[antiwar-van] FW: BC Federation of Labour resolution on the wall

[hanna]

Only one delegate voted against the motion, Charley King from BCTF - he was
an NDP candidate in the last federal election.

Hanna

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken [mailto:knhiebert at shaw.ca]
Sent: December 4, 2004 7:34 AM
To:


This is the motion that went through the BC Fed convention on Friday,
December 3..  The last speaker to this resolution was in fact two speakers,
both from the BC Federation  Teachers Federation.  An Israeli born Canadian
and a Canadian from an Arab country stood together at the mike taking turns
speaking and ended by raising their hands together.
No one spoke against the resolution and from where I was seated I could see
no votes in opposition.
This success reflects work done by the Trade Union Committee for Justice in
the Middle East.
                                                        ken h


The Wall Must Fall

We ask that you support Resolutions #111 - 116 submitted by BCGEU, CUPE
Local 703, VESTA, Vancouver & District Labour Council, Kamloops & District
Labour Council and Mount Waddington North Vancouver Island Labour Council.


In July 2004, the International Court of Justice (the United Nations’
highest judicial body) ruled that Israel’s “separation wall” is illegal, and
that it must be torn down immediately.

By a vote of 14-1, the Court made it clear that Israel has a right to build
a wall for its own protection against terrorism, but not on someone else’s
land.

Only 10% of the wall is being built on the 1967 border between Israel and
the West Bank, the only border the world recognises.

The other 90% of the wall snakes through Palestinian lands, completely
enclosing whole towns and villages. It separates thousands of Palestinian
farmers from their fields, workers from their jobs, and students from their
schools. It effectively imprisons 2.2 million people.

The underlying aim of the wall is to ensure that the 200 Jewish-only
settlements as well as the confiscated Palestinian lands in the West Bank
remain in Israel’s hands in perpetuity. These settlements are themselves
illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Their existence constitutes a
war crime under both Canadian and international law.

After the World Court brought down its ruling, Israel immediately announced
that it would not obey it. “It belongs in the garbage can of history,” said
Prime Minister Sharon’s spokesperson. Two weeks later, the United Nations’
General Assembly voted 150-6 to demand that Israel immediately comply with
the ruling. Canada was one of 10 countries that abstained on this vote.

The World Court’s judgement and the UN resolution both establish that
international law has a central role to play in the search for peace in the
Middle East. Israel’s refusal to abide by legal rulings and UN resolutions
places it in the role of a serial offender. Its defiance – backed by the
country’s overwhelming military strength and unquestioning support from the
United States – ensures that the Middle East conflict will continue to be
characterized by the use of brute force rather than the rule of law.

Only international pressure can put a stop to Israel’s illegal wall. In the
aftermath of the ICJ decision, the Presbyterian and Anglican churches, along
with other groups, are considering sanctions  against Israel like those that
were deployed to bring an end to South African apartheid. We should echo
these voices. It is our goal to deliver a clear message to the Canadian
government that by supporting this resolution, we want our elected leaders
to understand that Canadian unionists are saying the wall must fall.

Resolution

Whereas the trade union movement recognizes that peaceful resolution of
international disputes requires respect for international law, and

Whereas the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled July 2, 2004
that the separation wall Israel is constructing in occupied Palestinian
territory is illegal and that the wall makes it impossible for Palestinians
to exercise their right of self--determination, and

Whereas the Court ruled that no state should recognize this illegal wall and
that every state should work to dismantle it, and

Whereas July 21, 2004 the U. N. General Assembly voted 150-6, with 10
abstentions, including Canada's, to endorse the International Court of
Justice decision,

Therefore be it resolved that the B. C. Federation of Labour through the
Canadian Labour Congress demand that the Canadian government uphold
international law and enforce the International Court of Justice decision by
taking every measure within its power to dismantle the Israeli separation
wall in the West Bank.
Why it is important for Canadian labour to take a stand on this issue

Some may argue that this resolution is “antisemitic” because it criticises
Israel. We strongly disagree. This is an issue of basic human rights and
international law. Notable progressives such as Nelson Mandela, Noam Chomsky
and Libby Davies agree that the wall must fall. At the same time, prominent
conservatives like George Bush, Conrad Black, David Asper and Stockwell Day
are giving unqualified support to the construction of Israel’s apartheid
wall.

This leaflet is published by the Trade Union Committee for Justice in the
Middle East (TUCJME). TUCJME has members in CUPE, BCGEU, CAW, CUPW, BCTF and
other affiliates of the BC Fed and the CLC. If you would like information
about TUCJME or are interested in news about the situation in
Israel-Palestine, please contact us at tucjme at telus.net.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/antiwar-van/attachments/20041204/49f012c1/attachment.html>