The Israeli Left’s duty during a genocide
JVL Introduction
This article by +972 outlines dilemmas and difficulties for the Left in Israel. Many believe that change is not possible from within, that it is no longer possible to expect anything from pressurising political leaders in a context where the very worst is happening and the majority of Israelis seems to have little, if any, problem with this. Since October 7th, “(t)he left’s complete marginalization, …has only accelerated … Even family members of Israeli hostages, who call for a ceasefire in order to free their relatives, are harassed and smeared as leftist traitors. ”
Most conclude that there is NO left politics in Israel but there is a left at the grassroots but what is the way forward for the Left that can make a difference? The importance of external pressure becomes even more important – so there are important things for those of us outside Israel and Palestine to also consider. And there is the important work of mutuality, even in the horrifically unequal situation, Jewish Israelis and Palestinians working together remains important, despite the inherent problems that it carries.
+972 interviewed at least two dozen activists and their article has a great deal to say that should be of interest to all who want freedom, peace and justice for all between the river and the sea.
LL
This article was originally published by +972 Magazine on Fri 3 Jan 2025. Read the original here.
What is the duty of the Israeli left in a time of genocide?
Israeli leftists have been more divided and marginalized than ever since the October 7 assault, with joint Palestinian-Jewish struggle at a breaking point. Yet their sights remain set on long-term political change.
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Thank you so much for this description, analysis and explanation of the politics and beliefs involved in this death-dominated situation that is Israel, finally taking us beyond “Jews” to people with damaging political beliefs that are determining, supporting and dominating the political and military-controlled actions of the state they have been born into, created and support. Israel is not a religion, and it is not a ghetto, it is a state, for better or for worse, and we should be demanding that it take on all the responsibilities of a state as a member of the United Nations. Just as those of us who live in the USA and the UK and Germany, who are using and abusing this conflict for their own territorial ends, should be insisting in our politics that this is a struggle for universal human rights, peace and justice, not a conflict between two religions or nationalities or because of anti-semitism above all. It is past due time to get beyond that dogged, destructive insistence that this is about anti-semitism.
Thank you for bringing us this well constructed and beautifully articulated article. It’s difficult to see with any clarity, how and when, the madness which prevails, will end and what will follow.
I hope the nonsense “Two State Solution” will be seen for what it is, not as a resolution to the “conflict” between Israelis and Palestinians, but merely as a more acceptable way of perpetuating the subjugation by Israel of the Palestinians people, much as privileged white men in America were able to mitigate the ending of slavery by creating and implementing the concept of segregation.
The only fair and viable conclusion to the Israel/Palestinian situation must surely be a single state with equal rights for the entire population, regardless of race, sex, or ethnicity.
It is a mistake to categorize anyone who opposes the genocide in Gaza as ‘being on the left’. This plays into the hands of the far right, who want nothing better than to call opponents of Israeli actions in Gaza ‘Marxist activists’ or similar. It may be that at present, the resistance in Israel comprises mainly people who identify as ‘left’, because people who are politically uncommitted are unlikely to be active in this movement as they are not habituated to taking a public stand on current issues. But the left will have to learn to appeal across the social spectrum if it is to generate a mass movement against the ultra-right wing faction that has captured their government.
Fantastic read, thank you.
We’ve seen videos of how those against the Genocide of the Palestinians, the IDF out on the streets beating them with batons, throwing old people to the ground.
I also don’t believe they are all Left, many will be Right leaning, they just hate what is happening to innocent Palestinians. Sadly I also believe that this Ethnic Cleansing is not going to stop until Israel owns the whole of Palestine and any Palestinians that survive the Genocide, will always be less than Second Class Citizens, it’s the same reason that I believe a Single State (with equal rights) will never work. I also believe that Netanyahu and his Cabinet, believe they’ve been given the best opportunity they are ever likely to get, in stealing all the Palestinian Land and nothing is going to stop them, while the US and UK are supporting and still arming them. They have dropped well over 85.000 tons of Bombs and Missiles on Gaza, murdering around 200.000 Palestinians, the majority still buried under the rubble and they are not letting up.