I do not know what is going on or has recently gone on internally in the
SWP, but I do know something about its organizational principles and how
splits in the past played out. The main organizing principle in the SWP
is democratic centralism. Each branch is free to make contingency
decisions locally as long as such contingency decisions do not conflict
with national policy. Every two years a convention is held in Oberlin,
Ohio. Before the convention a call for comment is issued and individual
members may contribute to discussion bulletins that are distributed
nationally. They are free to organize into tendencies to push whatever
issue they want. They are also free to organize into factions. A faction
is a major attempt to gain control of the party for major changes in
policy. The discussion bulletins and their issues are discussed in the
various branches and individual comrades may declare themselves for the
tendency or faction that they favor. Then each branch elects delegates
to the convention proportionally divided according to how they declared
themselves in the branch. The convention is the highest decision making
body in the party and accepts or rejects resolutions that will set the
party's position on major issues for the next two years. The convention
also elects a national committee proportional to the numbers in the
tendencies and factions. The national committee is in charge of carrying
out the decisions of the convention for the next two years and for
making national policy decisions for the next two years on a contingency
basis. According to the principles of democratic centralism every
comrade is expected to carry out and advocate for these democratically
arrived decisions whether the individual comrade agrees with them or
not. It is that last point that makes it practically impossible to learn
what is going on inside the party without being a member of it. Any
comrade who speaks to a nonmember about dissension inside the party or
advocates a position other than what the convention has democratically
decided runs a serious risk of being expelled.
Having said that, I cannot imagine that this complete reversal of policy
on Israel could have happened without a really major faction fight
internally. There are just too many long-time comrades who devoted the
major portion of their lives to opposing Israel. One way this could have
happened is that a good many of party members had already left the party
over other issues. That is how Socialist Action came into existence, for
example. Socialist Action was neither expelled nor left as a group. It
was formed after a lot of party members left over the break with the
Fourth International and the repudiation of the theory of permanent
revolution. It was after they left that they got together and founded
Socialist Action. Nevertheless, whether a lot of party members had
already left or not there were still many who had spent most of their
lives opposing Israel left in the party. I know because I recognize
their bylines in the Militant. I would even include National Secretary
Jack Barnes in that number except that because he was the author of the
repudiation of the theory of permanent revolution it would not be
impossible for him to have made another radical change of mind about
another issue. No matter which side he may have taken, though, I have a
really hard time imagining this kind of shift without a major faction
fight. Now, even if Socialist Action was not expelled as a group that
was not always the case. In 1966 there was a faction fight over the
question of black nationalism and virtually the entire Seattle branch
resigned from the party and formed the Freedom Socialist Party. To this
day their main base of operations is Seattle. Earlier the Sparticist
League broke from the party in a similar way even if over other issues
and in the 1950s the Workers World Party exited in a faction fight.
There were others too. This time I have heard of no party split. I don't
know why. It may be that it just takes a little while to regroup and I
will hear about it soon and a new newspaper may be founded to promote a
new party. It may be that the anti-Israel faction sees promise to regain
ascendancy and are just toughing it out in the party. I imagine, though,
that there might be some new recruits coming into Socialist Action or
some other groups made up of comrades who resigned. Whatever the case, I
can assure you that this is far from a minor reversal of policy. I am
also confident that because of democratic centralism and policies
concerning funding. there is virtually no chance that this has anything
to do with gaining money for changing position nor would it have
anything to do with some kind of outside lobbying group, whether you
call it an Israel lobby or something else, getting control of the party.
I can hazard a guess though. Mind you that this is only a guess and I
have no evidence for it. I do know that a fairly large number of the
membership have for a long time been Jewish. This is probably due to
heavy recruiting in the New York City area. In fact, I think most of the
Jewish party members I have met were New Yorkers. I am guessing that
some or most of them might have secretly held Zionist sympathies and
waited until they saw the chance and formed a pro-Zionist faction that
won. Again, I emphasize that this is only a guess. I will say, though,
that it would be extremely interesting to read the discussion bulletins
that led up to this policy change. Alas, though, those are internal
party documents and are not available to the public.
On 1/15/2017 8:28 PM, Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender rogerbailey81
for DMARC) wrote:
I am pretty sure that whatever is going on in the party big money is not a factor. Sources of big money would not contribute to the SWP for a lot of other reasons whether it took any stand on this issue or not.
