international contacts

WAC representatives at RMT conference in the UK

Cooperation with international organizations

Assaf Adiv and Hanan Zoabi of WAC, attended a conference by the British Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) in late June.

_{Assaf Adiv and Hanan Zoaby with Michael Crow of RMT}

Adiv, Director of WAC, delivered a speech at the conference on June 30, as follows:

"We are honored to be here as your guests in this AGM, taking place in a dramatic period. The global economic crisis of the past year has been no other than a clear reflection of the failures inherent in the capitalist system. This puts a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the working class and the union movement. We should also not ignore the danger rising from fascist voices coming up in the recent European elections.

A new right wing government was elected in Israel, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman. Labor leader, Ehud Barak gave this government not only the majority for the coalition it needed but also a "moderate" cover . The elections followed in the aftermath of the criminal war Israel launched on Gaza in December, where more than 1500 lives were taken and thousands were injured, not to mention tremendous material damages. The siege on Gaza continues, and to this very day – 6 months after the Gaza War- not even a single bag of cement or iron was allowed in to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip.

Moreover, a system of roadblocks and the Separation Wall in the West Bank, undermine any possibility of a viable life for the Palestinian people and its economy. The split between Gaza and the West Bank is an open wound with no solution in the near future.

By contrast, Barak Obama took office as president of the USA, following Bush's 8-year term in office, which was disastrous for the prospect of peace in the Middle East. We support Obama's call for a complete cessation of settlement in the West Bank. We believe that the creation of a Palestinian state, built on all the territories occupied in 1967 by Israel are a precondition for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. But words alone will not change the situation on the ground. It is high time that the theoretical commitment of the international community for a two-state solution be implemented in reality. It is time that we put an end to the manipulation of the Palestinian people's rights, such as was practiced in the Oslo Accords.

Another development with crucial importance, is the popular movement for democracy and freedom in Iran. The Iranian revolution in 1979 was a major step forward for the peoples of the Middle East. However, this positive movement was hijacked by political Islam, and returned it to the middle ages. We believe that what we saw in Iran since the elections of June 12, heralds the demise of this epoch. Just as the failure of the Bush regime ended the era started by Reagan, these events mark the decline of Islamic fundamentalism.

We view the RMT's experience, as well as the tradition of the British working class as a model for a social mass movement organized democratically from the work place.
WAC is an organization of Jewish and Arab workers, committed to the principles of freedom, equality and social progress for all. We put the principle of solidarity, regardless of race, gender, nationality and religion, as our cornerstone. This is for us the basis for building socialism anew – giving the idea of equality a true meaning. We come here to learn from you how to build a union, how to organize workers, and use the collective power of workers in social and political struggles.

As the RMT gained force and recruited new workers on the background of privatization schemes and neo-liberal policies, we in Israel face a similar situation. In the past two decades we witnessed Israel's adoption of an extreme Thatcher-like model. This created a situation where the majority of the working class is not organized. The density of union initiatives in Israel went down from 85% in 1993 to 30% today. WAC and many other organizations are working to reverse this trend.

In its 10 years of existence, WAC gained substantial experience and opened a new voice for non-unionized workers, especially Arab laborers who are second class citizens in Israel. However, we witness time and time again that Israel has become less the land of the Jews and more the land of the rich. This trend may open the minds of Jewish workers to reconsider who their friends and enemies are in the battle for livelihood.

In these days WAC is advancing its activity to become a representative body for workers in the workplace. We are also in the preliminary stage of unionizing bus and lorry drivers. A group of Arab drivers took recently an initiative to unionize and have approached us for assistance.

Dear comrades,

We at WAC are set out to build a union movement where the oppressed Palestinian workers can feel at home side by side with Jewish workers. We view the trade union movement, as a key element in the fight for social progress, and believe that our unique experience of Jewish and Arab workers fighting together for the same goals, can serve as a model for true internationalism.

Here with me today is Hanan Zoabi of WAC's Nazareth branch. Together we represent what we believe in: Jews and Arabs can work and live together in full confidence and trust, towards building a new society. We would like to thank the RMT for the unique opportunity to attend this conference. We wish you fruitful discussions and are sure that our cooperation has only begun."

Assaf Adiv, Director,
The Workers Advice Center