May Day in Nazareth: The Second WAC Conference

In the Face of Ethnic and Religious Strife, WAC Strives for Workers' Unity

The Workers Advice Center (WAC) convened its second May Day Conference in Nazareth against the backdrop of strife between Muslims and Christians there. It called on workers to unite regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations. WAC outlined its program for 1999-2000, which concentrates on fighting racism on the job front. In particular, WAC decided to confront Israeli firms that close their doors to the Arab unemployed.
Two hundred workers participated in the conference, including WAC members from Galilee, Jaffa, Nazareth and the surrounding villages. The meeting's main slogan was this: "Our Right to Work Comes First." These words sum up WAC's 1998-9 campaign to defend jobless Arab workers and expose the ways in which the establishment maltreats them.

The conference began with a minute of silence in memory of all Palestinian and working-class martyrs. Wehbe Badarneh, the manager of WAC, delivered the opening remarks, telling the audience about WAC's experience during the past year, including its work among job seekers and its confrontations with employment bureaus and the National Insurance Institute. Referring to the deteriorating political situation in Nazareth, Badarneh proclaimed: "The employment bureaus and National Insurance don't distinguish among us. For them we are all, Christians or Muslims, simply Arabs who can be treated with disdain!"
Yakov Ben Efrat, General Secretary of the Organization for Democratic Action (ODA), discussed the war in the Balkans: "After 54 years," he said, "the workers of the world are once again victims of a war that has nothing to do with their interests. Ethnic and religious strife is the mechanism by which Capitalism manipulates the workers. We see this clearly in the Balkans, and we see it clearly here in Nazareth. Only Socialism, a system that works for human beings and not for profit, can prevent such wars."
Samya Nasser, the ODA's first candidate in its campaign for the Knesset, commented on the weakening of the Palestinian national movement, which has entered a deep crisis ever since its leadership became captive to the American bosses of the New World Order. While other Arab parties in Israel's upcoming elections have tied themselves to the American-led process, adopting the agenda of the (Zionist) Labor Party, the ODA proclaims the need to organize the working masses and build a new leadership.
Artist Nir Nader, a member of the Solidarity Committee with the Sawaf Family of Jaffa, explained why those who want to fight discrimination in this country must work with the ODA. It is, he said, the only party that has a plan of action and implements it, reaching out to the poorest sections of Palestinian society.

In the afternoon session, workers reported on their experiences. WAC's female members described their battles with officialdom. Among the speakers were Khawla Waked, Ikhlas Abu Leil and Azieha Kiyan. WAC founder Hiam Odeh told the audience about the center's latest initiative: the opening of a Mothers School in Nazareth. Assaf Adiv, who coordinates WAC's regional work, closed the session with the Board's suggestion to take on a new challenge: While continuing its regular activities, WAC will track down workplaces that refuse to employ Arabs and will wage a public campaign against them. "The battle against joblessness cannot be determined in the employment bureaus alone," Adiv said. "We have to tackle the core of the problem, namely the racist criteria that keep Arab workers out of workplaces on the basis of their ethnic status".
WAC received solidarity messages from Merton Claimants Action Group (Britain), Unemployed Action Group (Britain), Gruppe Arbeiterpolitik (Germany), AWMR's Yana Mintoff Bland (Malta), The May First Committee (Switzerland), and Noam Chomsky (USA).
(WAC wishes to thank ACSUR La Segovias from Spain for supporting WAC in 1998-1999 and Solifonds from Switzerland for helping us covering the costs of the conference)

WAC organizes a weekend holiday in Jerusalem for Workers from Galilee
On June 11-12, seventy members of the Workers Advice Center (WAC) from Galilee and Jaffa reached the Victoria Hotel in Jerusalem for the first of WAC's weekend ventures. The association, based in Nazareth, has long looked for a way to offer Arab workers a low-cost holiday which would also support East Jerusalem's fading economy. After spending free time in the Old City, the group was given a tour of Jewish settlement activity there, led by journalist Michal Schwartz. The visitors from Galilee, who face difficult situations in their own villages (e.g., Ramya, Majd al-Krum, Nazareth), were shocked when they heard the stories of Na'ila Zaro from the Old City and Fatmeh Qara'in from Silwan. These women lost their homes in battles with the settlers and the Israeli courts that support them.
In the evening all gathered for a dinner party in the beautiful garden of the Jerusalem Hotel, whose manager, Mr. Ra'ed Sa'ade, is well known for his work in bringing Arab cultural events to the city. On Saturday the group traveled to the Dead Sea and lunched in Jericho. WAC plans to organize more trips of this type in the future.