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SOMERVILLE, MA--
by bosmim@mim.org
At a candidate forum for the state senate on August 10, organized labor turned out in force to oppose divestment from I$rael. The City of Somerville invests money in I$raeli bonds and corporations providing military equipment to I$rael. A citizen effort is afoot to cut off that investment. The banner unfurled by several union locals claimed that peace is better served without divestment.
The Somerville Divestment Project is spearheading an effort to put a non-binding referendum on the ballot. In return, the Somerville Mayor banned Somerville Divestment Project from a city fair called ArtBeat on July 6.
What Marxists call the productive sector workers--people who work constructing things with their hands--unfurled banners saying: "No to Divestment, It's Wrong for Somerville." One banner listed the locals of the various unions opposed--just about all the productive sector work in the area.
Two of the major candidates Pat Jehlen and Joe Mackey had already expressed opposition to divestment. From MIM's reading of the tea leaves, it looks like Mackey is trying to appear more anti- divestment.
Unions may feel they owe Mackey something for favoring a mall development project. Jehlen seems to have service worker unions wrapped up. Nonetheless, what is happening in the Boston area is long overdue for an explanation to the oppressed of Palestine.
Although Somerville is one of the places in the united $tates most likely to support divestment, among the union activists mentioned, one can find violent pickup truck bumperstickers touting bombing of Arab peoples. To MIM's knowledge, this is difficult especially for European-based activists to understand. One should wonder why organized labor is campaigning on street corners with banners and signs to oppose divestment from I$rael.
The bottom line is that Amerikan settlers share much in common with I$raeli settlers. Pro-Palestinian activists in most countries of the world do not understand this adequately.
The candidates for a measly state senate seat (not U.S. Congress, Massachusetts legislature) have more than enough to discuss without an elaborate organized labor maneuver on divestment. The fact that there is an organized movement to relabel unions "peace makers" by supporting I$rael shows some real ideological zeal and creativity.
Too often we hear in Europe and the Middle East that the Zionist tail wags the Amerikan dog. This is far from correct. If MIM had the chance, we would run some tours of the Amerikan pro-Zionist scene. The average Amerikan so-called worker actually gets off the couch to campaign for I$rael. The ultimate reason could be to have the most profitable pension fund possible, to bring on armageddon and religious salvation sooner, to support a candidate who supports certain development projects, to generate more wars and thus business for military industries or just because Amerikan settlers just aren't that much different than I$raeli ones historically.
The fighters for Palestinian liberation need not despair just because it seems that they have to take on the Zionists and the Amerikan population both combined. The vulgar economic motivations of the Amerikan people offend the whole planet, so what happened in Somerville only serves to bind the Palestinian cause with the cause of exploited people everywhere. The Palestinian people have billions of anti-Amerikan allies across the globe.
Notes:
1. http://bluemassgroup.typepad.com/blue_mass_group/2005/08/impressions_fro.html
2. http://www.meretzusa.org/prs0506_kb.shtml