History of Solidarity History of Solidarity The history of Solidarity (, pronounced ), a Polish non-governmental trade union, began on August 14, 1980, at the Lenin Shipyards (now Gdańsk Shipyards) at its founding by Lech Wałęsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. Solidarity gave rise to a broad, non-violent, anti-communist social movement that, at its height, claimed some 9.4 million members. It is considered to have contributed greatly to the fall of communism. Poland's communist government attempted to destroy the union by instituting martial law in 1981, followed by several years of
International Solidarity Movement court ruled that Israel was not at fault for Corrie’s death, and there was neither intent nor negligence involved in her death. The judge also said that Israel's investigation was appropriate and did not contain mistakes. The judge also criticized the U.S. for failing to send a diplomatic representative to observe Corrie's autopsy. On April 11, 2003 Israel Defense Forces(IDF) soldier Sergeant Taysir Hayb shot International Solidarity Movement(ISM) volunteer Tom Hurndall in the head. Hurndall, who had been aiding Palestinians in Gaza, died of his wound in January 2004. Hurndall was unarmed, dressed in the bright orange jacket of the