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March 7, 2003
Unions focus on Israel
Campaign in support of Palestinians takes shape.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
A small group of activists met at a union hall in East Vancouver
last week, determined to have an impact on the Middle East situation.
About 40 people, most of them trade unionists, listened to a labor
leader who recently travelled to Israel and the West Bank, then
began planning what they promise will be a concerted fight by Canadian
unions to influence federal foreign policy and public perceptions
of the conflict.
The featured speaker was Deborah Bourque, president of CUPW (Canadian
Union of Postal Workers). In November, Bourque travelled to Israel
and parts of the occupied territories as part of a fact-finding
mission. She was accompanied by two CLC (Canadian Labor Congress)
officials, including national president Ken Georgetti, as well as
a representative of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Bourque said the delegation spent two days with Histadrut, the Israeli
labor organization, and Na'amat, its women's division, which operate
day-care and other social service facilities in Israel. The group
then spent an equivalent amount of time with officials from the
Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions. Though CUPW is generally
viewed as one of Canada's more radical unions, Bourque's presentation
offered a balanced depiction of a complicated issue.
"It's not terribly hopeful," Bourque said of the political
climate during her trip. Though careful not to justify terrorism,
Bourque acknowledged a profound sense of desperation among the Palestinian
people she met.
"They don't see any alternative to the violence that they are
engaged in," she said. Collective punishments – whereby
entire communities are punished with such measures as curfews if
one of their neighbors is engaged in terror – are an example
of Israeli excesses, Bourque argued, as are the continued population
of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories by people she
described as "Zionists from the Bronx."
Along with Vancouver-East member of Parliament Libby Davies, Bourque
was also on the "Rooting Out Evil" mission that travelled
to the United States last month in search of weapons of mass destruction.
In the end, Bourque concluded that the only hope for peace is dependent
on Israeli action.
"It is only the end of the occupation that will bring peace,"
she said.
In answering questions from the floor, Bourque acknowledged that
she has concerns about the lack of freedom trade unionists experience
in Arab countries, but suggested continued relations with Israeli
and western unionists will strengthen the movement in the Arab world.
Though the discussion was, at times, balanced, the atmosphere in
the room was decidedly pro-Palestinian. Some of the activists who
participated in the meeting Feb. 27 had been prime organizers of
the anti-apartheid movement in Canada 15 years ago. That campaign
ignited divestment and public opinion campaigns against the racist
South African regime of the time. Several participants at last week's
meeting promised to use the same methods – and some of the
same rhetoric – against Israel.
One speaker argued that seeking balance in discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict would be akin to seeking the opinion of white South Africans
prior to forming opinions on apartheid.
Sid Shniad, research director for the Telecommunications Workers
Union, also spoke, attacking Zionists for equating criticism of
Israel with anti-Semitism. Following an historical analysis of the
term anti-Semitism, Shniad, who is Jewish, stated that anti-Semitism
is not endemic to Arabs but is caused by the treatment of Arabs
by Israelis, particularly members of the Israel Defence Forces.
The 1948 War of Independence, in which Israel was attacked by all
adjacent Arab states, was described by Shniad as the region being
"ethnically cleansed" of Palestinians. He described Israeli
government actions in the subsequent years as "racist and oppressive
policies."
While one member of the audience said she was "ashamed to say
that I happen to be a Jew," a younger union activist spoke
movingly of being raised in a Jewish home and coming to a conclusion
about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that led her to participate
in a march to end the occupation of Palestinian territories. She
said it was a difficult decision, but one she viewed as morally
correct.
The evening event was organized by the Trade Union Committee for
Justice in the Middle East and was co-sponsored by CUPW and the
CLC.
Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and
commentator.
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