The Left

Eve Garrard Has Been Driven Out of the UCU

Eve Garrard joins a long list of trade unionists who have been bullied out of their union:

The UCU’s obsessional determination to ostracise and punish Israel, and its persistent indifference to the concerns and fears of its Jewish members, have created an atmosphere within the Union which is hostile both to its Jewish members and to its non-Jewish members who support the existence of the Jewish state, and do not believe that it is the sole locus of blame for the problems of the Middle East. I understand that some Jews will want to remain in the Union and try to reform it from within, and I wish them well in this project. But I, like many others, can no longer bear the shame and embarrassment of belonging to an institution which is willing to discriminate against Jews, and whose readiness to do so is supported by leading members of its Executive Committee. Some of these members were elected on an explicitly anti-boycott platform, but nonetheless went on to support this latest attempt to boycott Israel. That includes, to her shame, the President of the Union, Linda Newman; and also, to your shame, the General Secretary, yourself. This Union is no longer a fit place for those who think that Jews have the same rights of self-determination, self-defence, and national identity as other peoples do, and I hereby resign from it.

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