On September 24 UE received something very unusual: a huge “thank you” note, signed by 41 organizations and more than 3,000 people in 54 countries (most in the U.S.), in response to a resolution passed by our convention. The “thank you” expresses appreciation for the position taken by the recent UE Convention in the resolution “Justice and Peace for the Peoples of Palestine And Israel.”

It comes from the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation [1], a coalition of several hundred organizations seeking a just and peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, who circulated an online Labor Day petition to thank UE. UE has also received letters from Palestinian labor unions thanking us for supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Palestinian unions helped intitiate.  

Here’s what the Campaign to End the Occupation said in their letter to UE:

Below please find a statement signed by more than 3,000 individuals from 54 countries around the world, and endorsed by more than 40 organizations, including the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a coalition of several hundred organizations:

We wish to express our gratitude and congratulate you for your principled stance in endorsing BDS in support of freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people. You know better than anyone that boycotts are valuable, time-honored, nonviolent tools that can help achieve social and economic justice for those most vulnerable. We believe this step fits with your proud legacy of standing on the right side of history, ahead of the curve, often when it is still unpopular to do so. We believe that other U.S. unions will soon follow suit. Until then, please know that you are not alone; in fact, your decision connects you with a beautiful, growing, diverse, worldwide community utilizing BDS to support Palestinian liberation and return as part of a broader commitment to opposing injustice and exploitation wherever it occurs.

We stand with you proudly, and in solidarity.

Organizational Signatures – U.S. & International

1. Albany-Corvallis Friends of Middle East Peace

2. Al-Matin Islamic Center

3. Blue Raven Music Studios

4. Bradford-on-Avon Friends of Palestine

5. Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition

6. Chico Palestine Action Group

7. Christ Presbyterian Church Martinsville, New Jersey

8. Citizens for Palestinian Self Determination

9. Committee for Palestinian Rights (Howard County, Maryland)

10. Common Ground for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land, Inc.

11. Democracy for America - Nevada

12. DFG-VK Group of Wiesbaden, Germany

13. Ecumenical Peace Institute - Clergy and Laity Concerned

14. International Solidarity Movement - Northern California

15. International Peace & Cooperation Center - Jerusalem

16. Islamic Relief & Social Services

17. Jewish Voice for Peace Central Ohio

18. Live LOVE and Prosper.org

19. Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front

20. Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land

21. Observatorio Politico Sul-Americano

22. Palestine Advocacy Project

23. Palestine Human Rights Campaign - New Zealand

24. Palestine Solidarity Collective- Syracuse

25. Peninsula Peace & Justice of Blue Hill, Maine

26. Progressive Peace Coalition

27. Project for Nuclear Awareness

28. St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace

29. U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)

30. UAW Local 2865

31. United Methodist Upper New York Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel

32. United Methodists’ Holy Land Task Force

33. University of California - Santa Barbara Students for Justice in Palestine

34. Upper Hudson Peace Action

35. US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

36. Vancouver for Peace

37. Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine

38. Veterans for Peace

39. Watford Friends of Salfit, Occupied Palestine

40. Wearewideawake.org

41. Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, Detroit Branch