No Neutrals There: US Labor, Zionism and the Struggle for Palestine by Jeff Schuhrke (2025)
In 1973 the United Auto Workers (UAW) purchased over $300,000 in Israeli bonds, enabling the ongoing Nakba on the Palestinian people. But in response, Arab American autoworkers from the Dodge Chrysler Plant in Detroit led UAW Local 1112 to walk off the job in a one day wildcat strike for Palestine. Detroit was the heart of the automobile industry, and had seen militant workplace organizing. The League of Revolutionary Black Workers (LRBW) organized workers and pushed them to fight back at the point of production to challenge capitalism, imperialism and racism. The LRBW built coalitions with workers of all backgrounds, produced a local newspaper to amplify international and socialist struggles, and organized strikes. These strikes unified workers around issues of capitalism but also imperialism and solidarity with Palestine.This event symbolizes the contradictory history of US labour, with a conservative trade union bureaucracy that supports imperialism, and the history of militant rank-and-file that builds its solidarity with Palestine.
Arab and Black workers organized around issues in the workplace including workplace deaths and injuries, racist hiring and segregation, wage theft and the UAW’s enormous contributions to Israel bonds. To fight oppression on multiple fronts, these revolutionaries understood clearly the first place of struggle was the workplace, where all workers spent most of their day, and that necessitated taking control of the shop floor and halting capital.
This history and success of organizing against racism, and imperialism has been deliberately erased history in America. That is why Labour historian Jeff Schuhrke’s work is always welcomed and a needed resource for international trade unionism. In order for us to propel and grow the labour movement we need clarity in a time of deliberate obfuscation. Shuhrke’s new book No Neutrals There: US Labor, Zionism, and the Struggle for Palestine has been released by Haymarket Books, and is essential reading to understand the depth of labour’s complicity in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, the commitment to imperialistic war and the complicity from trade union leaders. It also serves an account of historical victories for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction movement, and countless other examples of strikes in solidarity for Palestine from workers in America.
His book begins with a powerful quote from a Palestinian leader George Habash: “In today’s world no one is innocent, no one a neutral. A man is either with the oppressed or he is with the oppressors.” Habash was the founder of the People Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1970.
Europe’s response to anti-Semitism: from Socialism to Zionism
This beginning of the book addresses the early formations of Labor Zionism as a fringe ideology amongst Jews in Europe, and elucidates the material forces that constructed it into existence in the late 19th century. It began with a minority group of elite Jewish statesmen seeking to build a home, with possible destinations including Argentina, east Africa, or Palestine. Naturally, the majority of Jewish working people wanted to maintain living in their homes in Europe. Jewish socialist organizations, like the Jewish Labor Bund reflected this obvious sentiment of the right to live in your own homelands, hence they rejected the early formations of political Zionism, and simultaneously were fighting the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in Europe.
U.S Labor leader David Dubinsky was an example of the Bundist tradition. He escaped a prison in Tsarist Russia and sought refuge in America. He and others in America formed the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), one of the first organizations to fund and support the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The entire purpose of this labor body was to support trade unionists in Europe fleeing Nazi Germany, fleeing the persecution, the organization sought to protect all workers (Jewish and non Jewish). The JLC was very adamantly Bundist and anti-Zionist, as it explained in it’s founding declaration 1934: “the Jewish question must be solved in the countries in which the Jews live..”.
After the end of the British Mandate, they had to ensure that control was not acquiesced by its native Palestinian population. Further, the rise of the United States as a world’s super power after World War Two led to the cementing of political Zionism and investments into the colonization of Palestine. Israel played a vital role for the British in maintaining hegemony in colonies. Similarly, it continued to serve a purpose to the US empire. Importantly, for the core to continue plunder in the region and greater West Asia, but also to contain the spread of communism and liberation movements in the global south. Palestine was essential for the imperialist core countries. For labour the relevance of the Histadrut, an employer body that violently enforced apartheid vis a vis Jewish only policies. Thus, this Jewish only economy positioned itself with force, with the backdrop of the Nazism and settlers coming in from Europe, this justified the ongoing support for colonisation by the United States, the “world’s policeman”. In tandem, labour officialdom went from anti-Zionist tendencies to full support for Israel and its apartheid state, arguably accelerating this colonial project in historic Palestine.
The formation of Israeli apartheid: land theft, wage theft and resistance
Before settlers came from Europe, Palestine was indeed more what could be described as communal modes of production or musha’a which was collective ownership, familial/kin/clan/tribe shared distribution. The colonization of Palestine began in the late 1800s, beginning with the British, and later Israel vis a vis the United States. What both ultimately intended to do was destroy Indigenous systems, remove the Indigenous people and implement settler colonialism for the Empire.
