In response to the urgent call from Palestinian trade unions, we, the undersigned members of the Executive Board of the Part-Time Lecturer Chapter of Rutgers AAUP-AFT (Local 6324), call on the American Federation of Teachers to divest itself of all Israeli bonds and for the United States government to cease all financial support to Israel at once.
As teachers and union members, we can no longer allow ourselves to be complicit in the illegal acts of the Israeli government that have driven Palestinians from their homes or with military actions that have targeted, killed and maimed civilian populations of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and that have destroyed vital infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
We support the position of Trade Union Action for Justice in Palestine and international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and the Israel-based B’Tselem, who have designated these practices of Israel as “apartheid” and a regime of legalized racial discrimination perpetrated against the Palestinian people. We note that the International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into these practices.
We join with the Executive Council of our sister union, Rutgers AAUP-AFT (representing full-time faculty and grad employees), to condemn these crimes in the strongest possible terms, and we urge others in the global labor movement for freedom, justice, dignity, and equality to similarly answer the call made by Palestinian trade unions and workers’ organizations.
Signed,
Ann Ilan Alter, Representative, New Brunswick
Frank Bridges, Representative, New Brunswick
Bruce Garrity, Representative, Camden
Roseli Golfetti, Newark Vice President
Amy Higer, President
Kevin Keogan, Representative, Newark
David Letwin, Representative, New Brunswick
James Robinson, Representative, New Brunswick
Bryan Sacks, Treasurer
Dan Sidorick, Representative, New Brunswick
Howie Swerdloff, Secretary
Karen Thompson, Representative, New Brunswick
Click here to read and sign the Rutgers University Faculty Stand in Solidarity with the Palestinian People statement.
Additional links:
More US labour unions join alliance against ‘Israeli apartheid‘
Statement on Behalf of Faculty and Staff of Oregon Universities and Colleges in Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Portland State University-AAUP)
Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People (PSC-CUNY)
Seattle Education Association Stands in solidarity with the Palestinian People
Vermont AFL-CIO Endorses Labor for Palestine’s “U.S. Labor Must Stand With Palestine!” Solidarity Statement
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