On 1/15/2017 4:39 AM, Frank Ventura wrote:
Sadly, the lure of big money seems to have grabbed the SWP as well.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2017 11:08 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Obama’s attacks on Israel boost Jew-hatred
This is getting worse and worse and it is actually distressing me. I cannot support this position. What the hell has happened inside the SWP?
http://themilitant.com/2017/8103/810301.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 81/No. 3 January 16, 2017
(lead article, commentary)
Obama’s attacks on Israel boost Jew-hatred
BY EMMA JOHNSON
AND JOHN STUDER
The decision by the lame-duck administration of President Barack Obama
to allow passage of a Dec. 23 United Nations Security Council resolution
condemning Israel weakens both the right of Israel to exist and the
fight for the national interests of the Palestinian people. It gives the
green light to anti-Semitic currents that call for destruction of the
Jewish state — including Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions forces — and
to those like reactionary Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip that
organizes terror actions against Jews in Israel and in West Bank
settlements. And it encourages aggressive anti-Arab currents in Israel.
The U.N. resolution, which Republican President-elect Donald Trump urged
Obama to veto, states that “the establishment by Israel of settlements
in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East
Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation
under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the
two-State solution.”
Secretary of State John Kerry added insult to injury in a 70-minute
lecture Dec. 28 blaming Tel Aviv for sinking the prospect of a
negotiated peace settlement and calling the coalition government led by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the most right wing in Israeli
history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.”
Kerry’s critique excoriated Tel Aviv for robbing Obama of his “legacy,”
ignoring his advice and instructions for what they should do. Like the
liberals and those on the petty-bourgeois left who are aghast at U.S.
workers who rejected Hillary Clinton and voted for Donald Trump, Obama
and his meritocratic brethren find it unfathomable that Netanyahu
doesn’t jump to follow their proscriptions for Israeli policy.
The key question here is the Jewish question, the right of Israel to
exist as a homeland for Jews, and the right to return to Israel for Jews
everywhere in a world where Jew-hatred is on the rise. As the crisis of
capitalism and the class struggle deepen, history teaches, the
capitalists lose confidence that “normal” methods will defend their
rule, and they turn to fascist terror against the working class. Key to
this is fanning Jew-hatred and pogroms to divert the toilers from
fighting for power.
The need for a refuge for the Jews was etched in the consciousness of
workers around the world during the second imperialist world slaughter
when the Nazis marched across Europe, annihilating 6 million Jews —
two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. The capitalist rulers in
Washington and across Europe closed their borders to Jews who tried to
flee the Holocaust.
Out of this catastrophe Israel was established. The world Jewish
population has still not reached its prewar level. In 1939 there were
almost 17 million Jews worldwide, largely in Europe. Today the number is
just over 14 million.
“Over 2,000 years they were subjected to terrible persecution and then
to the pogroms,” Fidel Castro, the historic leader of the Cuban
Revolution, said of the Jewish people in 2010. “I think their culture
and religion kept them together as a nation.”
The fight between Israeli authorities and the lame-duck Obama
administration takes place as political alliances among capitalist
regimes in the Middle East are undergoing tectonic shifts. Tehran has
increased its military presence and political influence from Afghanistan
to Lebanon. Shiite and Sunni-led regimes are lining up against each
other. As Washington’s influence declines, Moscow attempts to move in.
Israel is a Mideast nation. Today Tel Aviv is forced to take another
look at who are its allies and its enemies. While most governments in
the Mideast do not recognize Israel, many Sunni-led regimes, including
Saudi Arabia and Jordan, are looking to work with Tel Aviv, sharing
common interests in blocking Tehran.
Last year the Israeli government resumed diplomatic relations with
Turkey after a six-year freeze following a deadly Israeli raid on a
Turkish ship delivering aid to Gaza.
Tel Aviv is warming up to Moscow and looking to closer relations with
the incoming U.S. administration of Donald Trump.
Jew-hatred on the rise
Jew-hatred and anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in many parts of the
world. That’s why the right of Israel to exist and of Jews anywhere to
live there is even more important today. And such a view is the only
road to rebuild a movement capable of winning recognition of a
Palestinian state today, opening the door to fight for a contiguous,
viable homeland for the Palestinian people.
The U.N. resolution encourages the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
campaign, which has growing support in U.S. and European liberal,
academic and governmental milieus. BDS supporters seek to make an
international pariah of Israel, treating its Jewish population as one
reactionary mass and labeling it an “apartheid state.” They demand
boycotting Israeli goods and shutting down artistic, musical and
academic exchanges with Israel.
But Israel today bears no resemblance to apartheid South Africa, and the
position of Jews there and worldwide has no comparison to the murderous
Boer overlords who ruled Pretoria before Nelson Mandela.
Hamas and Palestinian Authority leaders welcomed the U.N. resolution and
Kerry’s speech. This is in line with the course they have followed for
decades, including using terror attacks to try to get the attention of
Washington and other imperialist powers to pressure Tel Aviv. This
course relies on turning the Palestinian masses into passive bystanders.
To defend Jews both in Israel and worldwide, and the only road that can
open the door to mobilizing Palestinian workers and farmers to fight for
their rights, requires recognition of the state of Israel.
Related articles:
Capitalist rulers in Mideast shift allies while toilers face catastrophe
Fidel Castro: Israel has the right to exist as Jewish state
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