Jewish Labor Committee

The MUA was among people and organisations endorsing the ad's condemnation of a motion by the Australian parliament congratulating Israel on its establishment 60 years ago.
But Mr Crumlin said the inclusion of the MUA by its Sydney branch secretary, Warren Smith, represented neither the union's position nor Mr Crumlin's. `I would be the last person to equate the establishment of Israel with racism and ethnic cleansing,' he said ... " MORE

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Split in Australian union over ad, [Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 7, 2008]: "œAn anti-Israel ad branded anti-Semitic has sparked a bitter split in one of Australia's most powerful trade unions. Paddy Crumlin, the national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, this week condemned the advertisement -- which accused Israel of `ethnic cleansing' -- even though it was supported by his union's Sydney branch. Crumlin blasted the ad, published in The Australian newspaper March 12 -- the day Australia's parliament passed a bipartisan motion congratulating Israel on its 60th anniversary ..." MORE

Israel sparks unions spat [Australian Jewish News, April 6, 2008]: "œA STOUSH has developed between the leaders of two of Australia's most prominent unions over their respective stances on Israel. In a recent statement, ..." MORE

Aussie unions accused of anti-Semitism [Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - Apr 3, 2008]: "œA high-ranking Jewish American unionist accused two powerful Australian trade unions of anti-Semitism.
Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Jewish Labor Committee and of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, last week accused the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia of `anti-Semitism cloaked under the veil of anti-Zionism' following their endorsement last month of a newspaper ad accusing Israel of `ethnic cleansing.'
In an op-ed published in last week's Forward newspaper, Appelbaum slammed the unions for their `diatribes against Israel.'
The ad in The Australian March 12 -- the day the parliament passed a bipartisan motion congratulating Israel on its 60th anniversary -- was endorsed by a number of Jews.
It said,`We as informed and concerned Australians choose to dissociate ourselves from the celebration of the triumph of racism and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians since the al-Nakba [the catastrophe] of 1948.' " MORE

US Jews attack unions over ad [The Australian Mar 31, 2008]: "œ ... Andrew Ferguson, the CFMEU's chief in NSW who authorised his union's participation in the ad, told The Australian yesterday: `I do not accept that being critical of policies of the Israeli state makes us anti-Semitic, just as being critical of the policies of George Bush does not make us anti-American.'
MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his union is believed to want to put the onus on officials lower down the pecking order for supporting the anti-Israel ad.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff accused the CFMEU and MUA of reacting without the facts.
`The small number of unions that have adopted an anti-Israel position have done so more out of ignorance than prejudice,' Mr Alhadeff said.
The nation's union movement has divided over the issue, with right-wing Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Howes accusing the CFMEU and MUA of `lining up with Hamas'." ... MORE

Two weeks before Stuart Appelbaum's article appeared in The Forward, these two items appeared in the Australian press:

PM lauds Israel, but urges peace [The Australian, March 12, 2008] , which noted that the country's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd "œpraised Israel's democratic achievements as parliament yesterday commemorated Israel's 60th anniversary and stressed the need for an independent and economically viable Palestinian state ... only Labor backbencher Julia Irwin abstaining from the vote in a protest at human rights abuses by Israel ... The motion left Labor bitterly divided, with Ms Irwin and several affiliated left-wing unions attracting savage criticism for using the occasion to attack Israel "¦ ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence and Australian Workers Union chief Paul Howes dissociated themselves from left-wing colleagues who put their names to an advertisement in The Australian yesterday condemning the bipartisan motion." MORE

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Labor split over Israel support [The Australian, March 11, 2008]: "A bipartisan motion congratulating Israel on 60 years of statehood has provoked division in federal Labor, with one government MP threatening to boycott the vote and union heavyweights accusing the Jewish state of racism and ethnic cleansing.
The parliamentary motion is due to be passed by MPs today, commemorating 60 years of friendship between Australia and Israel.
The motion provoked a clash between Kevin Rudd and Labor MP Julia Irwin yesterday after Ms Irwin questioned why the Government was supporting the gesture, given Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
And today a group of individuals and organisations, including the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, the Maritime Union of Australia and South Australian Democrat MP Sandra Kanck, have put their names to an advertisement in The Australian condemning the motion.
`We, as informed and concerned Australians, choose to disassociate ourselves from a celebration of the triumph of racism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians since the al-Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948,' the advertisement reads." MORE