That’s the headline of a press statement on the website of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) today.

The statement opens with these sentences:

“In Palestine there lives a peace-loving people like all of us, who look forward to enjoying a life of decency and dignity. These people once had a place they called their own; the land, the peace, the environment, the natural resources and all that they possessed then. It was so until the arrival of the forces of occupation, in the form of the Israeli Zionists who took all that was ever possessed by these people and turned them into perpetual slaves without land and freedom.”

One can hardly imagine a more dishonest account of the history of Israel and Palestine.

This black-and-white, simplistic portrayal of innocent, peace-loving Palestinians turned into slaves by Jews is a vicious and dangerous lie — especially when coming from what has been, until now, one of the most respected trade union movements in the world.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is, as everyone knows, a bit more complicated than that, with rights and wrongs on both sides.  Which is why unions, and indeed all decent people, should be working to help promote genuine peace and reconciliation, and not stirring up hatred of one side or the other.

The full text of the COSATU statement is here.

Sinn Fein mural in Belfast 2010.

Last night, four trade union opponents of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign targetting Israel were given the opportunity to make their case before a standing-room only crowd in Belfast.

In an event organised by Northern Ireland Friends of Israel (NIFI), activists from unions in the UK and the Republic of Ireland spoke out against the “Israel is apartheid” slander and called for engagement rather than boycott.

The speakers included Terry McCorran (who chaired the meeting) — a Unison branch official in Northern Ireland; Lilach Head, a Unison activist from England; Chris Hudson, who spent 18 years working as a full time official for Irish trade unions; and Eric Lee from TULIP (a member of the National Union of Journalists in the UK).  McCorran chaired the meeting and all four speakers appeared in an individual capacity, not representing their unions.

Head spoke about the experience of being an Israeli-born trade unionist in Britain, of the exclusion of Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI) from the Unison conference last year, and of the courage required to get up in front of thousands of conference delegates and make the case against boycotts.

McCorran spoke about examples of anti-Israel sentiment in Northern Ireland — but also about how many in the community identify closely with Israel.  He also reported on his participation in a TUFI delegation to Israel and the West Bank in November 2009.

Hudson, who has had years of experience not only as a trade union leader, but also a leading anti-apartheid campaigner, made a strong case that Israel can in no way be called an apartheid society.

Lee explained what the BDS campaign was all about, who supports it and who opposes it, why it is a bad idea — and what we can all do about it.  He made six concrete suggestions:

1. If you support genuine peace between Israelis and Palestinians, support those organizations in Israel and Palestine that campaign for this – including Peace Now, One Voice, the Parent’s Circle and many others.
2. Here in the UK, support those organizations that campaign against BDS – including TULIP, TUFI and NIFI.
3. Challenge BDS supporters without fear – it is their argument to lose, and they are the ones who do not want debate.
4. Practice zero-tolerance of anti-Semitism – just as we would not tolerate any other form of racism.
5. Buy Israeli products.
6. Visit Israel – see for yourself what “apartheid” looks like.

Over 200 copies of the TULIP founding statement were distributed at the event.

The idea that Israel is an apartheid society — which is a completely false one — is made to seem legitimate by the involvement of those who fought against a genuinely apartheid regime.  That’s why the South African unions are so important to the fight to demonise and delegitimise Israel.

The first week of March is International Israel Apartheid Week, which apparently began in Canada five years ago.  But as this statement issued by COSATU shows, South African unions now play the leading role in efforts to isolate the Jewish state.

A careful reading of the statement, and an awareness of recent history, is a chilling experience.

For example, COSATU encourages South Africans “to isolate all organizations and individuals doing business with Israel and its supporters” — a clear reference to the country’s Jewish community.

Last winter, anti-Israel demonstrations in South Africa specifically targeted Jewish, and not Israeli, institutions.   COSATU’s own international affairs officer, Bongani Masuku, engaged in openly anti-Semitic agitation during that period and yet remains at his post.

While it is entirely legitimate to criticise Israeli policies and actions, efforts to stigmatise Israel as being an apartheid society contribute nothing towards peace in the Middle East and should be resisted by all those who want genuine reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis.

Shaher Saed

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions  (PGFTU) has accepted an invitation from the AFL-CIO  to meet in Washington DC to look for ways to improve relations between US and Palestinian unions.

The General-Secretary of the PGFTU, Shaher Saed, is leading the delegation which arrived in Washington on Monday.

This visit aims to identify American trade unions who are eager  to establish relations with their Palestinian counterparts so as to help Palestinian workers to improve their lives.

(more)

This report comes from a widely respected Israeli  non-profit non-government  organisation  Kav LaOved (Worker’s Hotline)  committed to protecting the rights of disadvantaged workers employed in Israel and by Israelis in the Occupied Territories, including Palestinians, migrant workers, subcontracted workers and new immigrants.

Kav LaOved operates 4 branches in Israel (Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Be’er Sheba), and two extensions in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Kav LaOved is women-led at both board and the staff levels.

Constructin unions in Israel and Palestine began talks last year about how best to improve workplace health and safety standards for Palestinian workers ( see end of this item for more info) (more)

University labour union members plan a series of protests to take place in universities across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, over demands for an increase in salaries.

Mousa Rawashda, the union’s spokesman, said that they are calling for an increase in salaries in accordance with the higher cost of living , which had previously been agreed upon by the Ministry of Higher Education and the union on 1 September 2009.

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In a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on 16 February, ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder discussed the deep economic problems confronting Palestinians, and the government’s plans to tackle a series of labour issues including vocational training, employment services, occupational health and safety and labour inspection.

Meet with PGFTU leader Shaher Sae’d

Shaher Saed

Shaher Sae’d, general secretary of the ITUC’s Palestinian affiliate PGFTU, took part in the discussions, which also included meetings with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Labour Minister Ahmed Majdalani.

Ryder stressed the importance of the PGFTU’s role as an independent trade union centre, and welcomed indications that the Palestinian Authority would establish an economic and social council to institutionalise social dialogue.

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The hoped for revival and democratisation of the Palestinian journalists union – with the support of the International Federation of Journalists – seems to have collapsed in a heap.

Journalists in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are angrily denouncing the Palestinian Authority over its  interference in the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) election held last week.

Many journalists accused the PA leadership of stealing the vote to ensure that Fatah members and security officers took control of the union.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) – has not had an election for nearly twenty years and has been almost moribund for most of that time.

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The employment rights of guest workers and Palestinian workers will be protected under a dramatic breakthrough collective agreement  for Israeli building sites adopted in January 2010.

Under the first ever national agreement the starting pay for all construction workers on Israeli building sites will now be 19% above the minimum wage.

The global union federation for construction workers – the Building and Wood Workers International – has just released the latest details of a national agreement for all workers on Israeli construction sites.

The announcement is a major challenge to the Israeli right-wing who have campaigned to push all non-Israelis, working in construction,  out of the country.

The Histadrut Chairman, Ofer Eini, the President of the Association of Construction and Builders, Nissim Boublil, and the Construction Workers Union Chairman, Yitzhak Moyal, signed a sector collective agreement in the construction sector on January 21, 2010.

The agreement will apply for the first time to all employees in the construction sector. (more)