Palestine, protest, imperialism – from a class perspective
JVL Introduction
Here Lindsey German talks thoughtfully and powerfully on a range of linked subjects: the strength of the Palestine Solidarity Movement in the UK, the work and approach of Stop The War, the worrying clampdown on our rights to protest and much more, not least, the importance of understanding the nature of the British State and dispels the myth that the British working class have been bought off by imperialism referring to examples such as the response to the Spanish Civil War, the support of Lancashire cotton workers in opposition to slavery and more. There are many and more recent examples, of course.
She also notes the ruling class’s shock that support for Palestine is so strong and is not tiring. It is another example of the difference between the majority of people and their governments. To give just one example, over 70% of people in the UK want a ceasefire and yet the overwhelming majority of “our” politicians voted against that.
LL
This article was originally published by Sidecar (New Left Review) on Thu 1 Feb 2024. Read the original here.
Ukrania and Palestine
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I haven’t read Dr Karmi’s new book One State, cited by Lindsey, but I’ve read the Middle East Eye review http://tinyurl.com/y7urfkfz I respect and admire Dr Karmi and I’m sure she’s right (as reported by MEE) in believing ‘a single state to be inevitable. The alternative is that the Israelis sit with their boot on the throat of the Palestinians indefinitely. But she believes that the process is likely to be “bloody”.’
‘Change will only come about “through chaos, displacement, the creation of new refugees and the deaths of many people on both sides.”
This reminds me of Golda Meir’s comment that in such a single state, she might as well go and live in somewhere like France. I remember Zionist responses from years ago that such a state would become inevitably an Arab-Muslim majority state, and some Jewish Zionists went further in saying it would (I suppose they meant especially with a Hamas government) become a dhimmi state, although I understand that progressive thinking in contemporary Muslim majority countries has made this extremely unlikely.
But beyond discussions of this kind, I’ve seen very little (scarcely any) mention of the effect of the climate catastrophe (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_FtS_HNbkc ) on the middle east crisis. It does begin to look as if long before it reaches a settlement, the entire area will be engulfed in a very different kind of Armageddon from that hallucinated by, allegedly, John of Patmos (on magic mushrooms or otherwise).
That’s what we should all be working to mitigate and stop murdering one another over scraps of land which, if we don’t, will be cinders anyway.
Marvellous news that Andrew Feinstein is going to stand in Starmers seat. As a son of holocaust survivors, and an erstewhile anti apartheid MP in South Africa, he is so well palced to do this. He is also a very strong critic of Israel and has stood with Jeremy Corbyn on Palestine marches. JVL I feel would be very pleased about this and get behind him. Jewish Voice for Socialism, Paece and Justice! Not Labour anymore.