In the 1930s’ and later the Holocaust ushered in more and more thousands of settlers arriving from Europe to Palestine. This period led thousands of indigenous Palestinians to be made landless, jobless and forced into poverty. The influx of Jewish settlers led to the expulsion of Palestinian labourers both in industry and agriculture. In the context of this Zionist invasion, early worker organizations like the Arab Worker’s Society denounced Zionist colonialism as two-fold as “depriving the worker of his job and the peasant of his land.” Immediately these years 1936 to 1939 saw a revolt called across Palestine, including one of the largest general strikes in the region, against British colonial rule and Zionism. British troops intervened to stymie these anti-colonial uprisings violently breaking strikes, the Histadrut played a central role in bringing in scabs.
What is crucially important for readers to understand was that the political economy created by the British and the U.S. Empire are both colonial in nature, and an apartheid system. The end to a British Mandate did not mean an end to colonialism, the British ensured that Palestine and its indigenous inhabitants would remain under the thumb of neo-colonialism, the United States and the political apparatus of the United Nations. De-development, aid dependency, imperialism, and a violent settler economy has always prevented Palestinians their right to their land, water, air and labour. This is important for labour circles to contend with in political education, to debunk and counter the idea that the “Israel-Gaza war” is some far away issue that is about age-old religious conflicts.
Importantly, the history of the second world war also led to shifts amongst the international socialists and communists. As Nazism gained steam, a popular front had emerged as a strategy by Communists and the Soviet Union to fight fascism, thus formulating new alliances with liberals and new Zionist allies emerged in Eastern Europe satellite states. On the other hand, within Palestine, Jewish members of the Palestine Communist Party and Palestinian organizations also organized in unity, but this was against the terror led by both the Israeli’ Histadrut’ and the British.
Readers of this book should take away from this one major point; Palestinians have always attempted to maintain independent trade unions. From the early 1900s, like the Palestine Arab Workers Society along with various trade unions. However, political participation and freedom of association have never been allowed with the presence of the colonial forces in their region. Histadrut from the very used anti-Palestinian hatred to create division, scabbed Arab and non- Arab workers, asked for employers to fire Palestinians and to hire “Jewish only .” These years led to a major reconfiguration of the labor supply and land grabs, and with the backing of the United States. Thus, human rights organizations including the international bodies like the International Labor Organization and its global counterparts have always attempted to state that Israel is an apartheid that upholds racial segregation. The Israeli economy and Israeli labor policy continues to maintain segregation and Jewish only policies, racial hierarchies, surveillance, workplace violence, dues and wage theft, violent extraction of labour and land, child labour, etc. Finally undermining the entire purpose of a union, the freedom to participate equally in unions.
Zionism and the decline of US unions and worker rights
Shuhrke’s previous work Blue Collar Empire: the Untold Story of the U.S. Labor’s Global Anti Communist Crusade and current book illustrates how the trade union bureaucracy has supported US imperialism, to the detriment of American workers. In response to a powerful labour movement at the time, President Roosevelt gave some concessions resulting in labour reforms. But labour leaders particularly in the AFL wanted to maintain “labour- management peace” and “war time peace”, and thus accrued privileges and prestige with the government. This fostered the dominance of business unionism, a hegemonic practice in the United States.
The 30s to the 50s saw the real rise and strength of the US labor movement as a whole, and as earlier mentioned a shift in the global political economy. Concurrently, Histadrut leadership lobbied the powerful U.S. labor movement and built sustaining relationships with labour officials during this time period. These relationships were the foundations of Israel’s legitimacy in the hearts and minds of labor in the US, at this time the AFL-CIO was more powerful than even the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.Former President of UAW Walter Reuther referred to Israel as “the country in the free world nearest to Democratic Socialism.” (pg. 104)
Over the decades, the corporate state with the logic of neo liberalism increasingly sought out speed ups, automation, outsourcing and offshoring of production to the detriment of the labour movement. The nail in the coffin was a set of legal attacks on worker rights like the Taft Hartley Act and other anti-strike laws, including McCarthyism, that continue to see ramifications for American workers till this day. The worst was yet to come, under the Cold War terror, the reactionary CIO expunged 11 unions and with that about 1 million members from their membership because of the threat of Communist leadership. Raiding, expulsions and creating company unions became prevailing, this accelerated a decline of militant organizing social movement unionism. This shift in leadership and along with expunging of radicals led to the rapprochement for Labor Zionism.
