On September 24 UE received something very unusual: a huge “thank you” note, signed by 41 organizations and more than 3,000 people in 54 countries (most in the U.S.), in response to a resolution passed by our convention. The “thank you” expresses appreciation for the position taken by the recent UE Convention in the resolution “Justice and Peace for the Peoples of Palestine And Israel.”
It comes from the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a coalition of several hundred organizations seeking a just and peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, who circulated an online Labor Day petition to thank UE. UE has also received letters from Palestinian labor unions thanking us for supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Palestinian unions helped intitiate.
Here’s what the Campaign to End the Occupation said in their letter to UE:
Below please find a statement signed by more than 3,000 individuals from 54 countries around the world, and endorsed by more than 40 organizations, including the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a coalition of several hundred organizations:
We wish to express our gratitude and congratulate you for your principled stance in endorsing BDS in support of freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people. You know better than anyone that boycotts are valuable, time-honored, nonviolent tools that can help achieve social and economic justice for those most vulnerable. We believe this step fits with your proud legacy of standing on the right side of history, ahead of the curve, often when it is still unpopular to do so. We believe that other U.S. unions will soon follow suit. Until then, please know that you are not alone; in fact, your decision connects you with a beautiful, growing, diverse, worldwide community utilizing BDS to support Palestinian liberation and return as part of a broader commitment to opposing injustice and exploitation wherever it occurs.
We stand with you proudly, and in solidarity.
Organizational Signatures – U.S. & International
1. Albany-Corvallis Friends of Middle East Peace
2. Al-Matin Islamic Center
3. Blue Raven Music Studios
4. Bradford-on-Avon Friends of Palestine
5. Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition
6. Chico Palestine Action Group
7. Christ Presbyterian Church Martinsville, New Jersey
8. Citizens for Palestinian Self Determination
9. Committee for Palestinian Rights (Howard County, Maryland)
10. Common Ground for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land, Inc.
11. Democracy for America - Nevada
12. DFG-VK Group of Wiesbaden, Germany
13. Ecumenical Peace Institute - Clergy and Laity Concerned
14. International Solidarity Movement - Northern California
15. International Peace & Cooperation Center - Jerusalem
16. Islamic Relief & Social Services
17. Jewish Voice for Peace Central Ohio
18. Live LOVE and Prosper.org
19. Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front
20. Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land
21. Observatorio Politico Sul-Americano
22. Palestine Advocacy Project
23. Palestine Human Rights Campaign - New Zealand
24. Palestine Solidarity Collective- Syracuse
25. Peninsula Peace & Justice of Blue Hill, Maine
26. Progressive Peace Coalition
27. Project for Nuclear Awareness
28. St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace
29. U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
30. UAW Local 2865
31. United Methodist Upper New York Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel
32. United Methodists’ Holy Land Task Force
33. University of California - Santa Barbara Students for Justice in Palestine
34. Upper Hudson Peace Action
35. US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
36. Vancouver for Peace
37. Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine
38. Veterans for Peace
39. Watford Friends of Salfit, Occupied Palestine
40. Wearewideawake.org
41. Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, Detroit Branch
