Historic win for Hot Cargo on Israel
CLC votes to cut ties with the Histadrut
At the beginning of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) convention earlier this week, democratic debate was blocked on a resolution to declare all Israeli goods, services, and institutional relationships Hot Cargo.
Despite this, Labour for Palestine (L4P) activists, from unions across the country, refused to give up and successfully amended a second Palestine solidarity resolution to include cutting ties with the Histadrut, one of the core demands of the Hot Cargo Kills campaign.
Today, delegates at the CLC voted overwhelmingly in support of the amended resolution that calls on the CLC to cut ties with the Histadrut. In doing so, they voted to stand in solidarity with the workers, trade unions, and the people of Palestine and against Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide.
The Histadrut is the so-called labour central that has been complicit in genocide and colonization in Palestine since the 1920s.
Union members over the past year have called on the CLC to refuse all forms of collaboration with Israel through L4P’s Hot Cargo Kills campaign. Nearly 2,000 L4P supporters wrote to the CLC over this past week, to demand it declare Hot Cargo on Israel and cut ties with the Histadrut.
Workers have been calling on the CLC to take a clear position on cutting ties with Israel, including institutional relationships.
While not a complete declaration of Hot Cargo, cutting ties with institutions like the Histadrut is an important part of what is needed. And so, the CLC vote today to cut ties with the Histadrut, like the labour movement did during South African apartheid, is a historic victory on the path to a free Palestine.
This wouldn’t have happened without the tireless work of L4P activists in unions across the country, in our workplaces, and on the floor of CLC convention this week. And of course, the thousands of L4P supporters raising your voices.
The resolution adopted by the CLC convention also calls on the Canadian government to support a two-way arms embargo, targeted sanctions on individuals for violations of international law, suspend the Canada-Israel Free Trade agreement, and support initiatives against antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism.
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