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The Trade Union Movement and U.S. Middle East Policy
I introduced this resoluton at my General Membership meeting on 8-15-02. Motions to exclude it from the floor were defeated twice. The opposition argued that it has no place in the Union movement and/or it was anti-semitic.
The Trade Union Movement and U.S. Middle East Policy
Whereas the present crisis in the Middle East has reached unprecedented levels; and
Whereas Israel's illegal occupation and further colonization of Palestinian lands has driven 4 million Palestinians in to squalid and poverty stricken refugee camps: and
Whereas these conditions and Israel's denial of basic human rights to the Palestinian population have led to acts of desperation and despair by Palestinian youth facing the third or fourth largest army in the world; and
Whereas Israel is the single largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid-nearly one-third of the total direct bi-lateral aid receiving more aid than Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa combined excluding Egypt and Colombia; and
Whereas this has meant a U.S. taxpayer subsidy to Israel of some $3bn a year for the last 25 years and ;
Whereas when forgiven loans, military equipment and other indirect aid are added, total U.S. aid to Israel amounts to some $5bn a year ; and
Whereas U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing and arming a regime that illegally occupies Palestinian land, assassinates Palestinian leaders and demolishes Palestinian homes driving more and more people in to squalid refugee camps and in to the arms of terrorist organizations; and
Whereas this money is being spent as social services, jobs and workers' wages are being cut in the U.S. in order to pay for increasing deficits and for the "War on Terror"; and
Whereas eliminating terrorism, the security of Israel or the aspirations of millions of Palestinians will not be assured by continued funding of Israeli military occupation or the handing over of U.S. tax money to corrupt undemocratic Arab regimes like Saudi Arabia; therefore be it
RESOLVED that AFSCME call for the halting of all U.S. aid to Israel until it withdraws its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and supports the rights of Palestinians to self determination; and be it further
RESOLVED that AFSCME oppose all U.S. aid to Arab regimes such as Saudi Arabia until they recognize Israel's right to exist and allow within their borders the right to assemble, to vote, and to form independent Trade Unions ; and be it further
RESOLVED that AFSCME organize a series of public forums around the country in order to hear and discuss what the State of Israel is really doing in the occupied zones, the killings and brutalities it is perpetrating, how this affects workers internationally and what the US labor movement can do about
this; and be it finally
RESOLVED that AFSCME International, through its representative on the AFL-CIO Executive Council call for the AFL-CIO and Unions internationally to send observers to the occupied territories to ensure the safety of Palestinians in this area and to build links with Palestinian as well as Israeli unions
Adopted, General Membership meeting of AFSCME Local 444 8-15-02, Oakland CA
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Heavy Equipment Operator
Mon, Aug 19, 2002 6:20AM
aaah
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 11:41PM
More Good Reading
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 10:01PM
Heavy Equipment Operator
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 8:42PM
once upon a time
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 8:22PM
i wonder
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 6:11PM
Zionist Israel has no right to exist
Sun, Aug 18, 2002 9:02AM
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