Britain?s largest trade union will consider boycotting Israel. A boycott proposal at the annual conference next month of UNISON, Britain?s public services union with more than 1.3 million members, also would encourage other unions to boycott Israel, Ha?aretz reported. Such a boycott would have a huge impact on Israeli-British relations, as UNISON exerts great economic influence in England. Israel’s Histadrut labor federation said it expects the boycott to extend to Israeli-made goods and investments in Israeli pension funds. Histadrut has urged UNISON leaders to remove the issue from consideration, noting that recent Palestinian rocket attacks have targeted Sderot, a largely working-class town. UNISON rejected a similar proposal to boycott Israel during last year’s conference, but the union “harshly criticized” Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories, according to Ha’aretz.
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