south african solidarity with palestinians
nn - 04.02.2009 09:59
CAIA Message of Support and Solidarity
To: South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU)
For: Refusing to offload a ship coming from Israel to South Africa carrying
Israeli Goods.
The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) in Canada commends the members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) in Durban for making history by being the first group of workers to refuse to offload a ship coming from Israel and carrying Israeli goods (statement from union and South African Solidarity Organizations below). This act is not surprising. As workers who have lived under apartheid in South Africa, they understand the miseries of apartheid and the importance of international solidarity work in the struggle against apartheid regimes. In doing so, the workers are taking a strong position, refusing to accept racism, oppression and apartheid as acceptable norms. Today, South Africa is leading the world in the struggle against Israeli apartheid, and giving a clear message, that unless Israel ends the apartheid system it imposes on the Palestinian people, it will be boycotted by the rest of the world.
This act comes at a time when Israel has increased the level and intensity of its crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The brave South African workers are showing the world that Israel should, and could be held accountable for its crimes. At the time when the UN and the “international community” have repeatedly letdown the Palestinians, the South African workers have shown everyone that it is not only up to the governments, but also individuals, groups and unions and have the power to hold Israel to account.
This act is part of the growing Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel that was called for by 171 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005. This campaign was inspired by the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and today, South Africans are inspiring the world again by making breakthroughs in the Palestinian BDS campaign. Members of SATAWU are not alone in this struggle. In the past month alone, a number of unions from different parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Norway joined the struggle against Israeli apartheid by adopting the BDS campaign. In Canada, two major labour unions have joined the BDS campaign. In 2006 the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario decided to adopt the campaign, and in 2008 the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) joined the campaign.
The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) is a Palestine solidarity organization based in Toronto (Canada) and is part of a growing global movement against Israeli apartheid. CAIA was formed in January 2006 and is active in different levels including among students, faculty, labor unions and high schools. For more details, please visit the website www.caiaweb.org or send an email to  endapartheid@riseup.net.
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