November 14, 2023

As a Union President, I Stand With Humanity in Calling for a Cease-Fire

I lead a union that stands for equality, peace, international solidarity, and social justice—and that’s why I am joining thousands of others in calling for a cease-fire.

Mark Dimondstein
A demonstrator holding a sign with Ceasefire Now written on it

Demonstrators gather during the National March on Washington: Free Palestine, calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Washington, D.C.

(Probal Rashid / LightRocket via Getty Images)

Recently, several news stories circulated regarding my advocacy, in an AFL-CIO Executive Committee meeting, to join calls for an immediate cease-fire in Israel and Palestine, including the release of hostages and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Even though this position is held by most nations, as reflected in the recent UN General Assembly resolution, and by millions of people throughout the world, including the majority of people in our country and a number of unions, no one else spoke out for a cease-fire at this meeting.

Like so many others, my Jewish family was decimated by the murderous Nazis. Some were part of the heroic resistance to fascism, including my father, a decorated World War II veteran who flew bombing missions over Italy. Another was a cousin, an armed fighter in an underground resistance group in Paris, who with his comrades was executed by a Nazi firing squad in 1944. A poster targeting his group, “L’Affiche Rouge,” and his last letter are exhibited in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. My oldest child is his namesake.

But being raised as a proud Jewish American, and facing my share of antisemitism, does not make me a supporter of Zionism, the settler movement dedicated to establishing and maintaining a Jewish “homeland” through the occupation of Palestine.

Current Issue

Cover of April 2025 Issue

In fact, my family history has helped shape my views on this issue. After fighting in the anti-fascist Bulgarian resistance during World War II, another cousin of mine volunteered in 1948 for the Israeli Air Force. At the time, he believed the establishment of a Jewish homeland was a continuation of the freedom struggle. Soon after his deployment, he observed to an officer, a Holocaust survivor, “We are mistreating the people here in Palestine like the Nazi fascists oppressed us.” He had unwittingly become part of the violent expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land. Underscoring the occupational character of Zionism, his mother was offered a free home that had once belonged to a displaced Palestinian family. She declined.

The British, who carved up the Middle East for their colonial aims, were, not surprisingly, his commanding officers. The governments of Britain and the US, ultimately Israel’s main financial benefactor, were not motivated by concern for Jewish people but by the desire to control the region’s strategic oil resources and transportation lanes, including the Suez Canal. Yet, following the Holocaust’s genocidal murder of 6 million Jews, there was a compelling worldwide sentiment for a safe haven for the Jewish people.

One historical tragedy, however, does not justify another. Israel was created at the expense of the Palestinians, who were driven violently from their homes, forced into impoverished refugee camps, refused the right of return, and have suffered generations of trauma, degradation, settler aggressions, and the indignities of apartheid policies.

Hamas’s tactics of targeting civilians must be condemned even while recognizing that Israel and Western governments helped fund the rise of Islamic fundamentalism to counter the secular and progressive “left” forces in Palestine and beyond. And we may never know to what degree Netanyahu and his reactionary government helped provoke this war, where popular resistance to his authoritarian path has now all but vanished behind calls for “national unity.”

The Nation Weekly

Fridays. A weekly digest of the best of our coverage.
By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. You can read our Privacy Policy here.

Yet, while we are inundated with a barrage of condemnation of Hamas from US politicians and media, Israeli atrocities do not receive commensurate coverage.

Israel has cut off all water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies to Gaza—blatant war crimes. Gaza itself is a literal open-air prison of 2.3 million people, walled off since 2007 by an Israeli siege. Lack of fuel and electricity means premature babies die, hospitals can’t save lives, people are forced to drink contaminated water, and thousands more will die cruel deaths. Families are being left on the brink of starvation.

Israel’s current indiscriminate bombing of homes, schools, ambulances, and hospitals has reportedly killed more than 10,000 civilians in Gaza, including at least 4,000 children. Over 25,000 have been injured.

Billions of US tax dollars a year fund the Israeli military. Now, Democratic President Biden is proposing, and the Republican-led House of Representatives has voted for, billions more in military aid to Israel. This will only lead to more war, more devastation, and more loss of life. But fueling war further enriches the military-industrial complex.

I lead a union that stands for equality, peace, international solidarity, and social justice, though not all our members will agree with my opinions expressed here. The AFL-CIO Executive Committee discussion reflected differing views and strong passions. But I am truly dismayed and find it shameful that we could not unite behind the minimum demand for an immediate cease-fire. The cries of humanity call for nothing less.

Mark Dimondstein

Mark Dimondstein is the president of the American Postal Workers Union, one of 55 Vice Presidents of the AFL-CIO and member of the AFL-CIO Executive Committee and Council.

More from The Nation

The flags of all EU member states fly outside the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, on November 20, 2024.

Is Europe the Last Champion of Liberal Democracy? Is Europe the Last Champion of Liberal Democracy?

At the moment, unfortunately, it seems more likely that Europe will be the last powerful holdout in a world entering a new political Dark Age.

John Feffer

A worker unfurls the American and Chinese flags at the 61st Munich Security Conference on February 15, 2025, in Munich, Germany.

Could the US and China Conclude an Agreement Halting the Momentum Toward Conflict? Could the US and China Conclude an Agreement Halting the Momentum Toward Conflict?

How Trump’s attack on the global order endangers a deal Beijing might otherwise accept.

Jake Werner

President George W. Bush speaks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, in 2007.

Trump Is Exploiting the Paranoid Fantasies that Drove the War on Terror Trump Is Exploiting the Paranoid Fantasies that Drove the War on Terror

The antidemocratic policies put in place after 9/11 have come home to roost.

Karen J. Greenberg

Right-wing leader Marine Le Pen leaves the courtroom early, sentenced to imprisonment and disqualified from holding office for embezzlement charges.

In the Le Pen Verdict, the French Far Right Sees a Political Declaration of War In the Le Pen Verdict, the French Far Right Sees a Political Declaration of War

A French court rules to bar Marine Le Pen from seeking office for five years.

Harrison Stetler

The new FIFA Club World Cup trophy during a swearing in ceremony in the Oval Office on March 28, 2025.

With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup? With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?

The country has proven itself incapable of not abducting and imprisoning people entering it—boycotting US matches avoids putting teams, their families, and fans in danger.

Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin

A displaced Palestinian woman holds her child while sitting in front of her tent on the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City, on March 30, 2025.

A Mother’s Plea From Gaza to the People of the World A Mother’s Plea From Gaza to the People of the World

As Ramadan comes to an end, a mother prays that she can safely break her fast with their children, with sufficient food and clean water, without fear of being torn to pieces by bo...

Mariam Alfarra