mbs
I don't know what Sweeney said at Monday's pro-Israel rally, but I think list members and other progressives should at least read the AFL-CIO statement on the Middle East before condemning the labor federation and its elected leaders. It seems to me to be a pretty good statement.
(http://www.aflcio.org/publ/press2002/pr0405b.htm)
Statement from the AFL-CIO on the Middle East Conflict April 5, 2002
On behalf of America's working men and women, the AFL-CIO applauds the President for sending Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East, and for calling for concrete measures to end the spiraling cycle of violence. We urge Israel to withdraw its forces from Palestinian cities and we call upon Palestinian and Arab leaders to act to end the terror bombings and arrest those responsible for them.
The United States must provide leadership in urging the parties to move away from war and back to the negotiating table. This country has a vital interest in peace in the region. We must be tireless in the pursuit of a ceasefire, an end to all acts of terror and violence and the return to negotiations that might lead to a political settlement.
Israeli security and Palestinian statehood are inextricably bound together. Israel cannot achieve security with military force. The Palestinians will not achieve statehood with terrorist bombings. Palestinian statehood requires that Israel be made secure; Israel security requires that Palestinians be freed of occupation. The only solution in the Middle East is a peace process that ends in a political settlement.
When violence escalates, it is working families who pay the price, in loved ones lost, homes destroyed and dreams crushed. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians and Israelis yearn for a secure and lasting peace. The AFL-CIO joins with workers across the world in urging a halt to the violence and a return to the peace process.
In this regard, Chairman Yasir Arafat, the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and the leaders of allied Arab states have a significant responsibility. If the peace process is to succeed, the withdrawal of Israeli forces must be accompanied by a cessation of these acts of terror. No nation can stand down if its citizens are under attack. Similarly, Israeli forces must halt the attacks on the Palestinian security forces needed to police the ceasefire. Neither party can afford to allow violence to explode renewed negotiations. The UN Security Council is surely right in calling for an "immediate cessation of all acts of violence, terror, provocation, incitement and destruction."
The terrible cycle of violence must be broken. Negotiation must replace conflict; hope must supplant despair. Joining with unions across the world, the AFL-CIO stands ready to help workers in the region rebuild their economies, their homes and their hopes once the violence stops and a settlement is reached. We stand in full support of the ICFTU mission that will be arriving in the region shortly and will be meeting with both Israeli and Palestinian trade union leaders. We hope that the mission will elicit a renewed commitment from workers on both sides, the primary victims of the violence, to actively encourage their political leaders to end the terror and violence and return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.