Israeli boycotts: gesture politics or a moral imperative?
I welcome your leader criticising the decision by the NUJ to boycott Israeli goods (April 20). For many years we have been working with trade unions in the region, the Histadrut (Israeli TUC) and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), to meet and establish links with British unions. What trade unionists need in the region is solidarity, engagement and respect, not divisive calls that can only help the extremists.
The general secretary of the PGFTU said in a letter only this week to Ofer Eini, chairman of the Histadrut, that "we must emphasise our mutual need for peace in our two societies, for the benefit both of workers and because peace will reflect stability". If the two union federations want to work for peace together it is our duty to support them. It is a pity that the NUJ did not take part in our recent delegation to the region to show real solidarity with fellow trade unionists, rather than taking on gesture politics.
Roger Lyons
Chair, Trade Union Friends of Israel
Saturday April 21, 2007
The Guardian