My response to the article is that it imposes a Marxist class struggle
interpretation on what is actually a situation resulting from a hundred
years of Zionist colonialism, aided and abetted by the western nations.
There are various Palestinian responses to the theft of their land and their
homes and the murder and exile of so many of their people. Many of the
responses are self defense in the form of various kinds of violence. Other
responses are peaceful organizing. The Palestinian Authority has become an
arm of the Israeli state, acting on its behalf. Occasionally, in order to
garner support from Palestinians, it makes gestures on their behalf. As far
as a two state solution is concerned, it should be obvious to anyone who
understands what is actually going on in Israel/Palestine, that a two state
solution is no longer an option, if it ever really was. If the party wanted
to be relevant, it would advocate for a secular state in Palestine where
Jews and Palestinians had equal rights. If that goal were accomplished, it
could concentrate on the class struggle.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2015 11:29 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] End attacks on Jews,, brutal Israeli response
Earlier this year I expressed some dismay that The Militant had adopted the
two-state position on the Israel question. I said that this was a complete
reversal of the position that the SWP had held for decades. I said that this
could only mean that there was a real fight going on inside the party. Well,
the party held a convention in Oberlin, Ohio this summer and ever since the
convention there has not been a word in The Militant about Israel. That
confirmed to me that there was an internal fight going on and that the
convention had changed the official position. Well, with this issue of The
Militant the silence is broken.
This editorial does not explicitly reiterate the decades long position on
Israel, but it does seem to back off from the two-state solution. It remains
to be seen just what the official position is now, but at first glance I
feel a lot more comfortable with this article than I have with recent ones
before this year's convention.
http://themilitant.com/2015/7939/793920.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 39 November 2, 2015
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 39 November 2, 2015
(editorial)
End attacks on Jews,
brutal Israeli response
The stabbings and other attacks on Jews in Israel, praised by Hamas and
acquiesced to by the Palestinian Authority, and the brutally
disproportionate response by the Israeli regime pose more sharply than ever
the need for a revolutionary working-class leadership in Palestine and
Israel. The Socialist Workers Party calls for an immediate end to the
attacks on Jews and the Israeli government's murderous response.
The terrorist actions set back the just struggle of the Palestinian people
for national rights and against discrimination. They deepen divisions among
Jewish, Arab and other workers in Israel and politically strengthen the hand
of the capitalist Israeli government.
Neither the reactionary Islamist Hamas nor the bourgeois nationalist
Palestinian Authority has any perspective to mobilize and lead the
Palestinian toilers effectively. Instead they organize and encourage
terrorist actions and provocations - including unconscionable assaults on
civilians - that can only lead to repression and demoralization.
Nor is there any revolutionary working-class leadership in Israel that
fights to unite all toilers in the country to battle side by side in defense
of their class interests. Such a party would campaign against expanding
settlements in the West Bank, for ending the economic embargo of Gaza and to
stop discrimination and brutality against Palestinians and other Arab
citizens. It would oppose deportation of immigrant workers.
A working-class leadership is needed in Palestine and Israel that can chart
a course to increase the confidence and capacity of workers and farmers to
combat Palestinian national oppression and capitalist exploitation. Toilers
in the Middle East have proven their ability to forge such a leadership, for
example in the revolution that brought a workers and farmers government to
power in Algeria in 1962.
Such a leadership can be constructed in the fight to recognize the state of
Israel, demand a contiguous, economically viable Palestinian state, and
advance immediate demands to give the toilers space to live and organize.
These include: End the "collective punishment" and destruction of the homes
of Palestinian families by the Israeli regime! Guarantee the right of
Palestinian toilers to land, water, and the ability to travel to work! Halt
the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank! Oppose Jew-hatred
in any form!
Related articles:
Attacks on Jews, Israeli gov't brutal response deal blow to working class
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
brutal Israeli response
The stabbings and other attacks on Jews in Israel, praised by Hamas and
acquiesced to by the Palestinian Authority, and the brutally
disproportionate response by the Israeli regime pose more sharply than ever
the need for a revolutionary working-class leadership in Palestine and
Israel. The Socialist Workers Party calls for an immediate end to the
attacks on Jews and the Israeli government's murderous response.
The terrorist actions set back the just struggle of the Palestinian people
for national rights and against discrimination. They deepen divisions among
Jewish, Arab and other workers in Israel and politically strengthen the hand
of the capitalist Israeli government.
Neither the reactionary Islamist Hamas nor the bourgeois nationalist
Palestinian Authority has any perspective to mobilize and lead the
Palestinian toilers effectively. Instead they organize and encourage
terrorist actions and provocations - including unconscionable assaults on
civilians - that can only lead to repression and demoralization.
Nor is there any revolutionary working-class leadership in Israel that
fights to unite all toilers in the country to battle side by side in defense
of their class interests. Such a party would campaign against expanding
settlements in the West Bank, for ending the economic embargo of Gaza and to
stop discrimination and brutality against Palestinians and other Arab
citizens. It would oppose deportation of immigrant workers.
A working-class leadership is needed in Palestine and Israel that can chart
a course to increase the confidence and capacity of workers and farmers to
combat Palestinian national oppression and capitalist exploitation. Toilers
in the Middle East have proven their ability to forge such a leadership, for
example in the revolution that brought a workers and farmers government to
power in Algeria in 1962.
Such a leadership can be constructed in the fight to recognize the state of
Israel, demand a contiguous, economically viable Palestinian state, and
advance immediate demands to give the toilers space to live and organize.
These include: End the "collective punishment" and destruction of the homes
of Palestinian families by the Israeli regime! Guarantee the right of
Palestinian toilers to land, water, and the ability to travel to work! Halt
the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank! Oppose Jew-hatred
in any form!
Related articles:
Attacks on Jews, Israeli gov't brutal response deal blow to working class
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
