense international pressure before it recognizes Palestinians as a people with the right to self-determination. Your union played a critical role in the fight against South African Apartheid – it is wonderful to see you taking on this leadership role again in the fight against Israeli Apartheid.

No doubt you will come under intense pressure from pro-Israeli, pro-apartheid organizations to reverse this courageous decision, but rest assured that the overwhelming majority of people in the world are not fooled by right-wing, racist rhetoric and the mainstream media bias surrounding this issue.

Thank you again!

The Palestinian BDS National Committee* Salutes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on their Historic Decision to Boycott the Israeli Apartheid Regime

For Immediate Release

The Palestinian BDS National Committee* Salutes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on their Historic Decision to Boycott the Israeli Apartheid Regime
18 April 2008

The BDS National Committee (BNC), comprising over 200 Palestinian civil society organizations and including all major Palestinian workers’ unions, salutes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for their decision to support the international campaign for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli apartheid regime. This decision, the first of its kind at the national level of a union in North America, constitutes a major step forward in the global struggle for freedom and justice. It further exemplifies the cause of workers’ solidarity against oppression and racism, particularly at a time when Israel is intensifying, with impunity, its acts of genocide against close to 1.5 million Palestinians in occupied Gaza.

Delegates to the annual convention of the CUPW, representing over 50,000 postal workers, voted overwhelmingly in support of resolution 338/339. This resolution also states that the union will work “with Palestinian solidarity and human rights organizations to develop an educational campaign about the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and the political and economic support of Canada for these practices.”

Israel’s apartheid and colonial policies and practices have resulted in the near collapse of the Palestinian economy, resulting in massive loss of work and livelihood. These policies have had a particularly acute effect on Palestinianpostal workers. The apartheid regime has ensured that there is no Palestinian controlled access to other countries; as a result, all incoming and outgoing Palestinian mail has to pass through the Israeli postal service which routinely delays delivery, often for several months. In the course of fulfilling their duty, Palestinian postal workers have to travel through Israeli checkpoints at which Israeli soldiers regularly delay their passage, often detaining them for hours under the sun or rain, or denying them passage altogether. By virtue of working under conditions of a brutal military occupation, Palestinian postal workers regularly risk imprisonment, injury, and death while at work.

This resolution comes at a time when Israel prepares to celebrate the sixtieth year since its establishment, a celebration in which many of the most powerful governments of the world will participate. For sixty years, thePalestinian people have endured and resisted the ongoing displacement of the majority of Palestinians, as well as the land confiscation, military violence, institutionalized racism, and political repression of those who managed to remain in their homeland. CUPW’s resolution is a statement to the world that when the states of the world stand behind oppression and apartheid, it is up to the people of the world to oppose it.

We call on the workers of CUPW to ensure that their union implements this historic resolution. We also call on all people of the world to follow CUPW’s example, and work within their societies and institutions to support the isolation of the Israeli apartheid regime until the apartheid system is dismantled, and the Palestinian refugees return to their homes and lands from which they were expelled. Only thus can a just peace based on international law and fundamental human rights be built and maintained.

* The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) is a wide coalition of major unions, networks and organizations representing Palestinian civil society.

For more information please contact:
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: info@boycottisrael.ps
Badil Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights: info@badil.org
Stop the Wall Coalition: info@stopthewall.org

Canadian Union of Postal Workers joins the international campaign against Israeli apartheid

Canadian Union of Postal Workers joins the international campaign against Israeli apartheid

April 2008: Sign on Statement and Appeal for Solidarity

We the undersigned organizations congratulate the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for joining the international boycott of Israeli apartheid. We call on workers and labour unions worldwide to join CUPW in creating a strong and effective labour movement in solidarity with struggles against Israeli apartheid and violence.

At the national convention of CUPW, representing over fifty thousand workers across Canada, a strong majority of delegates voted for a resolution in support of the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

Marking the first time a country-wide labour union in North America has voted to participate in the global campaign against apartheid in Palestine, CUPW’s resolution represents a critical juncture for the involvement of North American labour in this campaign. International support for CUPW’s resolution – which recognizes the Palestinianpeople’s inalienable rights, including the right of return – could prove key to shoring up this victory.

In Canada, CUPW has been at the forefront of campaigns against privatization and deregulation of postal services in Canada, while maintaining a proud history of international solidarity. During the South African apartheid years, CUPW played a lead role in labor solidarity with South African workers, engaging in concrete actions such as the refusal to handle mail from South Africa.

CUPW has now joined the international campaign against Israeli apartheid, committing itself to “support the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions until Israel meets its obligations to recognize thePalestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.”

Israel’s apartheid and colonial policies have resulted in the near collapse of the Palestinian economy, resulting in massive unemployment and bleak poverty. In the West Bank, over 51 % of the population is estimated to live under the poverty line; in Gaza, the figure rises to 81 %. Israel’s policies have had a particularly acute effect on Palestinianpostal workers, as the apartheid regime has ensured that there is no Palestinian-controlled access to other countries.

As a result, all incoming and outgoing Palestinian mail has to pass through the Israeli postal service, which routinely delays delivery, often for several months. In the course of fulfilling their duty, Palestinian postal workers are forced to travel through Israeli checkpoints at which Israeli soldiers regularly delay their passage, detaining them for hours under the sun or rain, or denying them passage altogether. Working under a brutal military occupation, Palestinianpostal workers can risk imprisonment, injury, and death in the course of a day’s work.

