BY NOREEN NAVIN
SYDNEY — The New South Wales Teachers Federation is in the midst of a bitter dispute over the stance the union has taken on Israel's occupation of Palestine, with the federation's executive standing by its opposition to Israeli "apartheid" and "ethnic cleansing" despite attacks from Zionists and their supporters both inside and outside the union.
The controversy began in June, when the NSWTF's Canterbury-Bankstown branch passed a motion calling for a "total blockade both political and economic of Israel until it conforms to all UN resolutions, allows UN inspectors to check for nuclear and chemical weapons, stops its policies of ethnic cleansing and apartheid and hands over possible war criminals such as Ariel Sharon to the war crimes court".
The federation's executive then adopted a resolution incorporating the main points of the Canterbury-Bankstown motion and calling for a lasting settlement through negotiations instead of military action.
This resolution was then forwarded to the foreign minister, the shadow foreign minister, the Australian Education Union, the Israeli ambassador and the Palestinian representative in Australia.
The resolution aroused a vitriolic response from Zionists: the Australian Jewish News criticised those sections of the resolution which placed the responsibility for the current violence on the Israeli government and found the use of the terms "ethnic cleansing" and "apartheid" particularly objectionable.
Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul Sheehan then wrote a piece in the newspaper's October 4 issue criticising the federation's stance.
The Liberal member for Vaucluse, Peter Debnam, then used an adjournment debate in state parliament to attack the federation, accusing it of anti-Semitism and support for terrorism — the speech was carried on the front page of the Australian Jewish News.
Justice Marcus Einfeld also condemned the union's stance in a speech to the Primary Principals' Association annual conference in October.
A meeting of the union's eastern suburbs branch was also targeted by Zionists: 20 first-time attendees attempted to pressure the federation to rescind the resolution.
The federation meanwhile has defended its stance.
Supporters of the resolution point out the enormous imbalances in the conflict between Palestinians and the Israeli state, including the fact that Palestinian casualties, both dead and injured, outnumber Israeli casualties five to one.
The federation has reiterated its position that United Nations resolutions should be implemented and has cited many Jewish commentators and academics, including Gideon Levy, Jeff Halper, Oren Yiftachel and Uzi Benziman, who have used the terms "apartheid" and "ethnic cleansing" to describe Israeli government policies.
The NSWTF has also rebuffed critics' calls to stay out of international issues, stating that it believes that such issues are the union's concern.
The fact that the issue has caused controversy is "not a reason for walking away from a difficult issue", says Richard Walsham, the union officer attached to the NSWTF's Peace, Environment and International Special Interest Group.
To allow for democratic discussion and debate, the union has organised a public forum — Israel-Palestine: the search for Peace — at Teachers Federation House, 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills on December 12 at 4.30pm. Speakers yet to be confirmed but will present both sides of the issue.
[For more information contact the NSWTF on 9217 2100.]
From Green Left Weekly, December 5, 2001.
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