Israeli, Palestinian Unions Can Learn Lessons from Belfast

by Eric Lee

It’s an almost infallible test: if you compare Northern Ireland to the Middle East, you don’t know what you’re talking about. The peace process that worked so well until recently in Northern Ireland cannot be reproduced for Israel and the Palestinians. Everyone who knows the Middle East well will tell you that.

Israelis like to tell foreigners that Hamas is not the IRA, and that negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement are not a model for other countries. And of course they’re right.

Still, there are times – especially when things go wrong, as they have done in Northern Ireland recently – when the comparison just might be fruitful. But not the comparison we usually make between Hamas and the IRA. I’m actually more interested in the comparison between the trade union movements in Northern Ireland and those in Israel and Palestine.
If you weren’t paying close attention, you would not have noticed that the large street demonstrations held across Northern Ireland in mid-March were organized by the trade unions — not by the churches, nor by political parties. Trade unions remain one of the very few institutions in Northern Ireland which unite members from all communities.

Those unions proudly displayed their banners, some with ancient slogans that acquired a startling relevancy following the renewal of sectarian violence.

Their demonstrations were part of a half-forgotten historical tradition going back more than a century. It echoed the moment back in 1904 when the leader of Japan’s socialists, Sen Katayama, shocked the world by publicly shaking the hand of the great Russian Marxist, Georgi Plekhanov, even as their countries were at war.

In Israel today, as in Northern Ireland, one of the few institutions in civil society which brings together Jews and Arabs is the trade union movement. The Histadrut has tens of thousands of Arab members.

In Palestine, the unions represent a potentially powerful voice for democracy – and have been targeted by Hamas for doing so.

These are dark times for those who support peace in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East. The unions in Northern Ireland have taken to the streets to show their support for peace and reconciliation, and to isolate the extremists.

Israeli and Palestinian unions can do the same thing. And in fact, they have a tremendous opportunity coming up to do so.

Israelis and Palestinians live largely separate lives, and live them according to separate calendars. The Jews celebrate Purim, Pesach, Israel’s independence day. The Arabs have their own political commemorations such as Land Day as well as a whole range of religious holidays (both Muslim and Christian).

But one day is shared by both peoples, recognized by the trade unions as their day – the first of May. Of course the holiday is no longer what it once was, and no one expects the Histadrut to parade tens of thousands of marchers through the streets of Tel Aviv and Haifa, red flags fluttering, as they once did.

May Day represents a fantastic opportunity for the Histadrut and its Palestinian counterpart, the PGFTU, to demonstrate together, under agreed slogans, in their respective countries – to call for peace, reconciliation and an end to violence.

As trade unionists, they know that they have more in common than what divides them, which is why the Histadrut and PGFTU have continued to try to work together even during the worst of times, to reach agreements and to advance the cause of peace.

This year, facing one of the darkest moments we have ever seen, they can both learn from the example set by their brothers and sisters in Belfast.

Eric Lee is founder of LabourStart, the interantional labor news and campaigning site.  Although he began his demcratic left  career in the United States, he has adopted British spelling rules.