Union Drawing Attention To Israeli Injustice

The CUPE boycott, unanimously endorsed by 900 delegates, is mostly an attempt to draw attention to our lopsided view of the Mideast conflict. The most contentious aspect is CUPE's support for the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees, who have been living in camps since being driven out of their homes, some as long ago as Israel's war of independence in 1948. The Canadian Jewish Congress argued last week that this "right of return" would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish state. This may be true. If it remained democratic, Israel might become a multi-religious and multi-ethnic state — like Canada — rather than being an exclusively Jewish state. CUPE therefore has raised an important, routinely ignored question: Do we as Canadians support Israel's policy of giving preferential rights to members of one religion? Clearly, we wouldn't pass laws like that in Canada. But preferential rights for one religious group are central to the notion of Israel. Israel was created as a Jewish homeland. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0604-24.htm

Note: http://www.commondreams...