Summary
The Jewish labour federation, which in Kanafani’s account completely dominated the Jewish labour movement by 1936-1939 and was an instrument of the Jewish Labour Only policy that excluded Arab workers.
Details
- In 1936-1939, Kanafani states, the reactionary Histadrut completely dominated the Jewish labour movement, while the Palestine Communist Party was effectively isolated among both Arab and Jewish workers (The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine, PDF p.6 / printed p.11).
- Its membership rose by 41,000 in nine months, from 74,000 at the end of 1935 in the official government report to 115,000 at the end of July 1936 in the newspaper Davar (The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine, PDF p.8 / printed p.14).
- Kanafani quotes a Histadrut statement of policy against allowing Arabs to penetrate the Jewish labour market, on the grounds that employing Arab labour with Jewish capital was contrary to Zionist objectives and would create a class division along racial lines (The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine, PDF p.9 / printed p.16).
Related pages
The 1936-39 Revolt in Palestine, Jewish Labour Only, Palestine Communist Party, Zionism