A Tribute to John Rose
JVL Introduction
The death of John Rose is a loss to the movement for justice, especially in Palestine and we are pleased to publish this obituary from Socialist Worker, the journal of the organisation with which he was involved. He was born into a Jewish, Zionist family but after hearing Tony Cliff and the South African revolutionary Ronnie Kasrils speak at a teach-in on Israel’s Six Day War, John learned a profound lesson. “During those six days I learned that Zionism and Jewish humanism were incompatible. I never looked back,”
It was news to this editor that John had also been one of the London Recruits who travelled to South Africa at personal risk. There is now a film of this work London Recruits. Do check out – and ask for – local screenings, it is an excellent reminder of people’s courage and determination.
You may also be interested to watch this short video of an interview with him about Israel and Palestine from 2010.
LL
This article was originally published by Socialist Worker on Sat 2 Nov 2024. Read the original here.
John Rose: an inspiration for revolutionaries
John’s greatest contributions to the struggle were to the fight for a free Palestine
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The death of John Rose is a loss to the movement in Palestine. He was born into a Jewish, Zionist family. After Israel’s Six Day War, John learned a profound lesson.
John was born into a Jewish family, and grew up as a Zionist. In 1966 he started at the London School of Economics (LSE) and joined the LSE Socialist Society. Shortly afterwards, he met Tony Cliff, the Jewish revolutionary and founder of the International Socialist tradition.
It took great courage to withstand the pressure of family ideology and break with Zionism.
John played a leading role in the battles fought out at the LSE against the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa and Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia.
John was a pioneer when it came to the issue of Zionism and the Jewish question. Like most post-war Jewish students, he’d been brought up to believe Israel was a necessary haven if Jews were to avoid another Holocaust. But he quickly took on board Cliff’s rejection of Zionism as the remedy for antisemitism.
Best wishes go to John’s partner and comrade, Elaheh.
Regards
Mansor Pooyan(A family friend)