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Anti-Israel boycott sparks trade union debate
On Aug. 28, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. attacked British unions for supporting a boycott of Israel. The Chief, an influential weekly newspaper that covers civil service unions and is widely read by New York City civil service union members and New York City politicians, published an article in the Sept. 7th edition about Comptroller Thompson’s action. The article included a statement of praise for Thompson’s action that was issued by Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) President Stuart Appelbaum.The statements of Thompson and Appelbaum, as printed in The Chief, have unwittingly initiated a long-sought dialogue in the union movement over the question of Israel. The AFL-CIO support for Israel has been in lock step with U.S. foreign policy for more than a half century. Historically, union members could only expect a full frontal political attack upon even raising the issue at a union meeting. Union leaders who have dared to speak out against Zionism have been hounded out of office. For all these years the “P- word” (P for Palestine) has been a forbidden subject on the union floor.
What happened next must have really shocked Comptroller Thompson and JLC President Appelbaum and all the supporters of Israel in the New York City labor movement. The Chief received and published a letter in the Oct.19 issue from four New York City trade unionists—Mike Letwin, Brenda Stokely, Larry Adams and Marty Goodman—defending the international union boycott of Israel.
Their
letter states, “This boycott—many of whose supporters are Jewish—DOES
NOT target Israel for its ethnicity, but for theft and colonization of Arab
lands, denial of equality to Arab-Palestinians in Israel, and violation of Palestinian
Refugees’ right to return home. ... Moreover, apartheid
In response to the letter from these unionists supporting the Israel boycott, two more letters in The Chief were printed in the Oct. 26 edition. One of the two letters came from Stuart Leibowitz, president of the District Council 37, AFSCME Retirees Association. As expected, the letter from Retirees Association President Leibowitz contained all the usual Zionist rhetoric about “besieged and surrounded” Israel and was titled “Ganging up on Israel.”
The other letter printed by The Chief was written by Mike Gimbel, a delegate to the New York City Central Labor Council from Local 375, one of the largest unions in District Council 37. Gimbel stated that he is “a Jewish trade unionist who supports the just struggle of the Palestinian people and the boycott of Israel.” The heading for the letter was “A Call for Dialogue.” Gimbel’s letter went on to state: “The issue of the boycott of Israel can’t be allowed to be pushed under the rug. The issue of Zionism is central to almost every political conflict in the Middle-East. U.S. foreign policy for over a half-century is wedded to the ideology and strategy of Zionism. ... Let’s have a dialogue on the rise of anti-Semitism but most importantly, engage the labor movement in a dialogue about Palestinian human rights and the right of return. Let’s not cover up the U.S. sponsored crimes of Zionism.” Gimbel’s letter concludes with the following statement: “Isn’t it about time that our unions set up forums where both sides can be heard? That’s what I actually did in my union chapter many years ago. Unity cannot be achieved by silencing our Palestinian and Middle-Eastern members. Let’s follow the old and true union motto: ‘In unity there is strength.’”
Trade unionist denounces Zionism
Anti-Israel boycott sparks trade union debate
The following letter was written on Oct. 17 by Mike Gimbel, recently retired member of AFSCME Local 375 and current elected Local 375 delegate to the New York City-Central Labor Council. Gimbel wrote the letter in response to an article that appeared in the Sept. 7 edition of The Chief whereby New York City Comptroller William Thompson attacked British trade unions for supporting a boycott of Israel. (See accompanying article entitled, “Anti-Israel boycott sparks trade union debate.”) Gimbel’s letter was printed in the Oct. 26 edition of The Chief, a weekly publication read by civil service union members.
As
a Jewish trade unionist who supports the just struggle of the Palestinian people
and the boycott of Israel, I object to the hypocrisy inherent in the Jewish
Labor Committee (JLC) President Stuart Appelbaum’s statements, as quoted
in the Sept. 7 issue. JLC President Appelbaum, in opposition to the boycott
of
Where has the JLC actually done this? The JLC is a partisan supporter of Zionism! It has always fought strenuously against such a dialogue within the labor movement! Please tell me what unions in NYC have allowed representatives of the Palestinian resistance movement to speak to their members? From my own personal experience, I know that just bringing up the question of defense of the Palestinians, even in the most moderate fashion, is enough to bring down on one’s head a full frontal political attack intended to silence all critics of Zionism.
Many years ago, I chaired a large meeting of my union chapter where I invited both sides to speak. Only the Palestinian side showed up because the Zionists’ side refused to sit at the same table with the Palestinians! Last month, at a meeting I chaired at DC 37 opposing the Iraq occupation, I made a plea to the union movement to begin a dialogue on this critical issue. The JLC letter is quoted as stating: “We call for increased engagement of trade unions with their counterparts on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” I challenge the JLC to make that statement a reality! I’ll gladly help them set up such a meeting where the rank-and-file union members can attend and ask questions. Let’s start a real and continuing dialogue!
The issue of the boycott ofCan
the AFL-CIO affiliated American Center for International Labor Solidarity known
as the Solidarity Center continue to embrace U.S. support for the Israel occupation
while unions all over the world are backing the boycott? In order to emphasize
the importance of the issue, I stated at the meeting I chaired at DC 37 last
month that “Today’s Palestinians are yesterday’s Jews”
and “Today’s Gaza Strip is yesterday’s Warsaw Ghetto.”
We must support the seven million Palestinian refugees waiting outside occupied
Palestine for decades because the Zionists refuse their legal right to return,
while the other three million Palestinians live directly under the Zionist boot
heel. This is one of the greatest crimes in human history along with the Nazi
slaughter of six million Jews!
Let’s have a dialogue on the rise of anti-Semitism but most importantly,
engage the labor movement in a dialogue about Palestinian human rights and the
right of return. Let’s not cover up the U.S. sponsored crimes of Zionism.
As a first step in that dialogue, I was pleased to see that The Chief printed
the letter in your Oct. 19th edition that was written by Larry Adams, Brenda
Stokely, Marty Goodman and Michael Letwin that criticized Comptroller William
C. Thompson and the JLC witch-hunt of the British unions for boycotting Israel.
I contacted them, after seeing their letter in The Chief, in order to say how
much I liked their letter.
Our union members come from all over the world. That includes the Middle East
and it includes Palestinians as well. Shouldn’t we give them the right
to be heard? Shouldn’t we also allow Jewish anti-Zionists to be heard?
Isn’t it about time that our unions set up forums where both sides can
be heard? That’s what I actually did in my union chapter many years ago.
Unity cannot be achieved by silencing our Palestinian and Middle Eastern members.
Let’s follow the old and true union motto: “In unity there is strength.”
International Action Center
The International Action
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