Jewish Labor Committee

April 19, 2013

The President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President

We are writing to request that you consider granting a posthumous Medal of Freedom to the great civil and human rights advocate, Bayard Rustin. This award would be particularly fitting this year, the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, since Rustin was the primary organizer of this milestone in U.S. history.

Adopting Mahatma Ghandi's strategy of non-violent resistance, Rustin adapted it to struggles for civil and human rights here in the United States as well as in countries around the world, working tirelessly to advance human rights and dignity. While perhaps best known for his work to make the 1963 march a success, Rustin was active in the civil rights movement for decades before that. As a high school student, he protested racial segregation in his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. After moving to New York City, Rustin became an invaluable assistant to the civil rights and labor leader A. Philip Randolph. He was instrumental in organizing in early sit-ins and freedom rides, as well as protests against racial discrimination in government jobs and the military. It was Rustin who convinced Martin Luther King, Jr. to use non-violent direct action in fighting for civil rights, and he was instrumental in drafting the plans that led to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Soon after the 1963 march, Rustin published an influential article entitled "From Protest to Politics", and he founded the A. Philip Randolph Institute to involve African-Americans in the labor movement. As de jure racial barriers fell , Rustin's emphasis became poverty and class issues. It was natural, therefore, that he supported and worked closely with democratic trade unions, whether in the U.S. or abroad.

A staunch believer in democracy, Rustin opposed undemocratic regimes whether from the right or the left. He worked with anti-colonial movements in Africa in the early 1950's, he fought apartheid in South Africa, and he advocated for the resettlement of Indochinese refugees. Rustin fought for the freedom on Soviet Jews, and opposed Communism throughout Europe, Asia and Cuba. A defender of the democratic state of Israel, Rustin founded Black Americans in Support of Israel (BASIC).

As an openly gay man, Rustin found that his sexual orientation might harm the civil rights movement. In fact, Senator Strom Thurmond denounced him on the Senate floor in an attempt to derail the March on Washington. Rustin therefore often stayed more in the background so as not to damage the causes for which he fought. Despite this, his impact was enormous and often absolutely essential. Recognition of his unwavering commitment to democracy, freedom, economic equality and social justice through the granting of a Medal of Freedom would not only be merited but long overdue.

Sincerely,

Stuart Appelbaum
President
Jewish Labor Committee

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 11:18 AM | Permalink

April 9, 2013: New York, NY - The Jewish Labor Committee is committed to a fair, just and negotiated peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We strongly believe that a two-state solution is key to that outcome. Motion 241, the resolution passed on April 4 by the Teachers Union of Ireland, that calls for an academic boycott of Israel, requesting its members "to cease all cultural and academic collaboration with Israel, including the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities as well as cooperation in research programs" will take us farther from that outcome by encouraging extremists on both sides, and their partisan supporters, who seek to undermine the prospects for a two-state solution that is fair to both Israel and the Palestinians.

Academic boycotts are anathema to academic freedom, a principle that must be embraced, not spurned by teacher organizations. They are totally inconsistent with the democratic values embodied in academic freedom and free expression of ideas.

This TUI resolution implicitly discourages all open discussion and debate between Israelis and Palestinians in a way that can resolve their conflict. It explicitly focuses solely on Israel, without even mentioning actions or policies of Palestinian or other Arab governments, parties or movements that hinder a peaceful outcome toward a two-state solution. Indeed, the resolution goes so far as to label Israel an "apartheid state." While there is much that needs to be done to improve the situation of Arab citizens of the State of Israel, Israel is the only country in the region with freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair elections with numerous parties, including those specifically representing Israeli Arabs, an independent, vibrant trade union movement, an independent judiciary and freedom of religion -- all of which are afforded to and used by Israeli Arabs and hardly the mark of apartheid. Arab-Israelis have full equality under Israeli law.

The situation confronting Palestinians living in the West Bank is hard, and must be improved. But the boycott called for by the TUI Motion 241 will do nothing to ameliorate or change in any meaningful way the lot of the Palestinian people. Indeed, there is nothing within that resolution that either rhetorically or programmatically addresses the real needs of Palestinians, either teachers in specific or Palestinians more generally.

Blanket cultural and academic boycotts of Israel imply that all Israeli academic institutions and the people associated with them -- academics, researchers, scientists -- are inherently guilty But the majority of Israelis, and a majority of Jewish Israelis, support the creation of an independent Palestinian state beside the State of Israel. As do, of course, the majority of Palestinians. That the political leadership of both sides is unable to make any meaningful progress is both clear and tragic. The TUI Motion 241 will do nothing, we are certain, to bring the parties back to the negotiating table, nor will it bring them closer to a resolution of the conflict.

For peace, both sides must work with each other. Resolutions such as the one passed by the Teachers Union of Ireland cannot help but make the two parties more inflexible, hurting moderates on each side and encouraging extremists and rejectionists on both sides. While respecting the internal decision-making process of the Teachers Union of Ireland, we call on all within the TUI to pursue a far more productive course -- to encourage those organizations with which it works in Ireland, the UK, and elsewhere to be fair and even-handed as they work to press both sides to negotiate in good faith. The TUI and all of us must support moderates on both sides. For the Jewish Labor Committee and for trade unions everywhere, this means helping to encourage cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian workers and their unions, and those supporters who respect the legitimate needs of both.

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 11:42 AM | Permalink

April 2, 2013: Philadelphia, PA - On the last night of Passover. Philadelphia JLC and Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia's premier Reform congregation. hosted JLC's first Labor Seder in Philadelphia under Lynne Fox's Chairmanship. Sixty people representing the local Jewish and labor communities attended the event.

Rabbi Eli Freedman of Rodeph Shalom led the Labor Seder. PA State Senator Anthony Williams spoke about his ongoing partnership with the Jewish community, and Wendell Young IV, President of UFCW Local 1776, shared his thoughts and concerns about Governor Corbett's proposed privatization of state-run liquor stores in Pennsylvania. Among the participants were two people running for Congress in the upcoming election, Jonathan Saidel (Former Philadelphia JLC Honoree) and PA State Senator Daylin Leach. Senator Leach is a current member of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia JLC.

Left-to-right: Lynne Fox, Executive Vice President, Workers United, and Chairman, Philadelphia JLC; Wendell Young IV, President, UFCW Local 1776; PA State Senator Anthony Williams; Barbara Willig, 2013 Philadelphia Labor Seder Chair

Posted by Arieh Lebowitz at 03:40 PM | Permalink