Britain's second-largest trade union will soon debate an economic boycott of Israel, following on the heels of Wednesday's decision by the country's lecturers union to recommend an academic boycott.
UNISON, the civil servants union, is due to discuss the boycott measure at its annual conference June 19-22. If enacted, it could have serious economic consequences, as the 1.5 million-member union has considerable economic clout.
haaretz
UNISON is roughly equivalent to our SEIU.
This follows the vote last wednesday from the British Academic's Union, the UCU, to impose an Academic boycott:
On Wednesday Britain's largest academic trade union voted to endorse a boycott of universities in Israel because of the "Israeli academe's cooperation with the occupation."
Sun Times
Now the Doctors?
British doctors call for new Israel boycott
LONDON (EJP)---A group of 130 British doctors have called for a boycott of the Israel Medical Association and its expulsion from the World Medical Association.
In a letter to The Guardian newspaper in England last week the physicians, headed by the notoriously anti-Israel Dr Derek Summerfield and Professor Colin Green claimed "Persistent violations of medical ethics have accompanied Israel’s occupation."
Outlining how they believe the Israeli Defence Force has "systematically flouted the fourth Geneva convention guaranteeing a civilian population unfettered access to medical services and immunity for medical staff", the letter blamed Israel for destroying "any coherence in the (Palestinian) primary health system".
The doctors then claimed the IMA has "refused" to protest about "war crimes" something, the doctors said they believe it "has a duty" to do.
The letter compared Israel to apartheid South Africa. "We are calling for a boycott of the Israeli Medical Association and its expulsion from the WMA. There is a precedent for this: the expulsion of the Medical Association of South Africa during the apartheid era," it read.
"A boycott is an ethical and moral imperative when conventional channels do not function, for otherwise we are merely turning away," the doctors added.
European Jewish press
Emphasis added.
Do boycotts and divestments work? Is this one appropriate? Is this a harbinger of wider movement to apply pressure towards a resolution? Is it helpful?