[Imc-beirut] Canadian Union of Postal Workers joins the international campaign against Israeli apartheid.

[Tadamon!]

* Canadian Union of Postal Workers joins the
international campaign against Israeli apartheid

April 2008: Sign on Statement and Appeal for Solidarity

http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/1356

We the undersigned organizations congratulate the Canadian Union of Postal 
Workers (CUPW) for joining the international boycott of Israeli apartheid. We 
call on workers and labour unions worldwide to join CUPW in creating a strong 
and effective labour movement in solidarity with struggles against Israeli 
apartheid and violence.

At the national convention of CUPW, representing over fifty thousand workers 
across Canada, a strong majority of delegates voted for a resolution in support 
of the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against 
Israeli apartheid.

Marking the first time a country-wide labour union in North America has voted 
to participate in the global campaign against apartheid in Palestine, CUPW's 
resolution represents a critical juncture for the involvement of North American 
labour in this campaign. International support for CUPW's resolution - which 
recognizes the Palestinian people's inalienable rights, including the right of 
return - could prove key to shoring up this victory.

In Canada, CUPW has been at the forefront of campaigns against privatization 
and deregulation of postal services in Canada, while maintaining a proud 
history of international solidarity. During the South African apartheid years, 
CUPW played a lead role in labor solidarity with South African workers, 
engaging in concrete actions such as the refusal to handle mail from South 
Africa.

CUPW has now joined the international campaign against Israeli apartheid, 
committing itself to "support the international campaign of boycott, divestment 
and sanctions until Israel meets its obligations to recognize the Palestinian 
people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the 
precepts of international law including the right of Palestinian refugees to 
return to their homes and lands as stipulated in UN Resolution 194."

Israel's apartheid and colonial policies have resulted in the near collapse of 
the Palestinian economy, resulting in massive unemployment and bleak poverty. 
In the West Bank, over 51 % of the population is estimated to live under the 
poverty line; in Gaza, the figure rises to 81 %. Israel's policies have had a 
particularly acute effect on Palestinian postal workers, as the apartheid 
regime has ensured that there is no Palestinian-controlled access to other 
countries.

As a result, all incoming and outgoing Palestinian mail has to pass through the 
Israeli postal service, which routinely delays delivery, often for several 
months. In the course of fulfilling their duty, Palestinian postal workers are 
forced to travel through Israeli checkpoints at which Israeli soldiers 
regularly delay their passage, detaining them for hours under the sun or rain, 
or denying them passage altogether. Working under a brutal military occupation, 
Palestinian postal workers can risk imprisonment, injury, and death in the 
course of a day's work.

CUPW's resolution comes at a time when Israel prepares to celebrate the 
sixtieth year since its establishment, a celebration in which many of the most 
powerful governments of the world will participate. For sixty years, the 
Palestinian people have endured and resisted ongoing displacement, land 
confiscation, military violence, institutionalized racism, and political 
repression of the minority who managed to remain in their homeland. CUPW's 
resolution is a clear statement to the world that when the states of the world 
stand behind oppression and apartheid, it is up to the people of the world to 
oppose it.

Every passing week demostrates the urgent need for a strong popular movement 
against Israeli apartheid. Last week, Israel once more stepped up the violence 
of its bloody siege of Gaza, leaving dozens of Palestinian civilians dead. 
Israel continues to impose collective punishment on the 1.5 million 
Palestinians of Gaza, who live with chronic shortages of electricity, fuel, 
food and basic necessities as a result.

We call on all workers and labour unions to join CUPW in creating a strong and 
effective boycott movement to help bring an end to this injustice and violence.

---> Actions you can take:

* Endorse this statement: send the name of your organization and city to
tadamon[at]resist.ca

* Send a message of solidarity through email or fax to the CUPW National office 
congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid. Please fax your 
letter of support to CUPW National Office at:

+ 1 613 563 7861 or email care of tadamon[at]resist.ca.

* Ask your union, community group, association or collective to follow CUPW's 
lead and adopt a position in support of the international campaign for boycott, 
divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

* In Montreal, join the "Boycott Apartheid" bloc in the Coalition for Justice 
and Peace in Palestine demonstration to mark the 60th year of the Nakba on 
Saturday, 10 May 2008, 1pm Dorchester Square (Peel & René-Lévesque). To join 
the boycott bloc, look for the 'boycott Israeli apartheid' banner...

---> Endorsed by:

Tadamon! Montreal (Montreal, Quebec)
Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) (Palestine)
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto, Canada) Fédération nationale des 
enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (Quebec) Association pour une Solidarité 
Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ) (Quebec) Campaign to boycott Supporters of Israel 
(Beirut, Lebanon)
People's Movement (Beirut, Lebanon)
Civil Resistance Campaign (Beirut, Lebanon) Committee Against Normalization of 
Relations with "Israel" in Jordan (Jordan)

-------------------------

Tadamon! Montreal
tel: + 1 514 664 1036
email: tadamon[at]resist.ca
web: http://tadamon.resist.ca