‘Workers Initiative’ is a first polish trade union that endorses BDS!
Workers Initiative Trade Union in Poland
Kościelna 4 Street
60-538 Poznań
REGON: 634611023
KRS: 0000215247
web: http://www.ozzip.pl
e-mail: ip@ozzip.pl
IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE WE BOYCOTT ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION
Statement by the National Commission of Workers Initiative Trade Union in Poland
In response to the international appeal issued by the Palestinian civil society organizations and trade unions, the National Commission of Workers’ Initiative Trade Union in Poland declares its support for the BDS campaign which aims to restore the national rights of the Palestinian people living under military occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as well as those of the Palestinian refugees, Palestinians living in Israel and the Diaspora.
The BDS campaign, launched in 2005, was inspired by the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. The current situation in the Occupied Territory largely resembles that which prevailed in South Africa during the apartheid era. The creation of a regime that separates populations and leads to institutional domination of Israels over Palestinians while denying the Palestinians their right to self-determination, the unlawful seizure of land for the purpose of building illegal Israeli settlements, construction of the “apartheid wall” that locks Palestinians into “Bantustans” as in South Africa, ongoing demolitions of Palestinian homes, wholesale repression of the civilian population, violent attacks on social protests – all these recall the worst days of apartheid.
The BDS Campaign has 3 main goals:
Ending the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands and the dismantling the separation wall built inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
Equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and
Recognition of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their lands and homes in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
During the last Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, “The European Network of Grassroots and Alternative Trade Unions,” in which we participate as an observer, issued a statement supporting BDS and recommending that unions cut ties with the Israeli trade union, the Histadrut, which supports Israeli government policy. The Warsaw Commission of the Workers’ Initative Trade Union also supported a demonstration against the Israeli massacre in Gaza, and in many ways we have shown our solidarity with the struggle against the occupation of Palestine.
We support the BDS campaign because, as members of Workers’ Initiative, we believe it is imperative to stand in international solidarity and support for all communities and peoples who are victims of violence, exploitation and imperialism. We encourage all our members to actively support initiatives of the Polish Palestine Solidarity Campaign <http://www.kampania-palestyna.pl>.
Our position stems from opposition to inequality, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Just as we condemn the racist policies of Israel, we oppose any form of discrimination based on nationality or religion that may oppress the citizens of Israel or the Jewish people. Our enemies are the states and capital, regardless of nationality, not individual nations or peoples.
