Pro-Israel and a union leader?
UNION leader and Israel supporter Paul Howes will headline the Jewish National Fund (JNF) annual general meeting next month.
UNION leader and Israel supporter Paul Howes will headline the Jewish National Fund (JNF) annual general meeting .
Howes, the Australian Worker’s Union (AWU) national secretary and an Australian Council of Trade Unions vice-president, is one of the most outspoken defenders¬†of Israel within the Australian labour¬†movement.
And his sharp comments have sometimes made him unpopular with¬†other labour movement figures, as well as with media commentators.‚Ä®The AWU leader¬†is one of the founders of global trade union¬†group Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine”, or TULIP, whose mission is¬†to stop¬†the boycott, divestment, sanctions campaign spreading through the global trade¬†union movement.
“We’ve seen this disease take hold in several European countries¬†and South Africa, it is important that it does not spread to¬†Australia, does not spread throughout the Americas and the Asia-Pacific, ” Howes said of this global campain against Israel.
“Unions can play an important role in supporting the great history of¬†trade unionism in the State of Israel. I plan to be in Israel later¬†this year when the Histadrut [Israeli trade union] celebrates its 90th anniversary,” he added.
JNF NSW president Stuart Romm said¬†securing Howes as keynote speaker at the AGM was a “real¬†scoop” for the organisation.
The Annual General Meeting will take place on June 2 .
Enquiries: (02) 9389 5466 or naomig@jnfaustralia.com.au.
BENJI HOLZMAN
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