Schuhrke’s historical research illustrates that the AFL-CIO and major unions became obsessively involved in strategic political positioning and settler expansionist foreign policy. The result of decades-long, unabated anti-Communist purges and imperialist foreign policy fueled the decline in domestic union growth. Dues and taxes were being funnelled over to building Israel and maintaining war coffers. As former AFL-CIO President Kirkland said, “America stands against the creation of a Palestinian state”, which “would injure and endanger economic, political and strategic interests of the United States.”
Israel’s foundations, and its settler population received millions of dollars through the United States labour movement. Endless examples of public institutions built, purchasing of housing bonds, loans named and maintained unapologetic leaders giving Israel union member’s dues. This ugly history includes the former President of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, the notorious corrupt labor racketeer leader Jimmy Hoffa was known to be “running guns” illegally to terrorist organisations in Israel in 1948. He helped hide guns inside commercial washing machines en route to Israeli militias. This mob leader formally worked with Israeli leaders like Ben-Gurion and helped solidify lasting relationships between Histadrut and US labor.
However, under the backdrop of years of repression, and the overall decline of union members, and a hallowed out labour movement, strikes and organizing for unions continued. Particularly because of the organizing against the Vietnam War and Black liberation movements impact on labour in America. The urban rebellion in Detroit, not an isolated event, on the contrary, the decades after would show the growth of the solidarity from American workers for the Palestinian people.
Palestine solidarity and the revival of labour militancy
Political consciousness has been lifted in the moment of a harrowing televised genocide, the world cannot forget Palestine. What’s clearer now for workers reactivated in their unions is that the Israeli apartheid and genocide has been funded by their taxes and union dues. This moment has reignited an international movement and solidarity for Palestinian people. Labour institution pundits and AFL-CIO leaders continue to side with elites and Labor Zionism, shamefully and explicitly exposing how antiquated their positions are. These misleaders continue to only marginalize themselves, and further erase themselves into irrelevance. Instead, it makes room for new possibilities, for new leaders to emerge, and an internationalist outlook amongst a diverse rank and file with a desire to organize . Workers are attending union meetings, pension board meetings, school meetings, community meetings, city council and so forth with demands for their own material needs but also heeding to the call from Palestinian General Federation Trade Union.
The strike has always played a significant role for working people, peasants, and landless people around the world. This strike as a tactic and tool continues to be utilized by Palestinian people too, and we as trade unionists must respect their picket lines. To deliberately avoid, erase, a concrete way that actually makes material costs for the billionaires, the rich, the elite, the colonizers throughout history. The strike is a transcendent action that moves through time, space, borders, laws and solidifies internationalism. We have to stop listening to experts on the field who are not on the ground in the field. Workers are ready for strikes, they were ready yesterday.
This is why Schuhrke’s review is imminently needed for us in labour, this account of history illustrates how the first Intifada coupled with coordinated strikes was felt globally and captivated the hearts of the labor movement in America. The second Intifada also had a huge impact on the global labour movement, in fact it ushered in new organizations in support of Palestinian resistance like Palestine Labor Action Network and Labor Committee on the Middle East. The events of the 21st century including the second Intifada, Oslo Accords, the formal end of the Cold War and the ‘Global War on Terror’ ignited the anti war movement amongst workers in America. Albeit, there emerged a new set of global relations, one where the U.S. became supreme, but its labour movement became weaker. Although, this formal decline in power of labour, and arguably a non-existent labour movement with weak labour leadership gave room to the rank and file to organize around workplaces and communities. Schuhrke suggests the decline in “white male” leadership and density, advanced the struggles of a more diversely reflected labour movement, including the once forgotten peace movement, women’s movement, and anti militarism in trade unionism in America. These shifts even reflected the AFL CIO officially working in partnership, funding and training with the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions in 2003.
In this climate, diverse workers participated more actively in worker to worker delegations once again. This became a powerful tool to combat the Zionist lobbyists in America. In 2015, David Roche the president of the Connecticut Building and Construction Trades Council was invited on a delegation to occupied West Bank with other union leaders. He said thereafter “I went on this trip as what I considered the least informed person on this journey…As a unionist it didn’t take long to realize the mistreatment of Palestinian people… I would challenge all labor leaders to take this journey and do as we did.”
Subsequently, Roche with the help of other labour leaders were able to lead divestment from Israel bonds at the Connecticut AFL-CIO and bring a delegation from Palestine to continue the solidaristic work. This and many achievements paved a way for the legitimacy of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions work. Now, it appears the moment has ignited the ‘Sanctions’ in BDS.
