Irish teachers vote to boycott "apartheid Israel"

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has ratified a proposal to impose an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Israeli newspaper Maariv said that the union, which has 14,000 members, agreed unanimously in favour of the boycott at its Easter Conference last week.

The boycott resolution says that educational institutions in Ireland should “cut off all relations with their Israeli counterparts”. It calls on teachers and members of the union to stop working with Israelis and end any joint cultural and academic projects. This would include the transfer of information as well as student exchanges and research.

Furthermore, the TUI has called upon the Irish Trade Union Congress to “step up its campaign for imposing the boycott, and stop investing in the apartheid state of Israel until it lifts its illegal siege on Gaza, ends its illegal occupation of the West Bank, and agrees to abide by international laws and all UN resolutions in this regard.”

According to Maariv, the TUI is the first such organisation in the European Union to announce a comprehensive academic boycott of Israel.

Jim Rocha, who presented the proposal to the TUI, said that he is very happy that the resolution has been adopted by such an overwhelming majority. “This is especially important,” he added, “coming just two days after Israeli forces killed two more Palestinians, proving, without a doubt, that Israel is an apartheid state.”