I wonder if the editor's response to this letter from a reader of The
Militant might provide a clue as to why the SWP changed its very long
standing position on Israel. I remember reading some party discussion
bulletins from the 1960s in which there were some debates in the party
about Cuba. The debate was about how best the party could influence the
Cuban revolution and the Cuban Communist Party. I was reading that some
decades after publication and I couldn't help noting that the Cuban
Revolution would go on to have a way stronger influence on the SWP than
the SWP would ever have on Cuba. As time passed the party became more
and more pro-Cuba and pro-Fidel. At the same time the party never had a
problem with disagreeing with the Cuban comrades when there was
something to disagree with. Fidel did have a different position on
Israel than the SWP did and the party did not necessarily openly
criticize Fidel for that, but rather, just presented its own differing
position apart from its praise of Fidel and the Cuban revolution. I hope
that this affinity for Fidel and the revolution did not morph into an
attitude of Fidel is always right in all things. That would be out of
character for the party as I have always known it, but over time things
do change.
On 2/22/2017 8:58 PM, Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender rogerbailey81
for DMARC) wrote:
http://themilitant.com/2017/8108/810835.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 81/No. 8 February 27, 2017
Letters
Protest Jew-hatred
The New York meeting to celebrate the life of Fidel Castro was a rousing, standing-room-only event that enthusiastically gave tribute to one of our greatest leaders.
One flaw in the event, though, occurred when pianist Dayramir González, who performed there, gave extended remarks. At one point while talking about the problem of rising rents, he referred to how all the money was going “to the top 1 percent, the Jews.” It was a shocking thing to hear, and there was an audible gasp from a section of the audience. No one from the speakers platform answered this remark. I hope people spoke to the musician afterward and explained the danger to the working class in Jew-baiting.
Craig Honts
New York, New York
Editor’s note — Thank you for noting the jarring anti-Semitic comment at the meeting to celebrate the life and political contributions of Fidel Castro. I was there, but didn’t hear much of the program as I was involved in the defense. I agree other speakers or the program organizers should have disassociated the event from González’s comments. Such remarks are particularly outrageous at a meeting in tribute to Fidel Castro, who was outspoken against Jew-hatred and in favor of the right of Israel to exist. “I don’t think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews,” Castro said in a 2010 Atlantic magazine interview. Taking issue with comments by then president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denied the fact of the Holocaust, Castro “explained why the Iranian government would better serve the cause of peace by acknowledging the ‘unique’ history of anti-Semitism and trying to understand why Israelis fear for their existence.”
John Studer
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