Sixty years on from the Vietnam War marches, Australian union bosses are mostly MIA when it comes to protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Andrew Gardiner reports.
The genocide in Gaza, and moves to muzzle talking about it in universities and schools, have rank-and-file unionists up in arms. But union officials have barely lifted a finger on Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe, or on schemes to stop us talking about it. Instead, we’re seeing a timid, tepid response from union bosses.
Spearheaded by Israel backers Jillian Segal and David Gonski, moves by the Anti-Semitism Education Taskforce threaten to “chill” Middle East debate in our seats of learning and elsewhere. To the dismay of rank-and-file members, many union execs seem ambivalent.