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John Douglas calls for a consumer led boycott of Israeli goods
Friday 28 May 2010, 12am
Despite losing nine key speakers to the impact of the volcanic ash, the Congress conference on the Middle East went ahead in St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle on Friday, 16th April 2010 and several hundred union members heard from a wide variety of international speakers on how unions could best assist a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The aim of the conference was twofold: to build support for Congress policy on the Middle East and to learn from other trade union actions around the world; to strengthen relationships with the labour movements in the Middle East and beyond and to assist discussion about how union solidarity can contribute to a peaceful solution that respects both UN resolutions and human and trade union rights.
The Conference was chaired by Congress President, Jack O Connor.
In November 2007, a Congress delegation which included Mandate General Secretary John Douglas visited the region and met with representatives of all sides, including Israeli and Palestinian trade unions, the Israeli government and civil society activists. Members of the delegation entered the Gaza strip to meet with representatives of the elected Hamas authority. The delegation subsequently published a report of their findings and made key recommendations. The full report is available at this link: http://www.ictu.ie/download/pdf/palestine_final.pdf
In 2009, Congress adopted a motion at its Biennial Delegate Conference, which included support for calls from Palestinian civil society for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. At the conference, Mandate Trade Union General Secretary stressed that any boycott must be a consumer led boycott and retail workers should not be pressured into taking the action themselves.
“A successful boycott will be the result of a fully informed and educated consumer base which understands what is currently happening to the Palestinian people. The challenge for trade unions is to ensure that their members understand the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign and that they in turn inform their families and relatives,” said Mr Douglas.
http://www.ictu.ie/globalsolidarity/newsevents/2009/12/07/palestinian-trade-union-movement-unanimously-confirms-support-for-boycott-campaign/
The conference heard from Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, Omar Barghouti, Palestinian National Committee for BDS; Avital Shapira-Shabirow, Director of International Department, Histadrut (the General Federation of Labour in Israel) along with speakers from the US and Canada.
A lively debate followed a speech by Avital Shapira during which she accused Congress of bias against Israel. She also claimed that the BDS campaign could damage the prospect of a negotiated solution to the conflict.
Several speakers challenged Avital Shapira and claimed that Histadrut had not only failed to condemn the attack on Gaza in early 2009 in which 1400 people, including 300 children, were killed by Israeli forces but had actively defended it.
Concluding the sometimes heated discussion, Jack O'Connor said that it was not sufficient for trade unionists and progressive people to ignore the plight of the Palestinian people just as they should never have ignored the Holocaust in the mid 20th Century.
Several speakers called for an examination by Congress of more effective means to progress the BDS campaign.
By Macdara Doyle, ICTU Communications Officer (edited by Mandate)