No Neutrals There

The definitive history of the US labour movement's complicity in Zionist settler colonialism, and a call for today's labour militants to organise in solidarity with Palestinians.

US trade unionists are often told to keep quiet and remain neutral on Palestine because "Palestine has nothing to do with unions" and "weighing in" only distracts from struggles for better working conditions.

No Neutrals There makes a timely and critical intervention against that pervasive sentiment by recounting the history of the US labour movement's century-long involvement in the struggle for Palestine. Scholar Jeff Schuhrke convincingly demonstrates that unions in the United States have never been silent or neutral on the question of Palestine. In fact, they have played a key role in the initial Zionist colonisation of Palestine, the foundation of the Israeli state in 1948, supporting US foreign policy commitments to Israel, and the ongoing suppression of the Palestinian liberation movement.

In his compelling telling of this history, Schuhrke conclusively shows that US unions helped build and maintain the state of Israel. He also shines a light on important exceptions to this rule: instances of US labour solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle that point the way forward for today's labour movement.