Labour for Palestine

The ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli state is good news––the killing and destruction stops for now. The oppression of the Palestinian people, however, does not cease, nor the seemingly inexorable annexation of their land. When the most recent hostilities erupted in Jerusalem and Gaza, a group of young workers in Hamilton decided that immediate action was necessary to express support for Palestinians from the local labour movement. Solidarity cannot wait for formal meetings. 

 

The young workers drafted a motion (below) and circulated it to the Executive Council of the Hamilton and District Labour Council, asking that the Executive use its authority to adopt it as an emergency resolution. The HDLC has a significant history of supporting the Palestinian people, so the resolution was adopted. 

 

It is words, and words do not change anything usually. But if they inform and prompt folks to engage in struggle, words can be critical. This initiative by some young worker helped galvanize support for the rally in Hamilton on May 16th. It also conveyed to the local Palestinian community that labour has not forgotten them.

 

The Young Workers is a group established by the Hamilton and District Labour Council that brings together “new” workers from organized and unorganized workplaces, from affiliated and unaffiliated unions, and students. They advise the labour council on issues that matter to workers of their age. They also act: organizing in ways that reflect their interest in advancing workers’ rights and the struggle for economic and social justice––everywhere.

 

The resolution gave rise to a statement from the Labour Council that sought to connect the Palestinian cause to local struggles for land and home. In part, the statement reads, “So much of what is happening is a battle over land. At HDLC, we firmly believe that housing rights are workers’ rights and indigenous peoples should exercise sovereignty over their land. HDLC stood alongside tenants on rent strike in 2019 and we continue to stand alongside Land Back Lane. We stand alongside Palestinians as their land is continuously annexed and their houses destroyed.”

 

Labour stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine!

 

Hamilton and District Labour Council emergency resolution:

WHEREAS Palestine, on Monday evening, called on the international community to intervene urgently to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

WHEREAS on Monday evening, the Israeli military killed at least 24 Palestinians, 9 of them children, and injured at least 103 in the Gaza Strip.

WHEREAS Israel continues to annex Palestinian land, most recently demonstrated through the forced evictions and terrorization of the Palestinian people in Sheikh Jarrah.

WHEREAS the ongoing occupation of Palestine has created an apartheid state where Israeli lives are valued over Palestinians, where since 1948 many Palestinians have not had free movement among their territories or basic rights including the right to vote.

WHEREAS CBC and other news sources continue to display pro-Israel bias in their reporting of Palestine and Israel.

BIRT we call on Hamilton Members of Parliament to condemn the acts of violence and displacement perpetrated by the Israeli military. 

BIRT the HDLC writes to CBC to voice our concern on their biased reporting.

BIRT HDLC release a statement on the Nakba, the Palestinian day of mourning occurring on May 15, to condemn these displays of white supremacy, colonization and the ongoing murdering of Palestinians.