A new movement to unite trade unions and other NGOs working against boycotts of Israel began operation last week.
Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine (TULIP)
is led by labor officials from three continents –
Paul Howes
, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union;
Stuart Appelbaum
, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (US/Canada); and
Michael Leahy
, general secretary of Community, a British trade union – aims “to challenge the apologists for Hamas and Hizbullah in the labor movement” and fight for “genuine peace, justice and reconciliation.”
The new organization also condemns boycott calls by trade unions.
“… in recent years, a number of national unions and trade union centers have changed course and abandoned that role [of trade unions]. Instead, they have rallied behind those Palestinians who are opposed to the peace process. Some have gone so far as to deny Israel’s right to exist,” TULIP declares in its mission statement.
“A number of those unions have called for boycotts and sanctions directed against Israel, and only against Israel. They are attempting to demonize the Jewish state, to deny it legitimacy, and to whip up hatred against it. Sometimes that hatred even spills over into antisemitism.
“Those unions are wrong – terribly wrong,” the statement continues.
Source:
http://www.jpost.com/
