Israel must “wage a relentless search for social justice for all its citizens, ” Yeruham Meshel, the newly-elected Secretary-General of Histadrut told 350 labor leaders at a luncheon in his honor today at the New York Hilton. The luncheon, sponsored by the American Trade Council for Histadrut, took place as Meshel prepared to leave for Washington for the final two days of his 10-day visit to the United States and Canada.
According to Meshel. the Yom Kippur War unified the working forces of Israel, and those feelings of unification have been carried over into the thinking of Histadrut, which has planned to expand its work among the underprivileged sectors of Israeli society. Noting that there are some 20,000 young people living in anti-social environments in Israeli slums, Meshel said. “Histadrut will go directly to them with vocational, cultural and social programs geared to constructive ends. Our labor organization will be move active to increase the knowledge of our citizens.”
Meshel told the labor leaders that his meetings earlier this week in Chicago and Detroit with AFL-CIO members and their president, George Meany, as well as with United Auto Workers President Leonard Woodcock, resulted in pledges by both men to support Israel. “Israel is not asking for manpower–we will supply that ourselves.” said Meshel. “But we need equipment from America if a war will start again, and we need American support to prevent the exploitation of raw materials for political profit by Russia and other countries.”
A statement adopted by the AFL-CIO Executive Council on Tuesday pledged support for “a free and independent Israel” and urged the United States government “to provide all necessary assistance to this valiant people whose survival in freedom is a cornerstone to peace in the world.”
MANY ARABS IN HISTADRUT
The social justice campaign which Meshel and Histadrut advocate includes Arab as well as Jewish worker, the Secretary-General said. “We have Arabs among our labor leaders and 70,000 Arab members,” he said. “And in fact, we have
On the present situation in the Middle East and the possibility of the outbreak of another war in Israel, Meshel said, to a response of boisterous applause from the labor leaders at the luncheon. “If a war will be again we will fight bitterly and I hope will win. We will fight to reach a lasting peace. We will never agree to divide Jerusalem again and we will not give up the Golan Heights.”
Meshel, who has been active in Israel’s labor councils for almost 30 years, became Histadrut’s Secretary General in April, after having served as both Deputy Secretary-General and Acting Secretary-General. This was his first official visit to the United States.
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