UAW President Shawn Fain makes opening remarks on day one of the UAW 39th Constitutional Convention at Huntington Place in Detroit on Monday, June 15, 2026. Photo: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union on Thursday voted at a quadrennial convention in Detroit, Michigan to divest fully from Israel bonds, a seismic decision taken by one of the largest and, arguably, most influential unions in the US amid a period of rising antisemitism and opposition to Israel.

UAW delegates passed the measure by a margin of 321-287, spurning years of precedent in which the union proclaimed Israel a friend and ally in the fight to spread democratic values across the globe.

During the halcyon days of pro-Zionist sentiment in the UAW in the 20th century, President Walter Reuther, the charismatic leader who led the union from 1946 until 1970, the organization purchased Israel bonds by the bucket load while at the same time denouncing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) use of terrorism, hijacking, and insurrection.

The UAW’s past amiability toward the Jewish people once translated into policy. During the Six-Day War in 1967, it doggedly lobbied for US military aid to Israel while issuing strong statements defending its right to self-defense. In 1973, when some workers went on strike to protest the organization’s investment in Israel bonds, its treasurer censured them in a blistering statement which highlighted the gap between liberal institutions in the West and autocratic governments in the Middle East.

Then in 1982, the UAW endorsed Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to neutralize terrorist cells there and even signed a statement by the AFL-CIO, another labor giant, which said, “The AFL-CIO is not neutral. We support Israel.” The UAW even once defied the current of international progressive opinion for years by refusing to recognize the PLO until it recognized Israel’s right to exist and denounced terrorism as diplomacy.

That era had been ending for a long time when the UAW in 2023 implored Israel to halt its military operations against Hamas in Gaza, calling for a so-called “ceasefire” in the middle of an existential struggle set off by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.

With Thursday’s vote, the UAW will dump a previously estimated $400,000 to $700,000 in bonds issued by the Development Corp. to raise revenue for the Israeli government, bringing an end to what was once a symbol of widespread support for Israel in not only the US but also the progressive movement.

“It felt so overwhelming and amazing, but it was also so reaffirming that the United Auto Workers is actually a union that stands for progressive, militant, rank and file action and protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Olga Karounos, a lawyer from New York City, told The Detroit News following the vote, which was held at the Huntington Place hotel in the downtown section of the city. “We vote with our dollars, and we just voted not to support our dollars going to genocide.”

Meanwhile, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) praised the vote, calling it “principled and historic.”

The group continued, “No workers should be forced to see their union’s resources invested in bonds that enable the oppression of the Palestinian people. We urge the UAW leadership to fully implement this vote without delay, and we call on every union, pension fund, university, and public institution to follow this courageous example.”

Bonds issued by the Israeli government have for years remained a safe, long-standing investment for pension funds for many entities across the US.

However, labor organizations are becoming hubs of anti-Zionism, as previously reported by The Algemeiner. 

Last month, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a civil rights complaint alleging that the National Education Association proliferated antisemitism across its interstate network of chapters, offices, and K-12 schools by systemically enacting policies which resulted in Jews being blocked from promotions, mentorship opportunities, and participation in social justice initiatives.

The disturbing document went further, arguing that antisemitic discrimination at the NEA is more than an invisible, bureaucratic force which disappears Jews from governance roles. According to the complaint, it is a force applied by anti-Zionists who lead mobs against Jewish delegates attending union conferences; perpetrate acts of physical intimidation; and delete guidance on teaching students about the Holocaust from official documents.

In New York City, the federal government is investigating reports that members of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) are procuring students for membership in anti-Zionist study groups teaching that Israelis are “genocidal white supremacists” and that Hamas terrorists are “martyrs.” The initiative there is funded by a nonprofit titled “Rethinking Schools,” which itself has been a recipient of exorbitant financial gifts from the NEA.

At Columbia University, students are fighting against a graduate workers union dominated by anti-Israel advocates, a contest described in a federal complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in April.

The students allege that the bosses who run Student Workers of Columbia (SWC), an affiliate of United Auto Workers (UAW), devote more energy and resources to pursuing “radical policy proposals” than improving occupational conditions. In collective bargaining negotiations, it allegedly pressures the university to adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and to enact other measures, such as ending its partnership with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and closing a dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.