The union representing Legal Aid lawyers approved a controversial anti-Israel resolution Tuesday that calls for an economic boycott of the “apartheid” Jewish State and immediate cease-fire in Gaza — which critics condemned as pro-Hamas and antisemitic.
The resolution from the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/Local 2325 of United Auto Workers passed with 1067 votes to 570 opposed.
It passed despite the move defying the policy of its employer — the Legal Aid Society — of steering clear of taking stands on international political conflicts.
The organization’s mission statement declares it is built on “one simple but powerful belief: that no New Yorker should be denied the right to equal justice.”
“We seek to be a beacon of hope for New Yorkers who feel neglected -regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they identify,” it states.
The divisive resolution calls for “an end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land, sea, and air by Israeli military forces.”
The statement opposes all existing and future US military aid to Israel and endorses the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state.
It also backs legislation forbidding not-for-profits in New York from supporting “illegal Israeli settlements” on disputed land.
“We support the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland,” the resolution said.
The resolution never mentions or blames the terrorist group Hamas for starting the war with Israel and only refers to the Oct. 7 attack as a “violent tragedy” without mentioning the number of people Hamas killed.
It only mentions the number of people killed in Israel’s retaliatory attacks against Hamas-controlled Gaza.
The vote on the resolution was temporarily suspended after other pro-Israel union members filed a lawsuit to stop it.
A judge recently lifted a restraining order after ruling that the union had the right to proceed.
“We reject all attempts to intimidate workers for their political speech,” the union said.
Opponents within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys union blasted the resolution as pro-Hamas.
“ALAA’s implicit justification of the barbaric acts of terrorism committed by Hamas — an internationally recognized terrorist organization — erodes any claims of advocating for justice or human rights,” Legal Aid attorney and union member Ariella Goldstein told The Post.
“The resolution appallingly condones the dehumanizing rapes, kidnapping, beheading, and murders that Hamas committed, and recorded themselves committing, on October 7,” she added.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the NY Board of Rabbis, called the resolution antisemitic.
When you treat the Jewish State of Israel differently than everyone else, that’s antisemitic,” Potasnik, said, referring to the Legal Aid lawyers union backing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
“I don’t see this group or others supporting a boycott against China or Iran?”
The Legal Aid Society, the employer of the anti-Israel lawyers, declined comment on Tuesday.
But last month the group, which relies on millions of dollars in public funding to provide legal services to the needy, slammed the resolution as “laden with coded antisemitic language and thinly veiled calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.”
“At a time when our attorneys and staff should be united in support of the people we serve, the resolution does not advance the legal interests of our clients, does not comport with our mission and values, and is divisive and hurtful,” the statement continued.
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