WASHINGTON—Building on a prior resolution by its parent union, the Service Employees, SEIU 1199, the large union of healthcare workers, is demanding the U.S. cut off military aid and enforce an arms embargo on Israel due to its right-wing government’s war on Gaza and now its bombings in Lebanon.
“We call on the Biden administration to enforce the Foreign Assistance Act and suspend military assistance to Israel for its continued blockage of aid necessary to avert catastrophic famine,” says 1199. “It is unacceptable for Israel to use U.S. military aid for aims well beyond its self-defense.”
Like SEIU’s resolution, approved at its convention in Philadelphia in May, the health care union’s October 18 statement condemns Hamas’ attack on Israel just over a year ago, its killing of more than a thousand people, and its seizure of more than 200 hostages.
Both the May resolution and this statement demand a ceasefire, the release of remaining Hamas hostages, and negotiations for a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Both pivot to sharp condemnation of Israel’s right-wing Netanyahu government and its disproportionate war on Gaza.
This statement adds Israeli bombings in Lebanon to the mix. Justifying targeting Hezbollah, another foe, Israeli bombs have damaged or destroyed nine hospitals and killed healthcare workers, the statement says. The Israeli military has virtually eliminated all Gazan healthcare facilities and killed dozens of healthcare workers through bombings while reducing Gaza to a smoking ruin with two million refugees.
Now, the Israeli attacks in Lebanon forced another million people to flee, the new statement says. It also condemns Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks on Israel.
SEIU 1199’s statement is the latest in a growing line of union protests of the war on Gaza—and now on Lebanon—and U.S. military aid to Israel that fuels it. Estimates of that aid now total about $23 billion, much of which flows to U.S. arms manufacturers for weapons, planes, ammo, and one-ton bombs.
Earlier union demands for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel came from the Postal Workers, the United Electrical Workers, National Nurses United, and the National Writers Guild, among others.
Opposition to the war, especially within pro-Democratic unions such as SEIU, is a big political problem for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. It raises the possibility that upset union members, especially younger unionists, could sit out the November election pitting Harris against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Trump, like the rest of the GOP, would give Netanyahu totally free rein in the war. Congressional Democrats, too, are split on Netanyahu’s war. And while current Democratic President Joe Biden, Harris’s boss, has become increasingly verbally upset with Netanyahu’s right-wing regime, Biden hasn’t pulled the plug on military aid. Instead, he’s been working through intermediaries for a cease-fire.
But Harris gave Netanyahu a private and public tongue-lashing about the humanitarian catastrophe the Israeli government has produced, and she also demanded a ceasefire. But Harris has been silent on a military aid cutoff.
“As a union of healthcare workers, many of whom have family in the region, 1199SEIU is appalled by the incredible loss of life,” it declares. “We are deeply concerned by the U.S. and other Western governments’ ongoing support of the Netanyahu administration as it continues to flout humanitarian principles and kill civilians, including by bombing hospitals.
“1199SEIU demands urgent, concrete efforts by the U.S. to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and the full flow of humanitarian aid. There cannot be any more delay. We call on the Biden administration to enforce the Foreign Assistance Act and suspend military assistance to Israel for its continued blockage of aid necessary to avert catastrophic famine. It is unacceptable for Israel to use U.S. military aid for aims well beyond its self-defense.
“All people impacted by this conflict—Palestinian, Israeli, and Lebanese alike—deserve a future free from war and suffering. The only way to seek justice for the innocent lives lost is to build a lasting peace that ensures safety, self-determination, and a respect for international law and norms on all sides,” it concludes.
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