CUPW’s resolution comes at a time when Israel prepares to celebrate the sixtieth year since its establishment, a celebration in which many of the most powerful governments of the world will participate. For sixty years, thePalestinian people have endured and resisted ongoing displacement, land confiscation, military violence, institutionalized racism, and political repression of the minority who managed to remain in their homeland. CUPW’s resolution is a clear statement to the world that when the states of the world stand behind oppression and apartheid, it is up to the people of the world to oppose it.

Every passing week demostrates the urgent need for a strong popular movement against Israeli apartheid. Last week, Israel once more stepped up the violence of its bloody siege of Gaza, leaving dozens of Palestinian civilians dead. Israel continues to impose collective punishment on the 1.5 million Palestinians of Gaza, who live with chronic shortages of electricity, fuel, food and basic necessities as a result.

We call on all workers and labour unions to join CUPW in creating a strong and effective boycott movement to help bring an end to this injustice and violence.

—> Actions you can take:

* Endorse this statement: send the name of your organization and city to
tadamon[at]resist.ca

* Send a message of solidarity through email or fax to the CUPW National office congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid. Please fax your letter of support to CUPW National Office at:

+ 1 613 563 7861 or email care of tadamon[at]resist.ca.

* Ask your union, community group, association or collective to follow CUPW’s lead and adopt a position in support of the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

* In Montreal, join the “Boycott Apartheid” bloc in the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine demonstration to mark the 60th year of the Nakba on Saturday, 10 May 2008, 1pm Dorchester Square (Peel & René-Lévesque). To join the boycott bloc, look for the ‘boycott Israeli apartheid’ banner…

—> Endorsed by:

Tadamon! Montreal (Montreal, Quebec)
Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) (Palestine)
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto, Canada) Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (Quebec) Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ) (Quebec) Campaign to boycott Supporters of Israel (Beirut, Lebanon)
People’s Movement (Beirut, Lebanon)
Civil Resistance Campaign (Beirut, Lebanon) Committee Against Normalization of Relations with “Israel” in Jordan (Jordan)

Israel, South Africa, Apartheid and The Labor Movement

Educational Forum/Video Screening

Israel, South Africa, Apartheid and The Labor Movement
Sunday October 21, 2007
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

$5.00 Donation Requested (no one turned away due to lack of funds)

New College Cultural Center
766 Valencia St./19th St. San Francisco

There is a growing movement worldwide among labor to take direct
action against the policies of Israel on the Palestinians. This forum
will look at the relationship between Israel and South Africa and why
trade unionists in South Africa and Canada are taking action to
support a economic boycott of Israel. We will also look at the history
of the AFL-CIO and it’s relationship with Israel.

Speakers:

Iliam Burbano
Canadian Union of Public Employees-Ontario Division
CUPE Ontario’s International Solidarity Committee.
President of CUPE Local 3393

Robert Mashego (invited)
Vice President South African Transportation and Allied Workers

Hassam el-Hamalay
Labor Journalist
Blogger
Cairo, Egypt

Videos: The Mall

The Wisconsin Plan: From Welfare to Work? (13 min) 2007 by Sawt
el-Anel/The Labor’s Voice Israel’s welfare-work experiment “Wisconsin
Plan” has entered its decisive phase, as the two-year pilot period is
about to end in June 2007. This film shows how this plan is causing
the social and economic problems on Palestinian people in Israel.
laborers@laborers-voice.org http://www.laborers-voice.org

the Mall by Video 48 An inside look at the living conditions of
Palestinian workers inside Israel. Their home is a mall.
www.odaction.org/wac

The Alley (14 min) 2007 by a-films/RJI From Occupied Palestine, this
film explores aspects of the current political economy of Balata
Refugee Camp in Nablus. Perspectives from this hard-hit community
include the insights and voices of vegetable sellers and other
residents of Balata, such as those forced by the harsh conditions of
Israeli occupation to seek work in a sweatshop at the edge of the
camp. a-fils[at]riseup[dot]net <mailto:a-filns@riseup.net>

USA vs Al-Arian (98 min) 2007 by Line Halvorsen This is the story of
the targeting by the US government of Palestinian American professor
Dr. Sami Al-Arian at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Sami
who was also a member of the NEA United Professors of Florida received
their support against the pressure to fire him after he appeared on
Fox s Bill O’Reilly show. The film shows a personal story of a family
living in a society where fear of terrorism has resulted in increasing
stigmatization and discrimination against Muslims. For years, Nahla
Al-Arian and her children have been fighting to prove the innocence of
husband and father Sami, a Palestinian refugee, and civil rights
activist, who has lived in the USA for more than thirty years. In
2003, Sami Al-Arian was accused of giving material support to a
terrorist organization and held in solitary confinement for over three
years. His six-month trial ended without a single guilty verdict. The
failure to convict Dr. Al-Arian was seen as a stinging rebuke for the
federal government. While the Bush administration considered this a
landmark case in its campaign against international terrorism,
Professor Sami Al-Arian claims he has been targeted in an attempt to
silence his political views. Because the jury hung on some of the
counts, however, Dr. Al-Arian remained in jail as the prosecution
threatened to retry him. Laila Al-Arian, daughter of Sami Al-Arian
will be attending. http://www.usavsalarian.com

Sponsored by Labor Video Project and Endorsed By New College Center
For Activism

For Further Information Please contact
Labor Video Project
P.O. Box 720027
San Francisco, CA 94172
(415)282-1908
lvpsf@labornet.org