[WSIS CS-Plenary] Tunisian Teachers Strike to Protest Shalom’s Visit

[Saskia Fischer]

*http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2005-10/24/article04.shtml
Tunisian Teachers Strike to Protest Shalom’s Visit *

Shalom is due in Tunis on November 10. 

TUNIS, October 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Tunisian high and 
preliminary school teachers will stage a strike on November 10 to 
protest a planned visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom to the 
country to attend the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

"The strike comes to protest normalization of ties with the Zionist 
entity," the country’s Syndicate of Teachers said in a statement issued 
Sunday, October 23, reported the London-based Al-Quds Press news agency.

Tunisia has invited some 100 government leaders including, Israeli Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon, who accepted the invitation but it is not clear 
yet whether he would lead the Israeli delegation to the two-day summit, 
due to start on November 16.

"We condemn the open-arms policy of the Tunisian government with the 
Zionists," said the statement.

"Our pleas to retract invitations to the Israeli officials have fell on 
deaf ears."

The Tunisian opposition warned the government of a "public uprising" if 
it did not retract the Sharon invitation.

Tunisian-Israeli ties date back to 1957, when the Republic of Tunisia 
was declared after the evacuation of French troops.

Then prime minister Habib Bourguiba met secretly at the time with Alec 
L. Easterman, head of The World Jewish Congress ( WJC ) political bureau 
in London, and assured him that his country would join the Arab League 
but would not necessarily follow its policies.

In march 1965, Bourguiba surprised the Arab world by publicly urging 
Arab leaders, in a famous speech in Jericho, to recognize Israel in 
return for negotiations in the spirit of UN resolutions 181 and 194.

The Arab League decided in 1966 not to normalize ties with Tel Aviv 
unless it abided by UN Security Council resolutions related to the 
Palestinian cause.

Egypt and Jordan were the sole exceptions because they have peace 
agreements with Israel.

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