Last Saturday Dave Chapple (Secretary Bridgwater TUC) and myself met Asaf Adiv and Hadas Lahav from the Israeli Workers Advice Center. They were visiting Britain for a short holiday. We had the opportunity to discuss the current war situation as well as the development of WAC's work. It participated in the recent demonstration in Tel Avid against Israel's attack on Lebanon.
It held its AGM recently in Tel Aviv (read WAC-MAAN General Meeting calls for a new trade-union initiative and an end to the war on Lebanon )
WAC is interested in visiting trades unionists in Britain, possibly in the Spring of next year, to explain their work and to develop links. We will be writing to organisations supporting SOLIDARITY (and magazine subscribers), to ask if they would sponsor a visit and to pledge a financial contribution towards the cost. The length of such a visit and itinerary will obviously depend upon the amount of money we are able to raise.
We will also be approaching national trades unions which WAC would obviously be interested in meeting.
As you may well know from material in previous issues of SOLIDARITY, WAC brings together Israeli Jews and Arabs as equals in the effort of developing a new trade union initiative. Whilst its work has tended to be concentrated amongst the Arab Israeli population, especially in the construction industry, it seeks to build a class movement which unites Jewish and Arab Israeli workers. This is no easy task given the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, they have recently carried out work in relation to the Wisconsin plan (which forces unemployed to work for their social security) which impacts on both Arabs and Jews. They have also been supporting Jewish workers sacked by Israeli Educational TV, for whom the Histadrut, the official trade union did nothing. (See Against the Revolving Door at Israel’s Eucational TV)
Please let us know if you think your union branch or organisation would be likely to sponsor a visit.
For more information visit WAC's web site.
posted by Martin Wicks @ Sunday, August 20, 2006
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