A Step Back for Palestinian Workers' Rights and for Israeli Democracy

Statement from Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee:

A new regulation instituted by Justice Minister Shaked undermines Palestinians' rights to sue Israeli employers over abusive and unlawful labor practices. It also further entrenches two unequal sets of laws for Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel's justice minister has recently instituted a new regulation that will undermine the right of Palestinians living in the West Bank who are employed by Israelis - in Israel or the West Bank - to seek legal redress for abusive and unlawful labor practices.

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes this new regulation, explicitly designed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, both of the right-wing, pro-settler Habayit Hayehudi party, to prevent Palestinian employees of Israeli businesses from benefiting from Israel's progressive labor laws. We call on the Knesset and Israel's Supreme Court to act forthrightly to defend these workers' just rights to fair labor practices, and nullify the new regulation.

Under the new requirement, non-citizens will be obligated to make a monetary deposit before submitting a lawsuit against an employer in Israeli labor court, unless they can immediately present evidence proving their claim. If they cannot do so, the deposit will be forfeited. Such a measure would primarily affect Palestinians living in the West Bank - most notably those who work on Israeli-owned farms in the Jordan Valley, who will greatly suffer the consequences - by placing a heavy financial burden on those who seek to sue their Israeli employers for labor-law violations. Israeli farmers in the valley, who in the past have been sued for labor law violations, have applauded this new measure.

As an organization that cares about Israel's future as a democratic and progressive society, this matters to us, and should matter to others as well.

In 2007, Israel's Supreme Court ruled in the interest of 30,000 West Bank Palestinians who work for Israeli businesses in the West Bank. Most Palestinians employed by Israelis in settlements became entitled to the protection of Israeli labor law. But this protection is threatened by the new regulation being promulgated by Minister Shaked. Israel's Knesset and/or Supreme Court must act immediately to overturn this regulation, and allow these workers continued access to the same legal protections as their Israeli counterparts.

Two years ago, an investigative report in TheMarker on Palestinian workers in the Jordan Valley revealed that they are denied such basic rights as a pay slip, minimum wage, vacation time and sick days. Also, since there are no written labor contracts, farmers can fire employees at will. Workers who realized that these conditions violate Israeli labor laws have hired lawyers and sued for their rights in Israeli labor courts.

According to MK Moalem-Refaeli, the new regulation will help Jordan Valley farmers combat this "unjust" development.

Justice Minister Shaked, meanwhile, claims that this measure does not require a Knesset review, but it is possible that the Supreme Court will subject this matter to further legal scrutiny.

We strongly oppose this special new regulation. Forcing Palestinian employees of Israeli businesses to jump through hoops to benefit from Israel's generally progressive labor laws is contrary to these workers' basic rights. It will only embitter their lives, providing yet another obstacle to rapprochement between Palestinians and Israelis, and the possibility of serious negotiations toward a viable two-state solution to the conflict.

To do otherwise would be contrary to the fundamental humanitarian needs of these Palestinian workers, and contrary as well to the best traditions of Israel's proud history of advancing the rights of working people - both Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel - through its legacy of trade unionism and labor-oriented political parties.

To do otherwise would reinforce a social and political regime in the West Bank that enforces one set of laws for Israelis and another, inferior, set of regulations for Palestinians living in the West Bank.

To do otherwise would further undermine Israel's standing as a democracy and a progressive society, and erode support for Israel in general in the international court of public opinion.

Palestinians working at a grove of date palms in the Jordan Valley. Photo Credit: Michal Fattal

 

Article available at Haaretz.com.

Jewish Community Must Join the Fight for $15 Minimum Wage

— by Stuart ApplebaumFrom The Philadelphia Jewish Voice JULY 27, 2015Jewish law and tradition are clear about our duty to fight for the basic rights of all working people.Shantel Walker makes $9 per hour at the Papa John’s restaurant in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood where she’s worked for the for the last 15 years, almost half her life. Because her wages are so low, she often has to choose between eating lunch or buying a Metrocard to get to work. She shares a one-bedroom apartment with family members, but still worries about making ends meet every month.But Ms. Walker is not staying silent and letting her challenges get her down. She is standing up and joining with other fast-food workers across the country in calling for fairness and respect on the job. Since late 2012, fast-food workers have been walking off the job as part of regular one-day strikes and their ranks have recently been supported by home health care aides, adjunct professors, airport baggage handlers and other low-wage workers. Their demand? $15 per hour and a union.The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is nothing close to a living wage. If someone earning the minimum wage is fortunate enough to be able to work full-time hours (and many are not), they would earn only $15,080 per year, which is under the poverty line for a family of two. At the current minimum wage, workers struggle paycheck-to-paycheck, and if they are able to pay all their bills at the end of the month, they are not able to save anything for an emergency, let alone for their retirement.Rising wages will allow millions of people across the country to lift their heads up and look towards the future with hope. But it will also benefit our economy at-large. A $15 per hour minimum wage will inject billions of dollars into local economies as many are finally able to buy new clothing for their children and other basic necessities. It will also ease state budgets, as millions who currently rely on state assistance will finally be able to afford groceries and rent.The history of American Jewry demands that we join with workers in their struggle for justice. When many of our ancestors first came to the United States, they worked low-wage jobs in the garment sector and other industries. Their experiences of struggle and pain encouraged many to organize and form unions that then fought for and won many of the basic wage and safety standards that we now take for granted. These gains enabled our families to raise their standards of living to where they are now, but we must never forget what it took to get here.The good news is that workers’ voices are having an impact. Already, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle have passed ordinances to raise their minimum wages to $15. Even more cities and states have passed smaller minimum wage increases that are an important first step for improving workers’ lives. But our obligation is not over until every working person has the ability to support their family without undue burden.At the very least, Jewish law and tradition means that we need to stand in solidarity with people such as Ms. Walker, who are taking a stand for the chance for a better life. Stuart Appelbaum is President of the Jewish Labor Committee.

The Only Hope for Peace is a Negotiated Two-State Solution

March 18, 2015, New York, NY – Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Jewish Labor Committee, issued the following statement the morning after Israel’s national elections:While it is too soon to know which party will be able to form a governing coalition, it appears that Likud is in better position to do so after Tuesday's Israeli elections.  We couldn't disagree more strongly with Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that there will never be a Palestinian state under his watch and we believe that regardless of last-minute campaign rhetoric, the only hope for peace is a negotiated two-state solution.The Jewish Labor Committee, an independent secular organization, is the voice of the Jewish community in the labor movement and the voice of the labor movement in the Jewish community. Whether through its national office in New York or local offices and lay-led groups across the United States, the JLC enables the Jewish community and the trade union movement to work together on important issues of shared interest and concern, in pursuit of our shared commitment to economic and social justice.