Workers of the world unite!
This moment did not arrive spontaneously, it happened because of the manufactured crises brought on by the global pandemic. The whole world saw what greed and useless governments were capable of, everything was at stake. Millions of people took the streets at unprecedented levels, uprisings happened across the world. The demands became more clear and coherent from the left, “ defund militarism at home and abroad.” The analysis became sharper for American unionists; the same militarization used on working people, unhoused, black people was directly connected to American government’s complicity in Israeli apartheid and a genocide on the people in Palestine. In 2020, labour organisations started to receive endless calls from unorganized workers who wanted unions and wanted to organize. At the same time, millions of workers took the street to protest against the murder of black people at the hands of the racist police, and the ongoing escalated attacks on the people in Palestine. This overall reinvigoration of labour militancy includes the renewed use of general strikes.
More recently, Delta AFA President Sara Nelson and even the Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson, a Chicago Teachers Union member, have called for the urgency of a general strike.
Mayor Johnson recently said at a No Kings Protest in Chicago this October:
“If my ancestors, as slaves, can lead the greatest general strike in the history of this country, taking it to the ultra-rich and big corporations, we can do the same thing. I’m calling on Black people, white people, Brown people, Asian people, immigrants, gay people throughout this country to stand up against tyranny. To send a clear message, we are going to make them pay their fair share in taxes, to fund our schools, our jobs, health care and transportation!”
This week, Starbucks Workers United are leading strikes in over 40 plus cities across America against the coffee giant called the “Red Cup Rebellion.” CEO Howard Schultz was notoriously known for his union busting tactics including weaponisation on Holocaust language in captive audience meetings. The movement for Palestinian solidarity is deeply intertwined with union members. We can see the Palestine flag being carried high and proud at picket lines, and workers draped in kuffiyees.
Earlier this year, at the national Democratic Socialists of America convention with 1400 attendees from chapters around the country. Two major themes emerged from the convention that showed up in countless resolutions, Palestine and labour. The most talked about is the Anti Zionist Resolution that was passed by over 50 chapters in the country, and successfully passed at the national convention. The hopes of reaffirming principles and with hopes of preventing endorsements of elected leaders who do not meet DSA standards. This year the delegates also voted and focussed on building labor rank and file power, and working closely with labor activists towards a General Strike 2028.
Just this fall, Italy lead a general strike for Palestine has jubilant, the labour movement led a 2 million people strike across the country demanding an end to the genocide and a blockade on Israel. This was ignited by the ongoing genocide and the incentive to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla launched civil society and trade unions across the world. It exposed how the public overwhelmingly disagreed with Prime Minister Georgi Meloni’s unwavering commitment to Israel with weapons and aid and were willing to do anything to halt it. Of course, workers in Europe have been in constant turmoil over threats of rollbacks to their pensions, and budget plans that lead to more cuts to public spending. So the strikes have been motivated by domestic policies but also connected to imploding budgets of European countries’ endless military support for Israel. Dockworkers, railworkers, nurses, educators, students and workers across 80 cities and regions in Italy called to “Block Everything with Palestine in our hearts.” The strike shook the entire world and sent a message to the world, including their own fascistic leadership, that Italians overwhelmingly support the people of Palestine. Moreover, it proves that a general strike for Palestine is not only possible, it happened, and it can happen again.
To resist Zionism in tandem with imperialism, we must understand our history to contend with the present. For decades, labor officialdom has made the same old arguments “workers are not ready for strikes, young workers are not ready for this, workers don’t care about Palestine..” constantly third partying “the union”, and belittling the rank and file organizing. Their attempts to stymie any resistance to the status quo and perpetuate bosses’ low expectations of workers is all too familiar. Schuhrke’s book explains how labour officials have sabotaged solidarity towards Palestine under the guise of “neutrality” while continuing to support Israel. This book helps every reader understand how we got to where we are, and how we move forward in our organizing for solidarity with the people of Palestine. As trade unionists we have to build strategies that understand how power operates and is being used against us, and more importantly what we can do to fight back.
Schuhrke’s work presents an objective analysis with a principled intent. He shows one can write with morality, integrity, and for the people with the people. I really appreciate his commitment to the global working class and poor. In this moment of genocidal denialism and erasure of knowledge, this work like many others is important for us in the field. The accounts have given me a clearer picture of the victories that happened for labour and Palestine in the past; the power of the strike, and the impact of worker to worker solidarity. As people resisting this war and military machine within the empire, we have a lot more work to do for our own freedom from exploitation, freedom for peace, and freedom for unity.
Author
Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate