Here’s what the Histadrut had to say about Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza: <www.labourstart.org/israel/Histadrut_on_Gaza.pdf>.
Excerpt:
The Histadrut would have preferred that the current situation had not developed this way. Israel embarked on operation “Cast Lead” after acting with great restraint for many years towards unbearable constant terror attacks from Gaza and making every diplomatic attempt to avoid confrontation. Israel agreed to a “state of calm”, while Hamas exploited the agreement to build up its forces and rearm. Not only did Hamas rearm itself, but it terminated the calm by launching up to 80 rockets a day at Israeli civilians. By this time, Israel had no choice but to respond to the repeated attacks and aggression as an act of justifiable self-defense. . .
If this cannot convince unions in Europe, Canada, the US, and elsewhere to sever ties with the Histadrut, nothing will!
The Histadrut is not just an integral part of Israel’s colonial and apartheid system; it plays a major role in justifying Israeli war crimes and other violations of international law.
Boycott the Histadrut NOW!
For the actual chronology of the ceasefire breakdown, as widely reported at the time and then completely forgotten, see “Fact Sheet: How Israel Torpedoed the Ceasefire to Produce a Casus Belli.”
Omar Barghouti is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). This article was first published by LabourNet UK on 22 January 2009.