In addition to the election of a new General Secretary for PSI, two resolutions on Palestine passed the congress.  They were in support of the Palestinian people.  One resolution, on BDS, passed by only 1% but it passed.

There was a stirring speech by my friend Steve Faulkner from the South African Municipal Workers Union in which he noted that activists in South Africa who condemn the Israeli system of oppression of Palestinians as “apartheid” are not using that term loosely.  They are familiar with apartheid.  He went on to note that those who suggest the need for an even-handed approach to the situation miss something very striking:  Israel has one of the strongest military operations on the planet, while by comparison, the Palestinians have next to nothing. [Note:  Israel also has a nuclear arsenal.]  This does NOT mean playing soft on anti-Semitism, but it does mean a recognition that the Palestinians are the ones whose land is occupied and those in Israel who are citizens are second-class citizens..

In any case, there was debate on this.  Not sure what the ramifications will be but, overall, the debate was fairly principled.  I need to get hold of an electronic version of the resolutions and post them.

Keep the faith.