CUPE BC has released the third edition of its popular booklet, The Wall Must Fall, about the conflict in the Middle East. Here is the text of a leaflet promoting the booklet.
There is a popular chant among Israeli and Palestinian protesters against the Israeli government’s continuing occupation of Palestinian territory in the Middle East. They say, “First of all the wall must fall.”
They are referring to the “apartheid” or “separation” wall that Israel is building in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. The wall will dwarf the Berlin Wall and surpass it as a serious impasse to settling one of the world’s major conflicts. It will isolate millions of Palestinians inside walled ghettos.
On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), determined that the wall is illegal and that Israel must dismantle it.
CUPE BC shares the concerns of the protesters, the ICJ and others who oppose the escalation of retaliatory violence. At its 2000 convention the B.C. Division adopted resolution 37 calling for:
- An end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in Gaza;
- A cessation of armed attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians; and,
- Development of a peace process based on international law and equality.
Now CUPE BC, with the help of CUPE National, has produced a booklet called The Wall Must Fall to educate members and others on the conflict.
While the booklet’s message is consistent with convention resolutions, it is not an official position paper. Rather, it is meant as an educational resource for members. To that end, it raises probing questions. For example:
- Why is the Israel-Palestine conflict so important?
- Why does the ICJ condemn the wall?
- What is daily life like under Israeli occupation?
- Why is the world calling for an end to the occupation?
- Is opposing Israeli actions and policies anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish?
- What is the solution to the conflict?
The Wall Must Fall offers some answers, but more importantly it provides current and historical perspectives shared by the Israeli and Palestinian peace movements not found in the mainstream Canadian media.
Packed with facts, analysis, maps, charts and photographs, The Wall Must Fall is a powerful primer for CUPE members and others.
As Canadian Jewish Outlook editor Carl Rosenberg writes in his foreword: “This CUPE BC booklet is part of a growing educational effort meant to build a solidarity campaign similar to the one created to fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa.”
CUPE BC’s international solidarity committee was directed to produce the booklet by resolution at the 2003 provincial division convention. Contact CUPE BC for your copy.
CUPE BC
510-4940 Canada Way
Burnaby, B.C.
V5G 4T3
Phone: 604-291-9119
Fax: 604-291-9043
