UK's T&G union decides to boycott Israeli products
British Transport and General Workers Union votes in favor of launching consumer boycott on all products made in Israel in protest of 'Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people.' Histadrut labor federation: We'll cut all ties with them
T&G is one of the United Kingdom's largest trade unions, representing some 800,000 workers.
The decision was made about a month after another British trade union, UNISON, also decided to launch an economic boycott on Israel, and after the University and College Union's voted in favor of considering a boycott of Israeli academics and institutions.
T&G voted in favor of a resolution calling for a boycott on Israeli products during a meeting held over the weekend in Brighton. According to the union, the decision was made "in protest of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people."
The union declared that it hoped to repeat the precedence of South African, which was forced to halt its apartheid policy following an economic boycott. "We are working to free the Palestinian people from the Israeli war machine," the union said.
One of the union's leaders, Eric McDonald, was even quoted by British press as saying that Israel was intolerant and that its behavior was often not different from that of the Nazis.
T&G also called for an end to the war in Iraq and called on Syria and Iran to stop rearming, but did not back these declarations with any practical decisions.
Israel's Histadrut labor federation responded with anger to the union's decision. Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini is expected to pass a resolution on Monday calling on the labor federation to cut its ties with global trade unions and organizations which have launched boycotts that may harm Israeli workers.
Ahead of the T&G vote, Histadrut members tried to convince members of the British union to go back on their plan to launch the boycott, but to no avail.
