CUPE members will have read about the CUPE Ontario vote held at its annual convention in Ottawa on May 27, 2006, to support a boycott of Israel.
CUPE National has a policy that was adopted at our 2003 national convention. That policy states that we
- “demand that the Israeli Government immediately withdraw from the occupied territories and abide by UN Resolution 242 and 338”;
- “call for and actively work towards an end to all acts of violence that take the lives of innocent people, whether they be Palestinian or Israeli”; and,
- “help develop a peace process based on equality between Israelis and Palestinians and based on the implementation of United Nations resolutions and international law.”
CUPE National respects the right of its chartered organizations to take a stand on all issues. As a national union we are governed by policy resolutions adopted at our national conventions. And as such, we will not be issuing a call, nor have we been asked by CUPE Ontario to call upon local unions across Canada to boycott Israel.
CUPE encourages democratic debate on international issues. Debates focused on the Middle East should respect the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinian and Israeli people.