Pro-Palestine protesters march in front of the Israeli embassy in Athens
Strike action planned at University of California campuses over suppression of protests
Student employees of the university – these are student teachers who teach undergraduates, researchers who work in the research laboratories, other workers in various capacities, all of whom are organised under a union – the United Autoworkers Union, as it happens to be.
There are 48,000 of them and they play a vital role in running the 10 University of California campuses. They have authorised a strike as of today, but we don’t know when the walkout will take place.
They say that the students’ rights have been violated. That their rights have been violated. And that they aim to disrupt the operations of the universities and their various campuses as a direct result of the university’s crackdown on the Gaza solidarity protesters.
If they do go out and stay out for a protracted period of time, that’s going to really create a very difficult and disruptive situation on campus. Even though the academic year is nearing its end, these workers perform a vital function.
A Gaza solidarity demonstrator gives a flower to police officers deployed to the University of California, Irvine [UC Irvine] campus on May 15
Swedish city proposes ban on purchases from Israel
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter is reporting that the governing body of the country’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, wants to stop buying goods from Israel.
A coalition that includes the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Left Party and the Green Party, who have a majority in the municipality’s governing committee, has proposed that the city phase out all purchases of goods originating in states that illegally occupy other states.
“Israel is conducting an illegal occupation of the West Bank that has only worsened in the shadow of the widespread killing of civilians in Gaza,” Jonas Attenius, chairman of the municipal board in Gothenburg, said in a press release. “Our tax money should not go to financially support occupation forces.”
The proposal would also affect purchases from Russia and Morocco.
